Stress has become a common factor in everyday life. But stress can be effectively managed with the right tools. This post will uncover three of the best ways to deal with everyday stress and discuss whether all stress is bad.

According to the American Psychological Association (APA), a third of all adults “said they have too much stress in their day-to-day lives to think about the future.” This is a harrowing statistic, especially when stress can impact so many other aspects of life, including careers and relationships.

Is All Stress Bad?

A lot of the stress that you will experience can be bad, but that doesn’t mean all stress is bad. Some stress can be good; it helps you focus on something or get tasks done. It is how you manage your stress that doesn’t make the most significant difference to your mental wellbeing.

Reframing your thoughts about stress can allow you to determine whether the stress you experience is good or bad, and it will also ensure your coping methods, which are explored in the next section, are suitable.

How to Cope with Stress

This post outlines three of the best ways to deal with everyday stress. These tips are easy to use on a day-to-day basis, making your stress reduction more effective.

Practice Deep Breathing

When you feel stress in the moment, it can be difficult to lessen it. Deep breathing exercises can activate the relaxation response in the body.

These exercises engage the diaphragm, slow your breathing, and send signals to the brain to calm you. This then results in lowered blood pressure, heart rate, and stress hormone levels. Simply put, it tricks the body into thinking it’s safe.

Your deep breathing exercises will be more effective when you complete them in a comfortable position, so you are encouraged to sit with your back straight. You can inhale slowly through your nose, expanding your belly, before exhaling through your mouth. This process should be repeated for several minutes.

Create Boundaries

People, especially people pleasers, can often take on more than they can manage, leading to excess stress. This can be stopped by saying “no” to requests that could add to your workload.

For example, if a colleague needs to leave work early, they might ask you to cover their calls as well as your own duties. To ensure you are selective about what you take on, decide your priorities and set boundaries to protect them.

Creating and maintaining your boundaries will help you to guard your wellbeing. Not only that, but it could also allow you to create a healthy work-life balance.

However, it can be challenging to stop yourself from backtracking after setting a boundary, especially if you feel guilt or shame afterward. This will become easier over time as you practice maintaining these boundaries.

Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle

Probably the most effective way to deal with everyday stress is to create a healthy lifestyle you can follow. This will require a combination of dietary and exercise changes to be made and continued in the long term.

Most people find it easier to start by increasing their physical activity, which can help release more endorphins. Adults are encouraged to complete at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise each week.

Next, people should aim to eat a balanced diet to reduce the stress they experience. While eating lots of processed foods could increase stress levels, this can also cause nutritional deficiencies.

Nutrients, such as B vitamins and magnesium, are essential for regulating mood and stress, and eating beans, fish, vegetables, and other whole foods can ensure your body is adequately nourished.

While not all stress is bad, it is essential to understand how to cope with stress effectively. This post has outlined three of the best ways to do just that.