8 Ways to Deal with Stress

Although young adults seem worst affected, stress is widespread in people from all generations and walks of life these days.

Wishful thinking

In the 1970s it was widely predicted that, within forty to fifty years, advances in technology would leave us with more time to ourselves, more time for recreational activities and leisure pursuits … and far less stress.

Wishful thinking, indeed!

A rising trend in unhappiness

According to the Gallup annual Global Emotions Report, people in 2021 felt more worried, stressed, and sad than at any time in the prior 16 years. Similar levels in 2022 did nothing to turn around a rising trend in global unhappiness and it will be a huge surprise if the 2023 report bucks that trend.

This worrying issue is a global one. For the purposes of compiling its annual report, Gallup spoke with adults in all of 122 countries.

Well-known American psychologists, Josh Briley and Mary Alvord, agreed that a root cause can be found in our current levels of online connectivity.

Feeling out of control

People today are swamped with unprecedented levels of information. The mainstream media thrive on bad news – you just have to scan the daily headlines – so we are bombarded with news about problem after problem, crisis after crisis.

And, unlike in the past, what happens in one corner of the world can have a profound effect on people living in another.

When problems of global proportion and significance constantly target your awareness, you can be left feeling out of control, with the uncertainty promoting emotions of fear and anxiety.

The stress ‘demon’

Chronic uncertainty – about your job, your financial affairs, your health, your future, your kids’ future, and so on, fuels unhealthy stress levels.

Constant negative stress is a demon that drags you into a vicious vortex. It undermines your health, saps your energy, and leaves you feeling debilitated and struggling to focus.

And guess what? The feeling of uncertainty that caused all of this is now magnified many times!

So how do you tackle the demon?

1. Take early action

Ideally, you need to recognise the symptoms as early as possible and take action before you get dragged too far down into the vicious vortex.

That’s easy to say, I know.

Feeling anxious and dejected has the effect of making you want to retreat from the world and shut down. But the sooner you take action the easier it will be to start the journey to recovering the real, dynamic you.

2. Look for the power within

Stress results from the uncertainty that we associate with aspects of our external world.

If the external world seems out of control and we allow ourselves to be constantly reminded of our relative insignificance, we will feel powerless. With powerlessness comes more uncertainty and, if left unchecked, hopelessness.

When we decide to let go of that which we cannot control and turn our attention inwards to what we can control, we regain power and focus.

3. Change your thought patterns

Though it may not seem obvious to those suffering from chronic stress, one thing we certainly can control is the way we think.

“If you don’t like something change it; if you can’t change it, change the way you think about it.”

– Mary Engelbreit

Make no mistake, it’s not easy. It takes time and a lot of conscious effort, but it is well worth it.

One of the effects of stress is to drag our minds into a spiral of disempowering thinking, fuelled by the spectre of our worst fears coming to bear.

With conscious effort, we can slowly change a ‘worst fears’ mindset into an opportunity mentality. In other words, we start deliberately looking for the opportunity (rather than the disaster) that exists in the seeming chaos that we are experiencing.

4. Exercise

If you suffer from chronic stress you may be raising your eyebrows at this. After all, exercise is probably the last thing you feel like, right?

That’s because inactivity fuels the stress demon. It drags you into the vortex by making you feel like hell, so you’d far rather lie down and sleep than get up and take a brisk walk outside.

But exercise draws in oxygen, gets the blood pumping, and facilitates the flushing out of toxins. Even a small amount of exercise can begin to address the symptoms of fatigue, apathy and muscle tension that stress causes.

Exercise is a much-underestimated miracle worker.

5. Slow down and simplify your life.

How often have you come across others who claim to be stressed out by the sheer amount of stuff they have to do and organise.

Tell them to slow down and in response you’ll likely hear: “You don’t understand, I can’t, I’ve just got so much I have to do!”

Ironically, a frenetic lifestyle is often a symptom – rather than a cause – of stress! Filling your day by running from pillar to post at the beck and call of whatever the world cares to throw at you, is a way to mask feelings of uncertainty and powerlessness.

Stop. Get off the hamster wheel. Take time out. Think deeply about yourself and what it is you need and want. Let somebody else worry about keeping the hamster wheel moving.

6. Reinvent your life

One of the most common complaints from people who feel stressed is a feeling of being caught in a Catch-22 situation.

This often involves money, as money is a powerful catalyst for manifesting many of the things we think we want from life.

One way to break the Catch-22 is by rethinking what it is you want from life and then reinventing yourself.

Reinvention-thinking, when coupled with the opportunity mindset I spoke of earlier, can drastically improve your life.

Think to yourself: “Life the way I am living it sucks, so I’m going to do something different. Yes, that will come with risks but it will also open up some great opportunities that are hidden from my stunted sight right now.”

7. Give back and take back

There’s little more debilitating than being kept awake in the early hours of the morning thanks to constant worry about things you can’t control.

One very effective way to ease your nocturnal stress is by changing, adapting, or adding to the work you currently do.

When you do work that prioritises the welfare of others, you connect with your inner power and your life takes on new meaning and fulfilment.

If changing career just isn’t practical, then consider part-time work, perhaps as a carer, a fire-fighter, a sports coach, a charity worker or a life coach.

Turning your focus from everything you cannot control in the external world, to ways in which you can give back to society and make a difference in the lives of others, will have a profound effect on lowering your stress levels and increasing your enjoyment of life.

8. Have more fun!

Laughing lowers stress hormones (like cortisol, epinephrine, and adrenaline) and strengthens the immune system by releasing health-enhancing hormones.

So, resolve to reduce the sources of your feelings of uncertainty and powerlessness and seek out the lighter, more humourous side of life.

After all, laughter is the best medicine!