Stress is an inevitable part of life, and we all experience it at some point. It can result from everyday challenges or major life changes, including weddings, job changes, financial issues, and loss of loved ones. While a little stress can keep us motivated, chronic stress can significantly impact physical and mental health, affecting day-to-day activities.
Sara Mahdawi, a clinical psychologist who works with people experiencing chronic stress, provides several strategies to cope with stress. Exercise is one of the most effective ways to reduce stress. It releases endorphins in the body, which reduce pain and enhance mood. Additionally, exercise improves sleep, which is crucial for stress management.
Mindfulness is another strategy. It involves giving undivided attention to thoughts, feelings, and bodily experiences, which can help in staying present in the moment and reduce stress and anxiety by discouraging worrying about the future or dwelling on the past.
Having social support is essential when coping with stress. Having friends and family to lean on can help in reducing loneliness and stress while making one feel supported. Time management can also help reduce stress. By prioritizing activities and responsibilities, time management can help one feel less stressed.
Relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, and visualization can help reduce stress by calming the body and mind.
However, stress becomes chronic when it lasts for months or even years. Chronic stress can result from many things including work, family, money issues, health problems, and can have detrimental effects on both physical and mental health. Chronic stress can lead to health issues such as diabetes, heart disease, and depression. Moreover, it can cause issues with focus, memory, and sleep.
It is important to seek professional help when experiencing chronic stress. A clinical psychologist can help one develop good coping mechanisms and enhance their mental health. Chronic stress can interfere with daily life, causing physical symptoms such as headaches, muscle tension, and other health problems. It can also lead to depression, anxiety, and unhealthy coping strategies such as drug and alcohol use, which can lead to addiction and other negative consequences.
Overall, navigating one’s way through healthy coping mechanisms is crucial to maintaining psychological resilience. Resilience helps overcome challenges that life throws at us. While exercise, mindfulness, social support, time management, and relaxation techniques can be effective strategies to deal with stress, it is important to seek professional help when stress becomes chronic. Chronic stress can significantly impact physical and mental health and develop into more severe health problems. Learning healthy coping mechanisms is essential to maintaining and enhancing one’s overall wellbeing.
