Stress is a natural feeling of not being able to cope with specific demands and events. However, stress can become a chronic condition if a person does not take steps to manage it. Stress can come from work, relationships, financial pressures, and other situations, but anything that poses a real or perceived challenge or threat to a person’s well-being can cause stress.
When stress becomes overwhelming and prolonged, the risks for mental health problems and medical problems increase. Long-term stress increases the risk of mental health problems such as anxiety and depression, substance use problems, sleep problems, pain and bodily complaints such as muscle tension.
Unhealthy ways of coping with stress
These coping strategies may temporarily reduce stress, but they cause more damage in the long run:
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- Smoking
- Drinking alcohol too much
- Over eating or under eating
- Zoning out for hours in front of the TV or computer
- Withdrawing from friends, family, and activities
- Using pills or drugs to relax
- Procrastinating
- Taking out your stress on others (lashing out, angry outbursts, physical violence)
Healthy ways to reduce stress
- Exercise regularly
- Eat a proper diet
- Balance or equalize your responsibility
- Getting better sleep
- By practicing relaxation techniques like YOGA and meditation
- Stress can be reduced byr connecting and talking with people
- It can be reduced by relaxing ourselves by doing something makes us happy
“You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” — Martin Luther King
Managing stress at work means learning to manage situations differently; But it also means learning how to manage oneself, knowing one’s resources and making better use of one’s personal abilities. Knowing how to manage stress at work or in any professional and personal context depends not only on external situations, but on our way of perceiving and understanding them.