As the festive season approaches, many people become stressed, and the demands on them increase. If you are stressed, you must take action, as long-term stress can negatively affect your mind and body.
As a counsellor and hypnotherapist, I help people with stress and anxiety most days. So, I would like to present the ten most successful ways many people can reduce their stress.
But let’s start by understanding what stress is and why we need to reduce it.
Introducing the festive season
For many people, Christmas is a time of joy and celebration. This doesn’t always mean that the person is religious or follows Christianity. For many people, the festive season is a time to relax with family and friends and take some time off work.
However, the build-up to the end of December can be very stressful for some people as they try to meet deadlines and face many more demands on their money and time.
In December, many businesses become busier to fit everything in and close down for Christmas.
Parents become busier as they might decorate the house and buy Christmas presents.
Those who don’t celebrate Christmas may also be impacted by shops closing or the increase in people when the shops are open.
People who were bereaved during the year or who have lost a loved one in previous Decembers may feel sad.
There are many emotions around December that increase stress
What is stress?
There are many definitions of stress. It can mean pressure or demands on someone. If the stress levels are too high, this can physically and psychologically impact the body.
Stress is derived from the word stringer, which means to draw something tight. However, the definition has changed over the years and now relates more to pressure or strain, as understood in physics, to individual responses to outside pressures.
Hans Selye (1946) reviewed stress further in individuals and devised three stages in stressful situations.
They are:
- An alarm reaction in which there is a lowered resistance,e and the person becomes alerted to a problem
- Resistance is the stage where the person tries to adapt to the alarm. If the alarm continues or the person’s resistance is low for some reason, they move on to the third stage.
- Exhaustion is the third stage, when people feel stressed because they can’t cope.
In the 1970s, Lararus worked with stress and felt that stress was more about how a person interprets the pressure they are under. Inabilities to cope and the feeling of being threatened can lead people to feel helpless and overwhelmed.
Other researchers have produced theories related to the biological aspects of stress, while others have explored the behavioural aspects of stress.
Stress at work is a big concern, as high-stress levels in employees can reduce productivity and increase sickness. This can result in financial pressure and relational issues.
But stress isn’t always bad. We all need a bit of stress, as demands on us make us get into action.
The problem is that stress can be different for different people. One person can cope with high-stress levels, while another struggle with the thought of everything becoming busy now.
Symptoms of stress
For the individual, high levels of stress can lead to high blood pressure, anxiety and depression, irritability, difficulty sleeping, changes in bowel habits, changes in eating and problems with relationships.
High levels of stress in employees at work can lead to high absenteeism, poor quality of work, more industrial accidents, poor communication, and high staff turnover.
So stress is everyone’s business.
10 Self-help ways to beat stress
Only you know how much stress you are under; however, other people will notice your stress levels when you display signs of stress. Perhaps you snap at people. Maybe you look depressed and don’t mix with people. Of you could be argumentative and have relationship problems.
- Recognise your stress and tell yourself that you will do something about it. If you have too much work that makes you feel stressed, tell someone and explain that you can’t take on any more work now. If you are in a more senior position, you can delegate and work smarter, not harder. If you are in a big organisation with a Human Resources office, talk to them. You may also request time off work or see your doctor to get time off. The NHS recognises stress is a condition that people need help with. People at home should also tell someone like a friend or partner. If you want to see someone privately away from work and home, book an appointment with a counsellor or hypnotherapist.
- If you feel so hopeless that you are having suicidal thoughts, then you urgently need to tell someone and go and see your doctor, phone Samatains 116 123, or go and talk to someone in the Emergency Department of your local hospital.
- Do some deep breathing every day. There are several techniques; however, the important thing is to breathe in and then slowly out so the out-breath is a little longer than the in-breath.
- Exercise. Exercise for stress can be as simple as stretching or walking around the block daily. Walking in nature is particularly helpful.
- Meditate or do mindfulness daily.
- Hug a pet, play with them and pat a pet. Pets give us unconditional love.
- Review your diet. Reduce coffee intake and increase a healthy, well-balanced diet.
- Go out with friends and relatives. Enjoy your time off, have a laugh and socialise. However, refrain from using substances such as drugs or alcohol to reduce stress.
- Become more creative. Paint, draw or do some craft work.
- Have a massage or warm bath to ease tense muscles.
There are many more ways to beat stress, but you must begin now.
For help with stress and anxiety, please contact me at www.awakenthechange.com and get a free initial consultation.
