For eight years, American scientists conducted a study in which they studied the attitude to stress of 30 thousand people. According to the data obtained, among those who noted a high level of stress and were convinced of its harm, the risk of death during this period was 43% higher. Study participants who did not believe that stress was harmful to health had the lowest risk of death, even lower than respondents with minimal levels of stress.
So what is mental toughness? This is a person's reaction to anxiety, as well as the methods we use to deal with stress. But people are not born with it. This is a permanent choice, a way of thinking that is completely achievable for each of us. Here are 10 tips to help you develop your mental toughness.
The main benefit is belief in good, positive thinking.
A depressed state, a gloomy defeatist mood, and lack of self-confidence are the main obstacles to success and a direct path to failure. Stress acts as a reminder that it’s time to switch to a different evaluation approach, to a different way of thinking. How to relate to what is happening - positively or negatively - is solely the choice of the individual. Optimistic people almost always win, since they use positive attitudes in solving the most difficult situations, while pessimists are doomed to failure in advance.
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As a result of all that has been said, I would like to wish everyone who is experiencing stress to find the strength to change their attitude from a negative to a constructive positive, not to indulge in suffering and self-flagellation, not to look for those to blame, but to do something, change and move on with the experience gained, not making mistakes again.
Some exercises will show you how to relieve stress in a couple of seconds
By making lifestyle changes, you can relieve stress over the long term, and in the short term, you can immediately tame the defense response by stopping the firing in your brain. Cooling down your body's inflammatory response due to these stress hormones and stopping anxiety or panic can be done using a simple breathing technique.
I recently learned this technique from a local psychologist who specializes in stress, panic and anxiety. This is extremely helpful when you feel restless and anxious.
The technique is called 4-7-8 Breathing:
Inhale through your nose, counting to 4.
Hold your breath for a count of 7.
Release your breath from your mouth with a whooshing sound for a count of 8.
Without a break, breathe again, repeating the entire technique 3-4 times in a row, and then resume normal breathing and activity.
If you use a watch to count your breaths, the entire exercise will only take 57 seconds! But it doesn't really matter, since each count lasts virtually a second; all that matters is that you count evenly and the 4-7-8 ratio is maintained.
You may feel soft and light-headed after this exercise. This is actually a sign that it is working and that it is right for you. Feel free to do it as often as you like, but it may take time to get used to it.
Many people find that this breathing technique immediately ends anxiety or panic.
Why does this technique work?
The 4 7 8 breathing technique works because your breathing becomes very slow. People who experience long-term, chronic stress often breathe rapidly and are in a constant state of mild hypoxia or oxygen deprivation.
Additionally, breathing this way can cause excess carbon dioxide to accumulate in your tissues, which contributes to oxidative stress and inflammation in your body.
It's hard to think clearly if you're not getting enough oxygen. And when you are completely under the control of anxiety or panic, general shallow breathing unconsciously retains oxygen, which affects your thinking and health!
But by relying on the 4-second inhalation technique, you slowly and consciously take in more oxygen.
Then, holding your breath for a count of 7 seconds, you allow oxygen to saturate the blood as much as possible to cleanse and activate all cells, tissues and organs.
Finally, by exhaling at a rate of 8, you expel all the carbon dioxide from your lungs.
The breathing technique basically takes your normal shallow breathing and turns it on its head. This has some serious consequences for your body.
How to strengthen the nervous system
In a difficult situation, the body requires more energy. However, this only applies to spiritual energy. You shouldn’t “eat up” your emotions with chocolate or baked goods. Apathy is accompanied by suppression of appetite only on the first day. Then your appetite returns to normal, and there is a risk of gaining extra pounds.
There is a strong stereotypical idea that nervous tension stimulates metabolism due to the release of adrenaline and increased blood circulation. However, it is not. On the contrary, during strong experiences, metabolic processes in the body slow down. Therefore, you should deal with stress in advance. Methods should be psychological and not involve increasing the calorie content of food.
You should take care of a healthy lifestyle and daily routine, ensure proper sleep and moderate physical activity. It will strengthen the body and withstand physiological stress.
Help from specialists
Stress can become chronic, and your own efforts are not enough to return to normal life. Health problems appear: temperature rises, sleep problems arise, vision is impaired, arrhythmia develops, which is accompanied by a feeling of fear and increased anxiety. In this case, you definitely need professional help from a psychotherapist who will help you gain mental and physical strength and return to normal life.
Do not forget that it is important to learn how to cope with stress on your own, since it is constantly present in our lives.
Control your emotions
Negative information flow, conflicts in the family, troubles at work - all this can cause emotional stress. It is impossible and not necessary to protect yourself from public life by locking yourself within four walls. However, it is important that in times of emotional stress a person can get support from relatives, friends or have the opportunity to contact a psychologist.
Stress: a fresh look at an eternal problem
More details
Play sports
Physical education is like stress in miniature. First, the body mobilizes, then adapts, and finally rests. That is, it goes through all the same stages as during stress. Therefore, people who lead an active lifestyle and play sports are more adapted to meeting an unusual situation.
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Sports motivation: how to force yourself to do fitness
In addition, during training a person begins to breathe deeply and correctly. And breathing exercises are one of the best sedatives. When you inhale deeply and exhale slowly, carbon dioxide is formed, which has an anti-anxiety effect.
Definition of the concept
In English, this term means pressure, compression. Stress is any situation that makes a person nervous and worried on both an emotional and physiological level. Sometimes a person gets upset over a trivial matter, and sometimes he lives for a very long time in a state of incessant conflict. In both the first and second cases, what happened does not pass without a trace for our body. Signs of stress are:
- cardiopalmus;
- increased blood pressure;
- labored breathing;
- dizziness and headache;
- problems with the gastrointestinal tract;
- increased sweating;
- increased anxiety and nervousness.
The body reacts to stress at the mental level:
- strong emotional outburst;
- unpleasant associations ingrained in the mind;
- inability to let go of negativity;
- continuous replay of what happened even after the passage of time;
- physical and mental burnout.
Once under the influence of a stress factor, the body goes through several main stages. The first thing to appear is anxiety. To influence what happened, the body activates all its forces. At a subconscious level, the brain decides which organs need to be used first. After which adaptation occurs: the body gets used to functioning in emergency mode.
At the last stage, when the stressful problem is solved, mental and physical exhaustion sets in. After stress, a person has no strength, and it takes a lot of time to replenish it.
After a mental shock, we return to our normal lives, retaining in our memories all the negative feelings that we experienced. Pain, fear, anger, resentment haunt us, filling our thoughts - we begin to feel bad. Very often, mental pain is accompanied by physical health problems that can develop as a result of stress. In many cases, the catalyst for diseases such as asthma, diabetes, oncology, problems in the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract and cardiovascular system are hidden negative emotions.
Definition of Stress
↑ Medicines or healing properties of health. What is the best way to overcome stress?
How to overcome the effects of stress? This situation can be overcome in various ways. Unfortunately, today there is no cure for it, but treatment must be approached comprehensively. Medications help the patient cope with nervousness or outbursts of aggressiveness.
Also, ways to overcome stress include prescribing B vitamins, since in a constant negative environment, immunity decreases. In addition, herbal infusions have a positive effect. Since they contain a large amount of vitamins and minerals.
They will help eliminate the adverse consequences that are provoked by emotional experiences.
Attention! Taking medication is one of the most preferred ways to cope with anxiety for most people. However, some scientists believe that drugs can cause addiction in a person, both psychological and physical. Therefore, you should not abuse them, and it is recommended to drink them only on the recommendation of a doctor, in small courses.
Tips for coping with stress
Stress, like any other reaction, can be managed. People differ in their sensitivity to difficult situations. Some are able to persevere through hardships because they have good adaptability. Others become hysterical or depressed.
Everyone needs to learn how to cope with severe stress, since such a reaction in the body can occur at a time when a person is least prepared for it.
There are different ways to cope with a stressful situation. The approach should be chosen depending on the personality type and character:
- Active actions are suitable for choleric and sanguine people. It is especially useful to switch to another type of work or leisure. The main principle is fundamental changes.
- For melancholic and phlegmatic people, slowing down the pace of activity is suitable. A relaxing holiday is optimal: fishing, walking, reading, being in the fresh air. These methods are especially effective if you follow a daily routine and diet. The main principle is peace of thoughts and feelings, absence of emotional outbursts.
Content:
- 1 Types of stress
- 2 Ways to cope with stress
- 3 How to gently relieve stress
- 4 Medicines or healing properties of health. What is the best way to overcome stress?
- 5 In conclusion
Each person is individual and reacts completely differently to the presence of stress in their life. Therefore, the smartest way to improve your emotional state is a strategy for interacting with the stressor.
