Did you know that stress is a natural part of life?
Stress triggers the “fight-or-flight” survival mode which creates motivation and quick action when needed. However, we all know too much stress is detrimental to our health. You may be wondering, how do we find and maintain a healthy level of stress? This is what we will be covering throughout today’s article. Make sure to focus on the reminders throughout!
How Much Of Stress Can You Handle?
Everyone has different levels of stress tolerance. You may have realised that some friends or family members are able to handle stressful situations better than you. This is because everyone has varying stress triggers, ways of coping and support systems.
Reminder 1: Don’t compare yourself to others. Accept and acknowledge that everyone handles stress differently.
What Is Good Stress (Eustress) & How To Cultivate More Of It?
Good stress or Eustress is the feeling of excitement and adrenaline. It is often short-term and motivates you to take action. It not only promotes our health but as well as emotional well-being.
Reminder 2: Engage yourself in activities and people that make you feel good!
Although stress has a bad reputation, your mindset can determine the effects it has on you. These are some practices to encourage eustress:
Learn how to set realistic goals that provide enough challenge, but not too much. Create a tracking system to hold yourself accountable.
Implement any form of physical movement into your daily life. Even if it is for a short while, exercising can help clear your thoughts and bring you back to the present moment.
Push yourself outside of your comfort zone. When new people or experiences surround you, this provides you with the opportunity to be more open-minded and gain new perspectives.
Frequently learn a new skill and be a beginner at something. When we repeatedly carry out the same tasks and skills- it can feel as if life is stagnant. In relation to the previous point, this is because engaging in new experiences boosts our dopamine as we feel rewarded. Additionally, as we escape our mundane routines, it can create memorable memories and even stimulate creativity.
Reminder 3: Keep exploring! A majority of us are not aware of what activities help to de-stress. This includes trial and error as we must explore and participate in various activities to find what produces the most eustress.
Stress, Our Greatest Ally.
Overall, although stress has its adverse effects, without it, we would not have the alertness and motivation that keeps us alive and driven. The TED Talk by Kelly McGonigal, “How to make stress your friend” raises an important point. She reminds us that our perception of stress influences the effects it has on us. If we perceive stress with a negative perspective, it will only create greater distress. We must realise how our mindset affects how we perceive certain patterns and behaviours, and consciously choose how we want to react to certain situations.
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