We are living in unprecedented times. The Coronavirus outbreak affected all our lives, businesses, and routines. You may be feeling overwhelmed or even scared. On top of that, you might have your own problems and situations to solve, and the change in everyone’s lives is preventing you from addressing some of them. Stress is pilling up.
You are not alone; it’s normal to feel stressed and even frustrated when we don’t really know what to expect next. In our Academy’s post last week, we covered some change management tips for you and your family to deal with this transition. Today I want to share some tips regarding stress management.
As everyone knows, high-stress levels increases stress hormones like cortisol. If you have these hormones in your body for a short time, all is good. That’s what they are meant for: fight or flight situations, that will get resolved soon. Either by you being eaten by the lion or by you successfully fleeing. All is not so good when stress levels are maintained for a more extended period. You may develop health conditions, exacerbate others, or reduce your immune system to the point that will allow new health problems.
Nobody wants that. That’s what stress management is for. So let’s have a look at some strategies to help mitigate a portion of the stress. Not all of them work for everybody. See what works for you, what inspires you.
See this nice video Coaching Expatriates put together for their followers with some stress management strategies, and then read the details below.
8 Power Strategies for Stress Management
1. Acknowledgment as an expression of emotions
Just because of the word “management” in “stress management,” things do not need to be complicated. Acknowledge how you are feeling, as a first step.
Pretending you are not scared or overwhelmed (or whatever it is that you are feeling) won’t do you any good. Acknowledge the feeling and then remember that you can ACT and PLAN things that are under your control to make things better. Focus on what’s under your control. Dr. David Hawkins created an excellent methodology in his book Letting Go: The Pathway of Surrender. It not only explains the difference between suppressing, repressing, and expressing feelings and emotions but also gives you an alternative to how to raise your emotional intelligence. In the same line, the book Energy Leadership, by Bruce D Schneider, also helps you understand how to acknowledge your feelings and actions. The book focuses on seven levels of energy, which, when understood, increases your awareness about your attitudes and help you better manage your results.
2. Breathing techniques
I’ve never seen this one being left out of any stress management course. Breathing exercises are beneficial for many people. It’s not for nothing that monks and Buddhists use and teach breathing techniques. They are powerful stress reducers. If you are one of these people who feel the benefit of breathing techniques, I suggest you try the box breathing technique. It goes like this:
- Inhale while counting to 4.
- Hold your breath while you count to 4.
- Exhale while counting to 4.
- Hold your breath while you count to 4.
- Repeat this process at least ten times.
You can change the count number to whatever brings you comfort. Count to the amount that fits well with your breath progression. A simpler box breathing technique can be excluding items b) and d) if it’s too challenging. You can build up after some practice. Practice using this instructional guide-through video from Take a Deep Breath.
Breathing deeply and consistently inundates your body with oxygen, which helps your brain function better. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), it is believed that breath is associated with Chi flow, which is the human’s vital energy of life. You can also find excellent breathing exercises in Qi-Gong classes, Tai-Chi, and so on. All these techniques are extremely relaxing and pleasant.
3. Setting boundaries
Many clients and friends reported going crazy now that they are working from home due to the Coronavirus outbreak. They made jokes saying that WFH does not stand for “working from home.” Instead, it stands for “working from HELL.” I can totally see where they are coming from.
Many of us do not set any rules and boundaries when it comes to working from home. Establishing some limits could be as simple as putting a sign at the door when you don’t want to be disturbed or as elaborate as purchasing a phone integrated signaling system that signals when you are on call and meetings, like the one offered by Luxafor.
This is just one example. You should find out what is creating stress for you in your “Hell’s office” and apply the concept by creating rules around what’s creating tension for you. Remember: this is not going to solve your stress. It is a challenging time, and we are all adjusting. This is meant to help with stress management.
4. Increase your confidence factor
Put together a solid master plan to go through whatever is causing you stress. Knowing what to do, when to do it, and how to do it raises people’s confidence and assertiveness. This, in turn, leads to better results naturally, which reduces stress. Learning how to create a solid plan to reduce stress is a big chunk of stress management techniques.
Don’t get caught up in other people’s negativism and judgment. In times of uncertainty, a lot of people snap. One thing is to be realistic about a catastrophe and plan things out. Another very different is just to entertain destructive and negative thoughts and do nothing about it.
Listen: it’s ok to vent, express your feelings, and feel upset. We are humans; we all need that! So long as afterward, you ask yourself, “ok, what can I do about it that is under my control?” Don’t let people distract you. Keep the focus on what’s under your control and act on it.
Having a support group is also very helpful in times of stress. A support group is people of your trust who you can turn to when you are stressed, and they will help you chill out. It could be close friends, relatives, your professional coach, and other professionals.
5. Meditation
Meditation works for many people when it comes to stress management. It also has a bonus that helps your mind become more focused when you are not meditating, as studies show.
A simple meditation exercise is to sit in a comfortable place, close your eyes, and observe the thoughts that come to your mind. Ask, “what is the color of my next thought.” Just wait for your next thought and identify its color. Keep doing this for a certain amount of time that is comfortable for you. This is a potent technique from the Kinslow System and works well as a stress reducer.
Transcendental meditation, mindfulness techniques, and many others exist out there. If they are too advanced for you, or too difficult for you, don’t feel discouraged. Just remember that sitting quietly with your eyes closed already works well enough. When you close your eyes, and they are kept still, this signals to your brain that you are in a safe environment, and this, in turn, makes your body alternate from stress hormones to healing hormones.
6. Companionship: connect with people
Humans are social beings. Being in isolation creates stress by virtue of our nature.
Recently, a friend shared with me an idea that was working for her. Every week, for half an hour or one hour, she would book a Zoom conference call with 3 to 5 friends. “We chatted about how things were going, how we were dealing with stuff, etc. Surprisingly, it was not only super pleasant, but it was also constructive to vent some feelings and get some new ideas to implement in our own situations. It also felt good to see everyone on video.”
Today is an incredible time for this! We have face time, skype, WhatsApp, Zoom and so many other free options to connect through the internet! If you want to conference with more people at the same time, there is Zoom, UberConferece, FreeConferenceCall, Google Hangouts, and many others.
7. Maintaining a healthy body
This goes without saying, but it’s essential to show up on the stress management list: we have to take care of our bodies. When our routines go out of wack, we tend to eat differently, not get hydrated enough, not pay attention to our exercise routine, and so on.
Make sure to include your wellness plan when you are putting your overall plan together. Consider these 4 main factors: a) food – am I eating foods that provide the right nutrients in this stressful time? b) water – how many glasses of water am I taking per day so that my body is adequately hydrated? c) sleep – do I satisfy my sleeping needs? d) exercise – how much exercise does my body need so that it keeps fit during this stressful time?
Again, the internet is an excellent free resource of ideas. There are many people on Youtube offering exercise classes, Yoga, QiGong, Tai-Chi, Cardio. Choose what fits you and your body needs, and include them in your plan. One idea is to start humble. 15 minutes 3 times per week sounds reasonable if you’ve been sedentary.
There are also many Android and iPhone Apps that help you with managing your wellness. Fitbit is my go-to App because it integrates food, water, exercise and sleep, and in one single application. They are offering their premium content for free, in support of the COVID19 situation. Take advantage to test it out.
8. Get professional help
If this is all too overwhelming for you, you don’t have to do it alone. You can hire a professional coach to help you solve inner and outer blocks, and create a plan to move you forward. Or you can employ specific professionals to work on your wellness routines. Or you might choose to look for a therapist, to work on your feelings, and heal anxiety-related syndromes. Whatever path you consciously choose, it is crucial to make sure you get the help that you need when you need it. Don’t linger in procrastination.
Final words
Once again, stress can be very insidious. It sounds like it’s nothing really major, but it can lead you to a very dark path. You don’t want that. Be proactive, recognize your tensions and its sources, and start working on it. One of my favorite mottos is that “Success comes for those who take action.” Be that person, and make sure you take action against your stress. Use our stress management tips here as a starting point.
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