How To Manage Stressful Situations
In the modern world, life moves faster than ever. With an endless stream of notifications, a professional ecosystem changing faster every day, and an ever-increasing portion of our lives spent in front of screens, sometimes it can seem impossible to make mental health a priority – and one of the most common manifestations of this is stress. As your Hermosa Beach therapist, I fully understand how stressful modern life can be, and I’m here to help you find a little more peace in the chaos. I regularly work with my clients on managing stress and staying level-headed in high-stress situations. The good things is that outside of therapy in my Hermosa Beach office, there are a number of steps you can take on your own to more effectively manage stressful situations in your everyday life.
Meditate at Least 10 Minutes per Day
Before dealing with stressful situations in the moment, I often find it’s helpful for clients to focus on bringing their overall stress levels down. Meditation is one of the most effective ways to do this that I’ve come across. A wealth of clinical research backs up the benefits of mindfulness meditation, and many studies have found that daily meditation can produce the same positive effect on mood as taking an antidepressant. Ten minutes of mindfulness meditation per day can go a long way towards lowering your stress levels overall, which makes it much easier to navigate high-stress situations.
Never Forget to Breathe
While it may sound simple, when it comes to managing stress in the moment, breath is one of the most powerful tools available to us. This is because the nervous system is closely linked to our breath, and that link goes both ways: when the nervous system triggers a fight or flight response, it causes the speed of the breath to increase. But we can reverse engineer this: when we slow the breath down ourselves, it effectively forces the nervous system to calm down as well. If you find yourself overwhelmed by stress, the first thing to do – before even letting one more thought pass – is to take between 3 and 10 slow, deep breaths.
Mindfulness
Finally, the techniques of mindfulness are a powerful tool for fighting stress. After taking deep breaths, try to name and notice what you are feeling. Go beyond the label of “stress”: are you feeling anxious? Do you feel anger? Sadness? Fear? Is your chest tight? Which muscles are tense, and which are relaxed? Avoid judging any of these feelings or sensations – just notice them as they are, in that moment. Simply acknowledging our feelings can make them smaller and reduce the hold they have over us, letting us deal with the situation more productively.
Take a Long-Term Approach with Hermosa Beach Therapy
These techniques can help with the “triage” of stress management, but if you want to achieve greater peace of mind on a larger scale, therapy is one of the best ways to do it. As an experienced therapist in Hermosa Beach, I’ve worked with countless clients of all ages to manage stress from work, family trouble, relationships, life in general, as well as anxiety disorders. If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed, I’m here to help. I take a compassionate approach towards therapy and work to understand each of my clients and meet them where they are. And no matter where you’re starting from, I’ll listen to you and work with you to help you create more peace, more calm, and a better quality of life over the long-term. If that sounds appealing to you, I encourage you to give me a call to schedule a consultation. I’m excited to help you build your capacity for stress management and create a happier, healthier life!