Coping With Stress

Healthy Ways of Managing Stress

Handling stress may seem impossible, especially if you or a loved one have a pre-existing mental health condition. However, even people without mental illness can struggle to cope with their stress.

Here are some healthy, research-based methods that can help relieve stress.

Identify the Main Causes of Stress

It sounds simple, but sometimes, we neglect to recognize aspects of our lives that can be causing higher levels of stress.

Pay attention to moments when you’re most stressed. Does it tend to happen more often in loud or quiet environments? Do certain situations in daily life stress you? Are there ways you can avoid them or have loved ones support you?

By identifying some of your primary sources of stress, you can make adjustments or accommodations based on where the stress is coming from.

Focus on Overall Well-Being

Sometimes, focusing on the basics of your daily life—like getting enough sleep or eating a balanced diet—can help lower your overall stress levels.

Having a solid routine or baseline of healthy habits means stressful events may not derail you as quickly as before, and dealing with ongoing stress (like a stressful job) becomes easier to manage.

While habits like a healthy diet or physical activity may sound cliché, research shows that basic self-care lowers stress levels.

Practice Relaxation Techniques

Relaxation techniques like meditation, mindfulness, and breathing exercises can help you manage stress in the moment and after you leave the stressful environment.

Meditation helps you clear your mind and is an excellent way to practice eliminating or disregarding chaotic or negative thoughts that can cloud your mind during times of stress.

Similarly, mindfulness involves staying present in the current moment, which can help you gain a new perspective on stressful situations and reduce anxiety.

Conversely, deep breathing exercises are a simple tool that can quickly lower stress levels by activating the body’s relaxation response, reducing heart rate, and lowering blood pressure.

These techniques help manage stress at the moment and build resilience, making it easier to handle stressful situations in the future.

Take Breaks from News and Social Media

News outlets often emphasize negative stories, leading to stress about situations you have no control over. Politics, world events, and sometimes even weather stories can lead with sensationalism, designed to keep readers engaged—but can also trigger your stress response.

Taking a break from news and media can improve one’s state of mind and reduce stress, especially over events that one cannot control.

Meanwhile, social media can warp your perception of yourself compared to others. Friends, family, and people you look up to only post the good things, which can trick you into believing they have something you don’t. Unplug and focus on what’s in front of you.

Rely on Social Support

Stay connected with friends and family members who keep you grounded and calm. It’s invaluable to have people who make you happy, provide emotional support, and help you with practical things.

When you’re drowning in stress, reach out to these people! That doesn’t just mean connecting with them to vent or discuss your stress; it also means spending time with loved ones can improve your mood and help you de-stress.

Consider Therapy or Similar Support

A therapist or similar mental health professional can also be a fantastic resource to help you work on stress management.

They may recommend complementary medication alongside counseling as a potential solution for dealing with intense stress, or they may help you identify triggers to then come up with better strategies for coping with stress.

How Does Stress Work in the Body?

Stress is what happens when our bodies react to environmental challenges or changes.

When our minds perceive a physical or situational threat, our brain sends signals throughout the body to be on high alert—also known as your “fight or flight” response.

These physical stress signals can include:

• Faster heart rate
• Muscle tension
• Sweating
• Rapid breathing
• Dilated pupils
• Tunnel vision
• Dry mouth
• Heightened senses

These stress signals keep us alert and safe in a truly dire situation. However, our stress response can activate even if we aren’t in life-threatening danger.

Over time, situations that cause long-term or recurring stress can take a toll on our mental health, leading us to become overwhelmed, exhausted, and burnt out.

What Are The Signs of Stress?

Stress affects everyone differently, depending on many factors, from age to co-occurring mental health conditions.

Furthermore, stress is subjective and not measurable through testing. That means only the person experiencing it knows whether it’s present and how severe it feels. ‘

One person may physically feel stress in a specific part of the body, while another may experience more emotional symptoms from stress.

Common physical signs of stress include:

• Shallow breathing, sweating, and racing heartbeat
• Headaches, dizziness, or shaking
• High blood pressure
• Exhaustion or trouble sleeping
• Trouble having sex
• Nausea, indigestion, or cramping in the bowels
• Weight gain or loss from eating too much or too little
• Aches and pains
• Weakened immune system
• Engaging in unhealthy behaviors like over-eating, drinking too much, using drugs, smoking, or scrolling endlessly on social media (sometimes called “doom scrolling”)

Furthermore, some typical mental or emotional signs of stress include:

• Irritability and anger leading to outbursts or withdrawal from family and friends
• Neglecting responsibilities or feeling too overwhelmed to handle responsibilities
• Lower efficiency at tasks or having difficulty concentrating
• Emotional distress, like continuously feeling sad or being tearful
• Chronic stress and anxiety, even when nothing stressful is occurring
• Panic attacks
• Burn out
• Depression
• Suicidal ideation

Health Effects of Stress

A little bit of stress won’t cause long-term harm, but chronic and persistent stress can wreak havoc on the body and mind, often contributing to existing health issues or even causing new ones. Continuous stress can also damage physical and mental health.

Stress starts in the hypothalamus, the brain’s “command center.” This stimulation begins a chain reaction in the sympathetic nervous system, an involuntary process that engages our fight-or-flight response and produces the stress hormone cortisol.

When a person experiences long-term and unmanaged stress, continued activation of this heightened state causes wear and tear on the body. Chronic stress can affect brain structure and most systems throughout the body.

• According to the American Institute of Stress, around 75%–90% of doctor visits in the United States are in some way related to stress.
• Johns Hopkins reports that people under constant stress are 20% more likely to have heart disease.
• Studies from the Mental Health Foundation found that 29% of people started drinking or increased their drinking, and 16% reported that they started smoking or increased their smoking due to stress.

Get Help for Coping With Stress

Whether you’re dealing with a short-term stressful situation or have been dealing with managing stress for a long time, there are plenty of solutions to help you manage.

An excellent place to start is by talking to your primary doctor or a healthcare provider for recommendations about what treatment methods might work best for your situation.

You can also check out the SAMHSA treatment locator to find mental health services in your area.