Written by: Gurpreet Kaur, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
You can’t manage stress because merely managing it doesn’t make it go away. Managing stress means controlling. That’s why managing doesn’t work. Instead of managing, you want to understand your stress triggers and your body’s response to those triggers. You tap deeper into your psyche to remove those psychological blocks and traumas when you can understand your stress. There are many benefits to understanding your stress.
Stress is a biological and psychological response to the danger present in your environment. It triggers a storm of biochemical and hormonal imbalances that interfere with normal bodily functions. For example, the release of cortisol and adrenaline into the bloodstream prepares you to either fight or flight the situation. This system is in place for you to survive. Stress is a way of life. You can’t really manage it like you manage your bills.
When you manage something, you control it or deal with it. Control is another word for anxiety. Trying to control things produce more anxiety. You really want to observe how you react when you are under the crunch. Instead of managing stress, experience it. I really mean that paying close attention to the physical signs of stress like sweaty palms or armpits, red hot face or ears, shaky legs, upset stomach, or hyperactivity within the body. Your body gives you plenty of subtle signals when these stress hormones are released into your bloodstream. Depression, anxiety, or any other mental disorder is ignored and accumulated stress. You want to understand your triggers and what they tell you about your unconscious mind. Most stress responses are unconscious, so you don’t even know that you are stressed. Accumulated stress manifests into physical symptoms like headaches, muscle aches, frequent sickness, allergy-like symptoms, depression, or anxiety.
One of the significant benefits of understanding your body’s response to stress instead of managing it is that you get closer to who you are. You start to develop a relationship with yourself. This understanding will help you grow into new depths of your being. Understanding and eliminating stress is a lifestyle, so be patient with yourself. Now, let’s look at the steps.
STEPS:
Buy a journal. There are different types of journaling for various purposes. To begin with, just note whenever your body tenses up. You might feel sweaty. Or have shoulder or backache. Or a headache. Gather up on your common signs of stress and symptoms.
Once you know your stress symptoms and signs, it is time to note triggers and stressors. Triggers are any signs present in the environment that activate your unconscious mind to react. Basically, any word or facial expression that could be a threat to you. Your brain is wired to detect danger in your environment for your survival, which is a good thing but your upbringing or conditioning associated it negatively. This is what we have to correct.
Take some deep breaths and whisper to yourself, “I am safe. I am secure.” Your amygdala detects danger in the environment to alarm the fight and flight system. Your job is to calm yourself down to feel safe and secure.
Note any fearful thoughts that might be triggering the stress response.
Stress is inevitable in life, and you cannot avoid it. It comes with living life. However, you can learn to cope with your stressors. You cannot really manage stress. You can develop a new relationship with it. You can choose to view it differently. When you practice the above steps, primarily when you first start to feel the signs or symptoms of stress, you will be well on your way to eliminating stress and keeping it at arm’s length.
Gurpreet Kaur, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Dr. Gurpreet Kaur is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor, Life Coach, Speaker, and an Author. Dr. Kaur is very passionate about self-love, self-empowerment, wellness, reaching the full potential, and applying quantum mechanics principles to daily life. Dr. Kaur teaches a step-by-step self-care process to live a mentally and emotionally healthy life.
