What Are Two Ways People Can Deal With Stress?

When stress builds up too much, it can affect us in ways we don't realize. It can cause health problems, so it's vital that we have some ways to deal with stress in different situations.

Time Management

• Get used to making notes of all correspondence to keep better organized and reduce the chances of wasted time that leads to stress.

  Most people who suffer from stress complain they don't have the time to do everything. Worrying so much about this can often make the tasks at hand more difficult to complete and take up even more time, adding to the stress. Effective time management, combined with mindfulness and awareness of what is achievable, can take time to learn but can have a dramatic and positive effect on stress levels. Try these steps each day, week, month of even year: List your tasks; prioritize the tasks but allow some flexibility; consider the urgency and importance of each task; take each step at a time; and try not to worry about the next task or how much you have to do overall -- because that way you don't focus fully on the task in hand.

Keep Fit and Healthy

• Once you're better organized, you can focus on two key ways to deal with stress. Putting aside a little time each day to focus on you and your body can ease the tension caused by stress and alleviate some of the stress naturally. This can make you more able and confident to combat stress. Exercise, when done regularly, helps you regain control and enhances the mood by releasing endorphins into the body. Mix up the types of exercise you do. Keeping fit does not mean that you have to spend hours in the gym. Variety is crucial. Go for speed walks outdoors, attend yoga classes or teach yourself using a DVD, go swimming at the weekend or early in the morning or start playing team games and train during the evenings. You may be amazed by how much you can fit in and how much better you will feel.

Motivate Yourself to Change

• Motivation is crucial for reducing stress. The most common excuse for not taking time to spend exercising or resting is that there is not enough time, but if you allow stress to continue, you risk a plethora of health problems. Weigh the pros and cons of making small changes to your lifestyle and make a list of why you need to change. Think about how it will affect your relationships with others if you either continue your stressful life and compare that with how things could be different.

How to Make the Changes

• Don't change everything at once. If you go from giving yourself no time at all for exercise to hitting the gym four days a week, it will feel like too much and you will likely return to your old routine. Write down your main motivations. It could be your physical or mental health, your family or your social life. Put them somewhere obvious so that you can remain focused on those. Team up with a friend so that you can encourage each other and discuss the positive changes.