Handle Stress Well
One of the skills that we really need in life is how we can handle stress and pressures of life well. Every human experiences stress at any time in his life. Stress occurs when there are certain standards or expectations that we cannot fulfil. Stress is not strange for us because we experience it every time and we live with him. Stress actually gives us the space to move forward if we can properly handle it. These are some ways how to handle stress according to the book “self-management series” written by Aribowo Prijaksono and Roy Sembel, and some of which are based on my experiences.
The first step when we want to handle stress in our lives is discipline ourselves with healthy food and balanced (Aribowo Pricaksono and Roy Sembel, 2003 : 6). Too much sugar, salt and coffee can make stress worse. When we often consume 3 things above, the level of sugar in the blood will be affected and can make us become lazy and weak. Replace the food consumption by consuming more fresh fruits and vegetables. Avoid bad habits like smoking, drinking and drugs.
The second ways to handle stress is relaxation (Aribowo Pricaksono and Roy Sembel, 2003 : 7). Relaxation is divided into two parts, the physical relaxation and mental relaxation. Physical relaxation can be done without spending much the time and cost. For example by walking in the morning or breathing exercises or we can also do the relaxation by stretching to help relaxing the muscles that tight. We will be very difficult to overcome life filled with stress if we are not healthy. If we are physically fit, we can be more fighting in the face of stress. Whereas mental relaxation can be done with balance between work and play. doing a hobby or whatever we enjoy, because this activity can make our minds relax.
Stress can grow and grow because we are always negative thinking. Change these negative thoughts and think rationally. Negative thoughts are usually based on the assumption that irrational and over fear. So that to avoid stress we should change our mind, we should have positive thoughts.
Another way which is an effective way to handle stress is involving with activities outside the home or office (Aribowo Pricaksono and Roy Sembel, 2003 : 9). Since by doing various activities outside the home, we can also share the problem with friends, especially to someone who cares about us.
When affected by stress, we just need to pamper ourselves. For example by eating a favorite food, buying things that had long been our dream, doing some activites with the things that make us feel happy, or call an old friend. to pamper yourself, thinking about what causes stress can be reduced.
Often stress caused by so many works and obligations that seem beyond our ability to do so. Make a list to do. Then arrange it based on priority or urgency. Avoid a commitment to resolve all of them. Do one by one on a priority basis, if necessary, delay or cancel a task that we are not able to finish it. So another way to handle stress is by making list to do our activities based on the emergency.
Stress is something we can control completely, if we really truly want to overcome it. The ways mentioned above are effective ways in handling stress. They can be used when we are having stress in our lives. So that we can face stress with the smile and of course we can face our lives just going on.
