Simple Tips for Coping with Stress

 

Social distancing, homeschooling, and not knowing when the shut-down will end.  Parents may be feeling bewildered, overwhelmed, and at a loss as to how to cope with this “new normal”.

At Qwellcor International we share in some of your concerns and fears and want you to know that you are not alone. 

Every week we will provide you with information that we hope will bring you comfort and offer ideas useful for your overall well-being.

One of the biggest issues on our minds right now is the uncertainty of it all. Uncertainty about what lies ahead; about the impact of school closures on our children; about our family relationships; about our health, and our finances. That’s a LOT to cope with. Ongoing uncertainyy can lead us to feelings of anxiety and stress.

But exactly what is stress?

Stress is how your body responds to various situations in your life. There are different types of stress and – here is something that might surprise you – not all stress is bad stress. Yes, you read that correctly. Let’s look at the different types of stress:

 

  • stress

    Coping with stressful situations

    Eustress: This is a good type of stress, where you pulse quickens, you feel excited, but you are not in danger. It can motivate you in positive ways. Some examples might be having a child, receiving a promotion, or attaining a new job. Can you think of a moment of eustress that you have experienced in your life?
  • Acute stress: This type of stress can be bad. Something unexpected happens and you need to respond to it. An example might be having to unexpectedly swerve on the road, slam on your brakes to prevent an accident, having to stay up late to meet a deadline or grabbing your child out of harm’s way. Can you think of a moment of acute stress that you have experienced in your life?
  • Chronic stress: This type of stress is quite bad. It goes on for a long time. This might be the result of an unpleasant job or family situation. COVID-19 may be contributing to any chronic stress you are experiencing. This can wreak havoc on your health. 

Stress itself is one thing, how we respond to it is another. With good stress, our bodies tend to respond in beneficial ways. With acute stress our body responds with tensing up, our hearts race but once the stressful incident is gone and over we back to a balanced.

But chronic stress? Our bodies have responses to deal with eustress and acute stress, but they were not designed to deal with chronic stress.  Yet we face so much of it in our daily lives causing damage to our well-being.

In fact, chronic stress has been linked to:

  • Heart Disease,
  • High Blood Pressure,
  • High Cholesterol,
  • Type II Diabetes, and
  • Depression.

When the stress response system is activated for long and ongoing periods of time, this automatically affects other systems and they go out of balance as well.

Some well-intended people might tell you to avoid or change the situations and people that trigger stress in you.  We hear you when you say  “But I can’t control or change my boss, spouse or job”, “This Covid-19 situation is changing daily!” and “No one can avoid the unexpected!”

We know. That’s why we are encouraging you to focus only on the things you can control. You can control you, so the focus begins with you. This is why we want to empower you with stress management techniques that begin with you.

When you implement stress management techniques you will be able to control your response to a stressful situation in a way that minimizes the toll that stress is taking on your wellbeing.

Here are a few steps you can gently start with:

  • Be kind to yourself: Don’t compare yourself to others. Do what you can and don’t beat yourself up because someone else looks like they are handling everything with superstardom. Remind yourself that you cannot be all things to all people. It might take time for the stressful situation to resolve, so be patient with yourself in the meantime.
  • Write about or reflect on positive things

    Journal your successes, gratitude and positive thoughts

    • Reflect on your past successes: Chances are you’ve overcome stressful events in the past – and you survived! Give yourself credit. Reflect on what you did during that event that was helpful, what you learned, and what you might do differently this time. 

    • What did you accomplish today? Did you help the kids with homework? Did you get some relaxation? Did you get a task done for work? Were you able to get some needed grocery shopping? At the end of each day write down in a journal between 1-3 positive things you did that day. You don’t have to spend too much time on it. Try it for a few days in a row, and if you miss a day here or there, that’s ok.

    • What are you grateful for? Include a section in your journal for things that you have and might be taking for granted: a comfortable bed to wake up in that, your health, your family, running water, food to eat, access to health supplements. Try to think of at least 1-3 things every day to note in your journal. You will be surprised by how much you have.

  • Limit exposure to news. When we’re stressed about something, it can be hard to look away. But compulsively checking the news only keeps you wound up. Try to limit your check-ins and avoid the news during vulnerable times of day, such as right before bedtime.
  • Develop new skills. When you are up to it, explore activities that are new to you. Try something that will bring you joy and may be out of your comfort zone. You can learn a new language using free apps or from free online videos; you can try your hand at learning a new instrument or cooking something that you never tried before. Taking risks helps you develop confidence and you may even develop skills that come in handy. But remember, if this is going to just add a commitment to a day that already feels overscheduled then put it off for another time

In Summary: Care for yourself.  While this list above is not an exhaustive one, it includes things you have control over and can easily insert into your everyday life.

As we go through this pandemic together we will continue to offer some more suggestions to you.

Stay safe.