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Feeling Stressed Out

This page was reviewed or revised on Thursday, October 29, 2009 10:21 AM

Quick Tips

Feeling "Stressed Out?"

Stress is the ‘wear and tear’ our bodies experience as we adjust to our continually changing environment. Most of us experience varying levels of stress daily. Believe it or not, some stress is needed in our everyday lives to keep us motivated and challenged. However, too much stress ends up making us feel overwhelmed and anxious and can lead to distress. The trick is to strike a balance between healthy and unhealthy levels of stress. This is not done by avoiding stress in your life, but by learning how to respond to the things that cause you stress.

In response to high levels of stress, many of us adopt unhealthy behaviours such as overeating, smoking and drinking too much alcohol. Such a response can not only increase stress, but eventually lead to heart disease by causing an increase in blood cholesterol and increased blood pressure.

However, to prevent stress from taking over your life, both physically and psychologically, remember to keep things in perspective and don’t feel that every task needs to be accomplished at once. Remember to prioritise.

There are many ways of tackling everyday stressors such as being caught in traffic or dealing with family conflict. Some ideas on how to cope wih stress include:

• Setting defined sleeping hours and sticking to them
• Taking a Break!
• Say "No" more often
• Postpone major life changes (if possible) until stress levels are reduced
• Eat a ‘stress-relieving’ diet, including more vegetables and fruit and decreasing your sugar and caffeine consumption
• Try to exercise for at least 30 minutes daily
• Avoid sleeping pills or other sedatives
• Remember that positive life changes i.e., moving, new job, can be just as stressful as negative changes
• Deep breathing
• Stretching - either at your desk or at home
• Walk - walking can help you relax and re-energize your body at the same time!
• Sleep - try to get more sleep. Or, if you have problems falling asleep, get up and read or watch TV. Sometimes trying to make yourself fall asleep can be more stressful.
• Have Fun - it’s just as important to relax and have fun during the day as it is to get your work done. Make time for hobbies you enjoy or outings with family and friends.
• Don’t feel you have to do everything at once. Designate a certain time to fulfill tasks so that you don’t become resentful of the fact that you were not able to have any fun time.

For more information on stress and how to deal with stress in your workplace please call theCommunity Health Services at (519) 383-8331, extension 508.