You have been working on a big project at work for a few weeks and one of your essential team members gets sick with the coronavirus. Not only does this leave you with more work to do, but you’re worried you may have caught it since you’ve been working closely with this team member. You are able to schedule a COVID test, but not until the following day. You anticipate this taking up half a day so plan on working late the remainder of the week.
Since you stayed late at work, you get home late tired and drained from your workday. Your wife starts questioning you and is mad that you missed dinner with the family again. She’s also complaining about having to watch the kids in the evening by herself, you are missing family time and are not spending enough quality time with her. All you want to do is have something cold to drink and watch a little TV to unwind from work, but your kids are fighting over the TV.
Your wife also reminds you about picking up medication for her mother who has moved in with you. As you shift through the mail you see the high utility bill and high credit card bill which you set aside for later. You decide to skip dinner because you’re too tired to fix a plate and grab some snacks to eat instead. Afterwards, you put the kids to bed and head into your bedroom to get ready for bed. You notice your wife has put on some soft music and is wearing something sexy for you. Normally, you’d be in the mood, but not tonight and tell your wife. She once again starts complaining.
When the lights go out, you lay in bed unable to sleep because you’re having racing thoughts. You’re thinking about possibly having COVID, your large workload at work, trying to make-up work hours, how you’ll find the money to pay for the bills and your mother-in-law’s medication, missing time with your family, and how to make up with your wife. Once again, you’re having trouble sleeping. Your stomach starts growling and you feel another migraine coming on again too. You definitely know that you’ve been feeling stressed lately but are not sure what to do about it or even how to find the time to address it.
Does this feel like you?
Do you relate to any of these things?
Have you been feeling stressed lately?
Would you like to know some ways to relieve your stress?
What if you could identify your stressors and work on decreasing them?
What is Stress
Stress is your body’s response to a stimuli. It is your body’s way of reacting to a challenge, threat or new situations. It can be an emotional, physical or mental reaction. Many people experience stress which can be triggered by a single thing, range of things, situations, events or issues. Most people will experience stress at some point in their lives. Not all stress is bad stress. Stress can give you strength, motivate you, force you to take necessary action, and help you to avoid danger. However, it usually becomes a problem when it is not addressed, continues or becomes long-term.
How Stress Affects Your Body
When a person is experiencing stress, it affects their body. This may be acute stress or chronic stress. Acute stress is short-term stress such as butterflies before an exam, preparing for a work meeting, waiting for a check deposit to appear in your bank account, revising your resume or asking someone on a date. Acute stress can usually help your body get through certain situations that may arise. Chronic stress is long-term stress and can have damaging effects if it’s allowed to go on for too long. Some examples of this are work overload, not enough money for essential needs, ongoing relationship problems, strained relationships with family or friends, continuous money problems, or poor health.
Physical Symptoms of Stress
- Headache
- Muscle pain or tension
- Elevated heart rate
- High blood pressure
- Chest pain
- Digestive problems or upset stomach
- Change in sex drive
- Trouble sleeping or sleeping too much
Emotional Symptoms of Stress
- Moodiness
- Restlessness
- Lack of motivation
- Feeling overwhelmed
- Irritability or anger
- Sadness
- Anxiety
- Depression
Effects of Stress on Your Body
- Overeating, undereating or developing an eating disorder
- Smoking
- Drinking too often or too much
- Using Drugs
Other Behaviors
- Angry outbursts
- Social withdrawal from family or friends
- Compulsive sex, shopping, internet browsing or gambling
- Exercising less often
Ways to Relieve Stress
You don’t need to continue to let stress negatively continue to affect you. There are many ways that you can relieve stress and many resources that you can utilize by yourself, with assistance or with the help of a professional. One of the first things to do is to determine what is causing you stress. Is it work, home, other people, money, or certain situations? You can also practice daily strategies and stress management strategies.
Daily Strategies
- Sleep – Find a way to get more sleep at night. This may mean going to sleep earlier, adjusting the lighting in your bedroom or exploring whether no sound or soft noise works for you.
- Eat – There’s a reason doctors always stress eating a well-balanced nutritious diet every day. This may involve making time to eat meals, ensuring that you have healthy foods to eat or exploring with different recipes.
- Exercise – Work on getting some exercise every day. This could be joining a gym or using your gym membership. You may need to make time to exercise daily. Other methods of getting exercise involve just moving everyday whether it’s walking outside or just moving around inside.
- Medication or Vitamins – Some people may be prescribed medication, need to take medication as needed, or may utilize vitamins. Ensure to take medication or vitamins as prescribed by a doctor or nutritious if needed.
Stress Management Strategies
- Relaxation Techniques – Some of these could be practicing deep breathing, meditation, muscle relaxation or yoga.
- Exercising or Physical Activity – Some examples are running, walking, hiking, swimming, bike riding, dancing, climbing stairs, or playing a physical activity inside or outside.
- Humor – It’s true laughter is good for the soul. Find ways to laugh more and allow yourself to laugh or smile.
- Being Positive – Work on acknowledging the positive things, practice gratitude and surround yourself with positivity.
- Social – It’s important to find ways to stay connected to people. This could be visiting them, talking on the phone, scheduling a video call with them, or engaging in a live or virtual activity with others.
- Engage in Hobbies – Find a way to make time for your hobbies or interests. Chances are there may be something that you used to enjoying doing. If you can’t think of anything, try exploring or developing a new hobby or interest.
How Therapy Can Help
Some people may be able to work on managing their own stress themselves. Other people may need additional help or choose to seek out a professional. Going to a therapist can help you to learn how to manage your stress. Therapists are skilled with helping people with many different problems. Attending therapy can be greatly beneficial. A therapist can help you to identify your main stressors, help you to decide which problems to address first, work with you to develop a plan of action, help you throughout this action plan, assist you if you get stuck, and just be with you throughout this process. One of the other best parts is that your plan of action or treatment plan will be tailored to your individual needs. If you have more questions about how therapy can help you with managing your stress, I encourage you to reach out to a therapist with your questions.
