Stress Management

Stress management offers a range of strategies to help you better deal with stress and difficulty (adversity) in your life. Managing stress can help you lead a more balanced, healthier life. Stress is an automatic physical, mental and emotional response to a challenging event.

Stress is subjective — not measurable with tests. Only the person experiencing it can determine whether it's present and how severe it feels. A counsellor may use questionnaires to understand your stress and how it affects your life.

Physical symptoms of stress include:

• Aches and pains.

• Chest pain or a feeling like your heart is racing.

• Exhaustion or trouble sleeping.

• Headaches, dizziness or shaking.

• High blood pressure.

• Muscle tension or jaw clenching.

• Stomach or digestive problems.

• Trouble having sex.

• Weak immune system.

Stress can lead to emotional and mental symptoms like:

• Anxiety or irritability.

• Depression.

• Panic attacks.

• Sadness.

Often, people with chronic stress try to manage it with unhealthy behaviors, including:

• Drinking alcohol too much or too often.

• Gambling.

• Overeating or developing an eating disorder.

• Participating compulsively in sex, shopping or internet browsing.

• Smoking.

• Using drugs.

Top 10 Emergency Stress-Stoppers

Emergency stress-stoppers are actions to help you defuse stress in the moment. You may need different stress-stoppers for different situations, and sometimes it helps to combine them.

Here are some stress relievers :

1. Count to 10 before you speak or react.

2. Take a few slow, deep breaths until you feel your body un-clench a bit and have some Positive Self Talk

3. Go for a walk, even if it’s just to the restroom and back. It can give you a chance to think things through.

4. Try a quick meditation or prayer to get some perspective.

5. If it’s not urgent, sleep on it and respond tomorrow. This works especially well for stressful emails and social media trolls.

6. Walk away from the situation for a while, and handle it later once things have calmed down.

7. Break down big problems into smaller parts. Take one step at a time.

8. Turn on some chill music or an inspirational podcast to help you deal with road rage.

9. Take a break to pet the dog, hug a loved one or do something to help someone else.

10. Work out or do something active. Exercise is a great antidote for stress.