Life isn't always easy. When you're blindsided by one of life's hardships, you may have a difficult time picking up the pieces and moving on. You may ruminate about what has happened and feel paralyzed. As you probably already know, this does not accomplish anything and you are left feeling depressed and defeated.
Fortunately, you don't have to feel stuck in that situation. There are some things you can do to begin the difficult process of getting over a stressful situation. Start with the tips below when you are ready to focus on moving past stressful circumstances. The actions you take now to conquer stress will help you build your resilience and provide you with the confidence to face whatever challenges come your way.
Analyze the Situation
When you are faced with a stressful situation, step back and analyze how it happened so you will better understand what you are dealing with. Many times, a situation is stressful because it's overwhelming. If you can break the situation down into parts and clearly identify the stressors, it may become much more manageable. Whether you think through the situation or write about it, this can help you put things in perspective so you can move forward.
Seek Resolution
Once you've analyzed and broken down the situation, it's time to start resolving the situation. Most stressful situations don't have an easy fix, but rather require progress to be made step-by-step. Use what you learned from analyzing the situation, then develop and implement a stress reduction plan. This can work with many different circumstances. For example:
- If you are behind at work, you can take small tasks and complete those before moving on to others. Once you get caught up, start improving your time management skills.
- If you are having relationship trouble, work with your partner to figure out the underlying cause for or source of the problem and begin working through the issues together.
Prioritize Self-Care
You can't deal with a stressful situation effectively if you are running on empty. Prioritize your health by making sure to get enough sleep, nutritious food, and exercise. You may also benefit from using some relaxation techniques to help lower your stress levels. Taking a break can help you come back to the situation with a better perspective and more initiative to deal with it. The key is to boost your wellness through positive strategies for managing stress.
Reach Out for Help
If you find yourself facing a situation that you can't figure out how to navigate, you may need to reach out for help in order to be able to cope with it. Your situation may be one that a family member or friend can help with, or it may be in your best interest to seek help from a professional therapist or counselor. Reaching out for professional help is a great way to get the expert guidance and advice you may need in order to let go of the situation and free yourself from its stress.
Take Time to Recover
Once you've dealt with the stressful situation, the effects of stress aren't going to immediately go away. After all, stress can affect your health and wellbeing in many ways, both physical and psychological. Self-care is critical after dealing with the trauma of a stressful situation. This is the time to implement appropriate stress management techniques to lower your stress levels.
- Self-talk - Now that you've dealt with the situation and it's resolved, use positive self-talk to give yourself a pat on the back and congratulate yourself on a job well done. Acknowledge that it's over and that you handled it well.
- Reward yourself - Once you have made it through a stressful situation, take some time for yourself and do something you enjoy. Reading yourself in this way can help your stress levels and you will feel so much stronger afterward.
- Recuperation - Stress is a hard job. Your body and mind have worked overtime. Allow yourself to recuperate once the situation is behind you. Consider getting a relaxing massage, catching up on sleep, or engaging in mindful meditation.
