Dealing with stress

According to Google, stress can be defined as a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances.

It’s a feeling that we all get from time to time. The body reacts to protect itself, releasing hormones to make the brain more alert, increase pulse rate and tense muscles. In a survival or short term situation the body’s reaction is incredibly helpful.

Continual stress, however, can negatively impact your body, mood and behavior. And, left unchecked, it can even lead to serious long-term health issues such as high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, depression and others.

In my opinion, there’s two ways of dealing with stress; preventive and reactive.

Preventive stress management involves proper planning and discipline. This requires looking ahead, noting milestones, and setting aside time to work on assignments in pieces well in advance of their due date. Knowing you have many more days to work on something that might have you blocked vs. being blocked the day an assignment is due helps to reduce stress immensely. It’s all about not putting yourself in those adverse/demanding circumstances.

Reactive stress management is about how you deal with the stress when it can’t be avoided. In my opinion, the best ways of coping with stress are exercise & sleep. Personally, I enjoy running. The psychical demand lets my mind rest, while at the same time my body is burning all that nervous energy. No matter how bad i feel at the start of a run, I always feel better after. And, of course, there’s nothing better than a good night’s sleep to help refocus your thoughts.

Everyone feels/reacts to stress differently, and what works for me may not work for others. The most important thing is to try and avoid stressful situations of your own making.

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