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The best way to deal with stress


Tips for Coping with Stress|Publications|Violence Prevention|Injury Center|CDC

Many of us are facing challenges that can be stressful, overwhelming, and cause strong emotions in adults and children. Public health actions, such as physical distancing, can make us feel isolated and lonely and can increase stress and anxiety.

After a traumatic event, people may have strong and lingering reactions. Learning healthy ways to cope and getting the right care and support can help reduce stressful feelings and symptoms.

The symptoms may be physical or emotional. Common reactions to a stressful event can include:

  • Disbelief
  • Feelings of fear, shock, anger, sadness, worry, numbness, or frustration
  • Changes in appetite, energy, desires, and interests
  • Difficulty sleeping or nightmares, concentrating, and making decisions
  • Physical reactions, such as headaches, body pains, stomach problems, and skin rashes
  • Worsening of chronic health problems
  • Worsening of mental health conditions
  • Increased use of tobacco, alcohol, and other substances

It is natural to feel stress, anxiety, grief, and worry during traumatic events such as mass shootings, natural disasters, or pandemics. Below are ways that you can help yourself, others, and your community manage stress.

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Healthy Ways to Cope with Stress

Feeling emotional and nervous or having trouble sleeping and eating can all be normal reactions to stress. Here are some healthy ways you can deal with stress:

  • Take breaks from watching, reading, or listening to news stories, including those on social media. It’s good to be informed but hearing about the traumatic event constantly can be upsetting. Consider limiting news to just a couple of times a day and disconnecting from phone, tv, and computer screens for a while.
  • Take care of yourself. Eat healthy, exercise, get plenty of sleep, and give yourself a break if you feel stressed out.
  • Take care of your body.
    • Take deep breaths, stretch, or meditate.
    • Try to eat healthy, well-balanced meals.
    • Exercise regularly.
    • Get plenty of sleep.
    • Avoid excessive alcohol, tobacco, and substance use.
    • Continue with routine preventive measures (such as vaccinations, cancer screenings, etc.) as recommended by your healthcare provider.
    • Get vaccinated against COVID-19 as soon as possible; get a booster shot if you are age 18 or older.
  • Make time to unwind. Try to do some other activities you enjoy.
  • Talk to others. Talk with people you trust about your concerns and how you are feeling. Share your problems and how you are feeling and coping with a parent, friend, counselor, doctor, or pastor.
  • Connect with your community- or faith-based organizations.
  • Avoid drugs and alcohol. These may seem to help, but they can create additional problems and increase the stress you are already feeling.
  • Recognize when you need more help. If problems continue or you are thinking about suicide, talk to a psychologist, social worker, or professional counselor.

Check out Taking Care of Your Emotional Health for more information and resources.

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Helping Others Cope

Taking care of yourself can better equip you to take care of others. Helping others cope with stress through phone calls or video chats can help you and your loved ones feel less lonely or isolated.

Helping Children and Youth Cope with Stress

Children and youth often struggle with how to cope with stress. Youth can be particularly overwhelmed when their stress is connected to a traumatic event—like a natural disaster, family loss, school shootings, or community violence. Parents, caregivers, and educators can take steps to provide stability and support that help young people feel better.

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Tips

Tips for Parents and Caregivers
It is natural for children to worry when scary or stressful events happen in their lives. Talking to your children about these events can help put frightening information into a more balanced setting. Monitor what children see and hear about stressful events happening in their lives. Here are some suggestions to help children cope:

  • Maintain a normal routine. Helping children wake up, go to sleep, and eat meals at regular times provide them a sense of stability.
  • Talk, listen, and encourage expression. Listen to your child’s thoughts and feelings and share some of yours. After a traumatic event, it is important for children to feel they can share their feelings and that you understand their fears and worries.
  • Watch and listen. Be alert for any change in behavior. Any changes in behavior may be signs that your child is having trouble and may need support.
  • Stressful events can challenge a child’s sense of safety and security. Reassure your child about his or her safety and well-being. Discuss ways that you, the school, and the community are taking steps to keep them safe.
  • Connect with others. Talk to other parents and your child’s teachers about ways to help your child cope. It is often helpful for parents, schools, and health professionals to work together for the well-being of all children in stressful times.

Tips for Kids and Teens
After a traumatic event, it is normal to feel anxious about your safety and security. Even if you were not directly involved, you may worry about whether this type of event may someday affect you. Check out the tips below for some ideas to help deal with these fears.

  • Talk to and stay connected to others. Talking with someone you trust can help you make sense out of your experience. If you are not sure where to turn, call your local crisis intervention center or a national hotline.
  • Take care of yourself. Try to get plenty of sleep, eat right, exercise, and keep a normal routine.
  • Take information breaks. Pictures and stories about a disaster can increase worry and other stressful feelings. Taking breaks from the news, Internet, and conversations about the disaster can help calm you down.

Tips for School Personnel
School personnel can help their students restore their sense of safety by talking with the children about their fears. Other tips for school personnel include:

  • Reach out and talk. Create opportunities to have students talk, but do not force them. You can be a model by sharing some of your own thoughts as well as correct misinformation.
  • Watch and listen. Be alert for any change in behavior. Are students withdrawing from friends? Acting out? These changes may be early signs that a student is struggling and needs extra support from the school and family.
  • Maintain normal routines. A regular classroom and school schedule can provide a sense of stability and safety. Encourage students to keep up with their schoolwork and extracurricular activities but do not push them if they seem overwhelmed.
  • Take care of yourself. You are better able to support your students if you are healthy, coping and taking care of yourself first. Eat healthy, exercise, get plenty of sleep, and give yourself a break if you feel stressed out.

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Mental Health and Crisis

Resources and Social Support Services

  • Food and Food System Resources During COVID-19 Pandemic
  • Disaster Financial Assistance with Food, Housing, and Bills
  • Coronavirus Resources for Renters
  • US Department of Labor Coronavirus Resources
  • If you are struggling to cope, there are many ways to get help. Call your healthcare provider if stress gets in the way of your daily activities for several days in a row.
  • During times of extreme stress, people may have thoughts of suicide. Suicide is preventable and help is available. More about the risk of suicide, signs to watch for, and how to respond if you notice these signs in yourself or a friend or a loved one, can be found here.
  • Free and confidential crisis resources can also help you or a loved one connect with a skilled, trained counselor in your area.

After a natural disaster, it’s normal to feel different and strong emotions. Coping with these feelings and getting help when you need it will help you, your family, and your community recover from a disaster. Resources to help with coping and stress after a natural disaster are available for teens as well as parents and professionals.

If you are in crisis, get immediate help:

  • Call 911
  • Disaster Distress Helpline: call or text 1-800-985-5990 (for Spanish, press “2”) to be connected with a trained counselor.
  • Call or text 988
  • Chat at 988lifeline.org
  • National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 or text LOVEIS to 22522
  • National Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800-4AChild (1-800-422-4453) or text 1-800-422-4453
  • National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or Online Chat
  • The Eldercare Locator: 1-800-677-1116  TTY Instructions
  • Veteran’s Crisis Line: 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or Crisis Chat or text: 8388255

Find a health care provider or treatment for substance use disorder and mental health

  • SAMHSA’s National Helpline: 1-800-662-HELP (4357) and TTY 1-800-487-4889
  • Treatment Services Locator Website
  • Interactive Map of Selected Federally Qualified Health Centers

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For Everyone

  • How Right Now
  • Coping with a Disaster or Traumatic Event
  • General Public: Care for Yourself [348 KB, 1 page]
  • Young Adults: Care for Yourself [839 KB, 1 page]
  • HHS ASPR TRACIE COVID-19 Behavioral Health Resources external icon
  • Food and Food System Resources During COVID-19 Pandemic

For Families and Children

  • Helping Children Cope during the Pandemic
  • Helping Children Cope with Emergencies
  • Coping After a Disaster [1. 9 MB, 20 pages]– A Ready Wrigley activity book for children age 3-10
  • Teen Depression
  • Family Caregivers: Care for Yourself [732 KB, 1 page]
  • Students: Care for Yourself [688 KB, 1 page]
  • Food Assistance Programs

For People at Higher Risk for Serious Illness

  • Serious Illness Care Program COVID-19 Response Toolkit
  • Older Adults: Care for Yourself [911 KB, 1 page]

For Healthcare Workers and First Responders

  • Emergency Responders: Tips for Taking Care of Yourself
  • Disaster Technical Assistance Center
  • First Responders: Care for Yourself [770 KB, 1 page]
  • Clinicians: Care for Yourself [685 KB, 1 page]

For Other Workers

  • Working Adults: Care for Yourself [818 KB, 1 page]
  • Critical Workers: Care for Yourself [719 KB, 1 page]
  • Teachers: Encourage Your Students to Care for Themselves [976 KB, 1 page]

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Ways to Manage and Reduce It

Written by WebMD Editorial Contributors

In this Article

  • 1. Exercise
  • 2.Relax Your Muscles
  • 3.Deep Breathing
  • 4.Eat Well
  • 5.Slow Down
  • 6.Take a Break
  • 7.Make Time for Hobbies
  • 8.Talk About Your Problems
  • 9.Go Easy On Yourself
  • 10.Eliminate Your Triggers

These days it’s hard not to get overwhelmed once in a while. Between juggling work, family, and other commitments, you can become too stressed out and busy. But you need to set time aside to unwind or your mental and physical health can suffer.

Learning how to manage your stress takes practice, but you can -- and need to -- do it. Here are 10 ways to make it easier.

1.Exercise

Working out regularly is one of the best ways to relax your body and mind. Plus, exercise will improve your mood. But you have to do it often for it to pay off.

So how much should you exercise every week?

Work up to 2 hours and 30 minutes of moderately intense exercise like brisk walks or 75 minutes of a more vigorous exercise like swimming laps, jogging or other sports.

Focus on setting fitness goals you can meet so you don’t give up. Most of all remember that doing any exercise is better than none at all.

2.Relax Your Muscles

When you’re stressed, your muscles get tense. You can help loosen them up on your own and refresh your body by:

  • Stretching
  • Enjoying a massage
  • Taking a hot bath or shower
  • Getting a good night’s sleep

3.Deep Breathing

Stopping and taking a few deep breaths can take the pressure off you right away. You’ll be surprised how much better you feel once you get good at it. Just follow these 5 steps:

  1. Sit in a comfortable position with your hands in your lap and your feet on the floor. Or you can lie down.
  2. Close your eyes.
  3. Imagine yourself in a relaxing place. It can be on the beach, in a beautiful field of grass, or anywhere that gives you a peaceful feeling.
  4. Slowly take deep breaths in and out.
  5. Do this for 5 to 10 minutes at a time.

4.Eat Well

Eating a regular, well-balanced diet will help you feel better in general. It may also help control your moods. Your meals should be full of vegetables, fruit, whole grains, and lean protein for energy. And don’t skip any. It’s not good for you and can put you in a bad mood, which can actually increase your stress.

5.Slow Down

Modern life is so busy, and sometimes we just need to slow down and chill out. Look at your life and find small ways you can do that. For example:

  • Set your watch 5 to 10 minutes ahead. That way you’ll get places a little early and avoid the stress of being late.
  • When you’re driving on the highway, switch to the slow lane so you can avoid road rage.
  • Break down big jobs into smaller ones. For example, don’t try to answer all 100 emails if you don’t have to -- just answer a few of them.

6.Take a Break

You need to plan on some real downtime to give your mind time off from stress. If you’re a person who likes to set goals, this may be hard for you at first. But stick with it and you’ll look forward to these moments. Restful things you can do include:

  • Meditation
  • Yoga
  • Tai chi
  • Prayer
  • Listening to your favorite music
  • Spending time in nature

7.Make Time for Hobbies

You need to set aside time for things you enjoy. Try to do something every day that makes you feel good, and it will help relieve your stress. It doesn’t have to be a ton of time -- even 15 to 20 minutes will do. Relaxing hobbies include things like:

  • Reading
  • Knitting
  • Doing an art project
  • Playing golf
  • Watching a movie
  • Doing puzzles
  • Playing cards and board games

8.Talk About Your Problems

If things are bothering you, talking about them can help lower your stress. You can talk to family members, friends, a trusted clergyman, your doctor, or a therapist.

And you can also talk to yourself. It’s called self-talk and we all do it. But in order for self-talk to help reduce stress you need to make sure it’s positive and not negative.

So listen closely to what you’re thinking or saying when you’re stressed out. If you’re giving yourself a negative message, change it to a positive one. For example, don’t tell yourself “I can’t do this.” Tell yourself instead: “I can do this,” or “I’m doing the best I can.”

9.Go Easy On Yourself

Accept that you can’t do things perfectly no matter how hard you try. You also can’t control everything in your life. So do yourself a favor and stop thinking you can do so much. And don’t forget to keep up your sense of humor. Laughter goes a long way towards making you feel relaxed.

10.Eliminate Your Triggers

Figure out what are the biggest causes of stress in your life. Is it your job, your commute, your schoolwork? If you’re able to identify what they are, see if you’re able to eliminate them from your life, or at least reduce them.

If you can’t identify the main causes of your stress, try keeping a stress journal. Make note of when you become most anxious and see if you can determine a pattern, then find ways to remove or lessen those triggers.

Health & Balance Guide

  1. A Balanced Life
  2. Take It Easy
  3. CAM Treatments

10 ways to deal with stress

The frantic pace of modern life often threatens a person with stress. Various troubles can completely demoralize a person: problems in the family, numerous minor failures, conflicts at work.

Therefore, everyone needs to know how to relieve stress.

1. Take a break. The main source of stress is overexertion, so rest helps to deal with it. But this does not mean that you need to sit in front of the TV all day, have an active rest, go to nature, to fresh air. nine0003

2. Vitamin therapy. Stress causes the human body to turn on all internal reserves, in order to maintain its performance, eat healthy foods rich in vitamins C (apples, tomatoes, rose hips) and B (dried fruits, cabbage, beets, almonds, chicken liver, fish, etc. .).

3. Proper nutrition . Another way to relieve stress is to eat foods that improve your mood. As you know, an indispensable assistant in the fight against stress is the hormone of happiness - serotonin, and foods such as bananas, almonds, chocolate and many others contribute to its production. But not all foods will help you fight stress, limit your intake of sugar, caffeine and fatty foods as much as possible. Stop snacking if you're not hungry. If insomnia is your constant companion - ventilate the room at night, limit your caffeine intake, do not eat before bed. nine0003

4. Aromatherapy. The beneficial effects of aromatic essential oils have been known since ancient times. Essential oils of rose, lavender, jasmine and cypress have a calming effect.

5. Psychological assistance. Intimate conversation as a way to relieve stress is very effective. Sometimes a person in a state of emotional stress simply needs to speak out, often in order to see the problem from a different angle, it is enough just to voice it. Friends can help you deal with stress. nine0007 Also, if you find yourself in a difficult life situation, you can apply for qualified assistance directly to the institution "Bykhov District Center for Social Services for the Population" or by calling 77 - 724, the National Children's Help Line (phone - 8-0801-100-1611).

6. Extreme in the fight against bad mood . Another effective way to relieve stress is to expose the body to a new type of stress.

7. Go in for sports. nine0008 Sports help to deal with stressful situations, and they also make the body more resistant to emotional influences. This is a great way out for many - to do physical exercises. And, it doesn't matter which ones. Perhaps it will be running, push-ups, cycling, strength training. Try it and you will see that it really works! The greatest effect will be from exercises where regular repetitions are needed (for example, running) makes the body relax. And this, in turn, makes your body and brain respond to stress adequately. nine0003

8. The oldest system - yoga . With the help of yoga, you can relax, understand yourself, and also strengthen your muscles. Try to meditate. Close your eyes and breathe deeply and slowly. On each inhalation and exhalation, repeat some pleasant phrase or word. This simple exercise can bring the body into balance, help to relax and relieve stress.

9. Be careful. Avoid situations that may lead to emotional distress.

10. Smile more often. If you smile more often, you can cause a good mood on a subconscious level. Praise yourself. Positive feedback stimulates the production of the hormone cortisol, which is responsible for neutralizing stress.

It is possible and necessary to deal with stress, the main thing is to choose suitable methods of relieving stress for yourself, and for this you can resort to the above tips.

Psychotherapist Tereshchenko A.V.

17 ways to protect yourself from stress

Ministry of Health of the Astrakhan Region
GBUZ Center for Medical Prevention JSC

Memo

17 ways to protect yourself from stress


Prevention of stress is an important condition for preserving 9005, 9000 9000 9000 . And it is important to follow the general principles

to increase the level of resistance to stressful situations.

This will prolong your life and increase its level several times.

Here are ways to control unpleasant experiences:


1. Take everything easy
You should not take everything to heart and worry about every trifle. Learn to calmly perceive any events in your life. Imagine that you are a sieve, or a cloud, and all stresses pass through you without leaving a trace. nine0003


2. Learn to think positively
If you are under stress, positive thinking will help you. Its essence is that you need to concentrate on positive thoughts and memories.


3. Use switching methods
Do you have unpleasant thoughts? Don't give them power. Switch. Shift your focus to the outside world. See what makes you happy. Concentrate on what you see and hear in the moment. nine0003


4. Release negative emotions
Suppressed emotions increase stress and can lead to depression. So let's get them out. Naturally, this must be done in a positive way. So as not to harm others. For example, beat pillows or engage in forgiveness.


5. Laugh more
Laughter is the best prevention of stress. Don't neglect her. Watch comedies, use laughter therapy, smile at passers-by. nine0003


6. Exercise
Sports help you cope with stress. Therefore, if you want to maintain emotional health, sign up for your favorite sports section and enjoy regular workouts.


7. Be grateful for what you have
Gratitude is a very good way to prevent stress. Instead of constant dissatisfaction, you will begin to enjoy what you have. nine0003


8. Relax
This method is very useful. All doctors and psychologists recommend daily autogenic training for 10-30 minutes to prevent stress.


9. Take a trip
A friend of mine experienced chronic stress related to her health concerns and being fired from her job. Her lover gave her a ticket to Mexico. After her return, she is unrecognizable. She left all the stresses in another country. Give it a try if you love to travel. nine0060 By the way, it is not necessary to go to another country, you can do tourism even in your hometown.


10.Take baths
Great for relaxing. Especially with essential oils.


11. Be outdoors
Outdoors is recommended for everyone without exception. Therefore, make it a habit for yourself to walk the streets of your native city every day for an hour. It is even better to take walks in the forest or park. nine0003


12. Use auto-suggestion
Choose the right affirmation for you and say it out loud or to yourself as often as possible, tuning in to the desired wave. For example, if you are worried at work, you can say the following formula: "Inside and around me, peace and harmony."


13. Find yourself a hobby
A favorite hobby is a wonderful stress prevention. So ask yourself: What do I like to do? Perhaps write poetry, cook culinary masterpieces or study psychology. Got the answer. Okay. And now, without delay, proceed to an interesting lesson. nine0003


14. Make a list of things that make you happy
Take a few minutes to write down your favorite pastimes that make you happy. These classes are your salvation from stress.


14. Dream and fantasize
There is a technique in positive psychology called Visualization. Its essence is that you dream about what you want, do it with pleasure and in the present tense. And then you get what you drew in your imagination. nine0003


16. Keep a diary
A diary helps you understand yourself, analyze your life and find a way out of difficult situations.

Learn more