Medically reviewed by Elena, Psychologist, Clinical Therapist and Life Coach
6 Best Ways to Manage the Stress
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Stress is as much a part of today’s society as going to work or getting dinner with friends. Burnout, feeling overwhelmed, unmanageable stress and its physical manifestations have become ordinary. Yet, this shouldn’t be the norm; and with stress management, it doesn’t have to be.
Fitcy Health offers licensed psychiatrists, therapists, and nutrition/fitness experts to help you manage stress in personalised solutions that are tailored to your background. Learning what works for you and how to implement it in your life can be overwhelming at first. It is important to take it slow and be easy on yourself. Unlearning years of stress takes time and practice. While talking to an online counsellor is a fundamental way to address stress, there are several practices you can begin implementing on your own today! Our stress management experts recommend these 6 steps to decrease the stress in your life:
1. Create time to distress
Set aside 20-30 minutes every day to do something that makes you feel good. What helps you unwind? Is it exercise, journaling, or talking with a friend? Maybe it’s just watching tv, exploring your city, or getting out in nature. Whatever it is that makes you feel safe, whole, and confident, do more of it! Taking a little time out of your schedule focused on what makes you feel good goes a long way in beating back stress.
2. Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness is becoming aware of your internal and external environment. Take a moment to answer these questions. Be honest and take your time:
- What emotions am I feeling?
Are you sad, angry, anxious, overwhelmed, happy, joyful, content? It can be more than one emotion, and it can be conflicting! Try not to judge your emotions, simply feel them.
- What am I feeling in my body?
Is there tension in your shoulders or jaw? Which muscles are tight, and which are relaxed? Start in your toes and work your way to your head, noticing where you hold tension and trying to loosen or stretch those muscles.
- What am I thinking?
This one can be tricky but try noticing what your thoughts are. Imagine that your thoughts are a passing train, and you are simply an observer. Let your thoughts naturally flow and notice what direction they take and how your emotions change with them. Is there a theme?
We don’t have to constantly strive to achieve something, to keep up with continuous tasks. It is okay to take a break and breathe. In the long-term, this will help you manage stress and live a healthier, happier life.
3. Build Healthy Habits You’ve probably heard it before, but we’ll say it again because it really does help! Eat healthy, try to improve your sleep patterns, and don’t forget to hydrate. Our minds and bodies are connected and in order to boost our feelings of relaxation and/or happiness, we need to give our brain the raw materials to produce the necessary neurotransmitters in our brains. Thus, when we allow our bodies to be healthy, our mind is also healthy. Studies have linked large amounts of sugar intake, low levels of physical activity, and lack of sleep to increased stress levels. So if you find yourself regularly stressed out, take a look at how you’re treating your body.
Learning how to be physically healthy can be challenging. Fitcy Health believes in an interdisciplinary approach to mental health and has multiple fitness and nutrition experts in addition to our online psychologists. We can create a perfect team to address your stress levels in a way that heals both your body and mind. Click here to learn more about our fitness and nutrition experts. 4. Limit stressful triggersA trigger is something that directly creates or worsens stress. Reading the news, a work confrontation, family tensions, a break-up are all examples of stressful triggers. Some of these triggers are easily manageable. For instance, if you are stressed by a specific type of news, you can create a screen time limit to ensure you don’t spend too much time on the things that stress you out. Others, like tension within your relationships, are harder to control. In these cases, becoming aware of when you might encounter a trigger and practicing healthy stress management techniques along with the implementation of boundaries can help minimize the impact of triggers on your life.5. Connect honestly with othersThe truth is most of your friends and family are probably also stressed. No one wants to admit they’re feeling overwhelmed, but once you open that conversation, you’ll be surprised at how many other people can relate to what you’re feeling. Create a support system and help each other champion your efforts to fight stress together.6. Seek professional helpSometimes, the best thing you can do for yourself is seeking professional help. Fitcy Health offers affordable counselling from the comfort of your own home. All you need is an internet connection and mobile device or computer, and you can be connected with professional licensed therapists and psychiatrists who will support you and your mental health. For more information, or to get matched with an online therapist today, click here.
Medically Reviewed by Gaston Molina, Clinical Psychologist & Therapist
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