14 DAY TRIAL // Stress is a killer – that much is known by now, having a major impact on our health and overall wellbeing. Avoiding specific situations that are certain to lead to stress, or triggers, would be the ideal solution for a happy, healthy life but that is not always possible, which is why we must struggle to eliminate and successfully fight stress on our own, as specialists point out for Shape magazine.
The easiest way to do so would be, of course, to stop worrying so much about everything. Women are known to worry more than their male counterparts, but not necessarily because they have it rougher in life, as studies have also shown. Ladies generally fret over vaguely defined things such as weight, money or job issues, without even waiting for a problem to appear before starting to think about it. Men, on the other hand, only become stressed when a specific issue emerges, and not before, which is why experts advise all women to follow their example. “Keep your anxiety focused on real, immediate issues, and tune out imagined ones or those over which you have zero control, and you'll automatically reduce stress overload.” Shape says.
Another efficient method of eliminating stress would be tacking the problem at the core – by putting it down on paper or analyzing it with someone we trust. Fretting over an issue can turn into a genuine headache if we don’t take the time to see why exactly we’re so stressed by it, experts say. By presenting the problem to a friend or even writing every specific of it down on paper (the computer would do just as fine if we’re more the modern type), we get to see why it bothers us and perhaps even come up with a proper solution for it.
Speaking a stress-free language is also of vital importance, since it would help divert our attention from the empty half of the glass. Once we acknowledge that things happen and that they’re beyond our control, and we learn to live with that, the stress in our life should be drastically reduced. “People who handle stress well tend to employ what stress experts call an ‘optimistic explanatory style.’ They don’t beat themselves up when things don’t work out in their favor. […] Replace the word ‘expect’ with ‘hope.’ Expectations can only be used for those things over which you have the greatest personal control. You can expect to quench your thirst with a drink of water. You cannot expect to get the job you just interviewed for. You can hope to get it. Think ‘hope’ instead of ‘expect’ and you’ll greatly reduce stress.” Shape advises.
Remember to always clear a few minutes of your busy agenda for some me time. The things we do on a daily basis can get to us in ways we probably can’t even begin to imagine, which is why taking 10 to 15 minutes a day to be just by ourselves is crucial for a stress-free existence. “Wipe the slate clean for a few minutes. Do whatever it is that relaxes you: meditate, read a novel, sing or sip tea. It is important to take some time – even a few minutes – to establish an inner sense of peace. What’s crucial is not how much time you allot, but being consistent and doing something every day.” experts recommend.
The last method of eliminating stress is also the most challenging from a certain perspective, since it’s all about control and learning to take it over everything that is happening in our life. It’s based on a tai chi exercise known as “embracing the tiger,” Shape says, and implies taking stress in – along with whatever it is that caused it – and then releasing it. The premise for this is that, once we’ve mentally learned to control stress it can no longer control us, so we’ll be able to rid ourselves of it in almost no time.