How to Cope With Stress in a Healthy Way

The stress symptom checklist helps to show how stress can manifest in different ways, including physical symptoms, psychological symptoms, and emotional symptoms. Although I did not check off a lot of symptoms, the symptoms I experience include physical, psychological, and emotional symptoms. I was surprised to learn that some symptoms of stress include feeling low self-esteem and also reduced productivity at work (“Stress Management,” 2017). There are only a few symptoms I experience every day or every other day. I occasionally have sleeping problems, and feel overwhelmed by my work. Some of the stress symptoms are obviously linked to what is going on in my life, such as too many pressures from work or school. There are no times of the day I am more likely to experience stress, with the exception of not being able to sleep at night and also feeling anxious in the morning about the things I have to do that day. The specific triggers of stress I experienced this week included having to work an extra shift and having several large assignments to complete for school at the same time. Also, I had an argument with a family member that compounded my feelings of anxiety. Other triggers this week included bad weather that came in the way of my weekend plans, and traffic, which can cause me stress. Usually the symptoms I experience are short lived and easy to recognize, such as yelling at people in the car.
Everyone experiences stress, and mentally strong people understand how to transform the adversities of life into opportunities for growth and learning (Morin, 2015). It is also important to reflect on how I cope with stress, starting with being able to recognize the signs and symptoms. Now that I know that loss of concentration, lower productivity, and lower self-esteem might be stress-related symptoms, I can pay closer attention to the triggers. For example, my boss criticized something I did, and it was a total surprise because I believed I did a good job. I felt defensive that day, and even the next day I had some stress-related symptoms like anger. I can deal with stress better by keeping all issues into perspective, and not taking things too seriously (Morin, 2015). Even though I believe my boss was wrong, I need to put the criticism into perspective and believe that I am doing a good job. I also need to remember that I can use the stress as a learning opportunity, such as learning how to respond better to criticism.
Of course, the most important ways of reducing stress overall include making smart lifestyle choices. Eating well, exercising, and getting enough sleep are long-term preventative solutions for reducing the effect stress has on my physical, emotional, and psychological wellbeing. It is also critical to know how to respond better to stress in the moment, learning how to be less reactive by retraining my brain to react differently to stressful situations. If I want to take criticism better, then I need to habituate myself to responding gracefully. Using breathing techniques and visualization, I can learn to master my stress symptoms and turn the anxiety into personal empowerment.
Managing stress is a lifelong habit, which can improve mental and physical health. If I can master effective coping mechanisms now, I can reduce my risk for mental and physical health problems. No one deals with stress perfectly, but all people have the potential to be better at responding to difficult situations. My goal is to become more graceful under pressure, so that even when I am taken by surprise as I was with my boss, I do not overreact. At the moment when my boss criticized me, I even considered quitting. When I feel stressed out at work, one of my first thoughts is usually that I want to quit and that I am better than my job. This may be true, and I may eventually quit and move on to another job, but running away from a problem is not an effective way to deal with stress any more than using drugs or alcohol to cope is effective.




References

Morin, A. (2015). 7 ways mentally strong people deal with stress. Psychology Today. Retrieved online: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/what-mentally-strong-people-dont-do/201507/7-ways-mentally-strong-people-deal-stress
“Stress Management,” (2017). Mayo Clinic. Retrieved online: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-symptoms/art-20050987