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Stress doesn’t set your emotions on an up and down rollercoaster. It doesn’t just make you emotionally, physically or mentally tired. Stress steals from you. It takes your peace, it takes your focus, it can take your sleep – but worst of all, it can steal years off your life.
Some people have a little stress that’s ongoing, so they deal with it every day. Other people have big stress that they deal with – maybe not every day, but regularly. No matter what time frame stress follows, it’s all bad.
But by learning how to handle it, you can stop it from speeding up the aging process. You need to make small modifications to learn how to deal with, it rather than upending your entire life.
The problem begins because the reaction to the stressor is often automatic. You deal with stress the way you do out of habit. Sometimes this habit is ingrained from childhood, but other times, it’s a learned behavior that a person picked up in adulthood.
You can modify your stress by practicing the word no. Say no to overwhelm. Put boundaries in place that stop others from piling work or responsibilities on your shoulders.
Use these boundaries on yourself, too – and learn not to do more than you can physically or mentally handle. Don’t let stress grow. If you’re in the middle of a stressful situation and you have the freedom to walk away from it, then do so.
If you can avoid stress, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t. If you can’t, then take a mini meditation to stop and refocus. This can take your eyes off the problem and even give you a short break that can calm stress.
Remember that what you think about the stressor and the attitude that you have toward it can influence the stress for good or bad. Instead of dwelling on the stressor or the consequences of it, have the attitude that the stress isn’t going to last forever and focus your thoughts on something positive.
You can’t choose the stress, but you can choose the attitude. Take care of yourself physically. When you put your health on the backburner during stressful times, it only makes the stress worse.
So make sure that you stick with your exercise routine and if you don’t have one, start one. Exercise is a great way to reduce stress. Eat healthy during times of stress and get plenty of sleep.
This will help give you the strength you need to handle stress. Change your mindset. Learn to accept that some things can’t be changed. Find a way to relax and let go in spite of the stress.