Don’t Know How To Handle Stress?

You’re not alone; many adults have a hard time coping with the daily stress that life presents. You know what causes it; work, kids, spouse, family, finances. It feels that it keeps piling on and there is no way out.

Having stress is a part of life. Learning to deal with it in a healthy way is important, not only for your mental health, but also for your physical well-being. Stress takes a real toll on your body; increasing blood pressure, heart disease, and obesity to name a few.

Pin-pointing what your stressors are will help you be able to deal with them in a healthier manner.

• Work – Are you where you want to be? Do you gain any enjoyment from your job? If you answered no to these questions, what can you change? What would it take to alleviate work stress? What is it about your job that is causing the stress?
• Kids – Are your children talking back, having meltdowns, not listening, and misbehaving? What is behind their behavior? What kind of structure, discipline and guidance are you implementing at home? Would you benefit from parenting skills? Setting clear expectations for your children is important.  Modeling appropriate anger and coping with feelings is also vital with children.
• Spouse – Do you feel disconnected with your spouse, that you are not even on the same page? Do you argue with your spouse a lot or feel resentment toward them? You have to reconnect, learn fair fighting, and have better communication.
• Finances – Do you feel that you struggle financially, or feel that you have too much debt?  Setting goals, and learning better money management can help reduce financial stress.

Some stress in unavoidable, but healthy coping skills will allow you to reduce the symptoms associated with stress. It is important to learn what your stressors are in order to understand how to handle them. Implementing a good self-care routine also helps combat day-to-day stress.