What is Stress Management?


by Trevor Dumbleton - Date: 2006-12-31 - Word Count: 403 Share This!

Stress management is our way of dealing with the modern disease of stress. Back when we were living in caves, things were arguably much simpler. Historically we learned that when we were under attack we had to either stay and fight or run away. To help us make this decision, our adrenalin levels increased.

Nowadays we aren't likely to be attacked by a saber toothed tiger but our adrenalin levels still rise when we are under a perceived threat. The increased heart rate that goes hand in hand with this is one of the main causes of stress in modern day life.

Managing stress is important otherwise we'll ultimately end up in a hospital bed with tubes dripping into us. We need to deal with stress management in our lives.

So what exactly is stress management?

Put simply, stress management is anything that we do that, either consciously or subconsciously, causes us to reduce our stress levels.

It could be a meditation or breathing exercise.

It could be exercise, which releases lots of positive endorphins into our system, causing us to feel better about ourselves.

It could be as simple as realizing that the event that caused our stress is totally beyond our control. If we can step back and distance ourselves from the event, sometimes that is all that is needed to manage the stress.

There are numerous techniques for stress management. Many stress management techniques are simple. These are usually my favorites as I'm more likely to practice a simple stress management technique.

Modern Western society also attempts to produce "magic bullets" to help control stress. These can take the form of blood pressure tablets and other medicines. My personal view is that these should only be used temporarily or as a last resort, although naturally if you are concerned about managing the stress in your life then you should consult your doctor or other qualified professional.

Oftentimes you will find that something as simple as practicing meditation on a daily basis will be enough to bring about a positive change in your stress levels and help to reduce them.

Whichever method you choose for your stress management, make sure that you actually do something! Simply letting your stress build up is asking for trouble, so make sure that you instigate some form of stress management in your life sooner rather than later. Ultimately, what is stress management is probably your own personal decision, based on what works best for you.


Related Tags: stress, self help, stress management, reduce stress, stress test

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