Breaking Points: Biggest Life Stressors and How to Effectively Manage Them
We’re all human, so you know what that means… It means we’re susceptible to life stressors. Ultimately, stress is your body’s reaction to any type of negative situation or event. The thing about stress is that it can take a major toll on your body, depending on the situation and how your body actually reacts to the situation. If you’re stressed enough, it can cause serious health issues…
But the key to effectively managing your stress is to get to the bottom of what is causing you stress.
Stress can come in many forms and can be caused by a number of things. When some people are stressed, they “stress eat” to try to compensate for how or what they’re feeling. Others will turn to other unhealthy habits like drinking to escape what they’re feeling. The thing about drinking to escape your stress is that it only temporarily numbs the feeling. Once your “buzz” wears off, you’ll be right back to feeling stressed.
Stress is something that most people experience on a daily basis, whether it be from work or other life events. But because it’s every day, you want to find a way to effectively manage it without turning to those unhealthy habits to temporarily “fix” your stressors. Encountering stress on a daily basis is what brings lots of people to their breaking points and forces them to find better ways to manage.
Instead of continuously “fixing” your stressors the wrong way and letting them build up to your breaking point, consider finding alternative ways to better manage your stress in healthier ways.
Biggest and Most Common Life Stressors and How to Effectively Manage Them
Bills
Your bills may occur on a monthly basis, but their presence is in your mind every single day. “How am I going to pay for this?” is a question that plays on repeat in many people’s minds, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic… It just seems like it’s always something to pull you back when you feel like you’re finally getting ahead on things.
According to verywellmind.com, the American Psychological Association reported that finances are the leading cause of stress, and understandably so. Finances have caused many divorces, arguments, and feelings of guilt if you spend on anything outside of bills. The constant calls from bill collectors don’t help either.
What you have to do is take a closer look at your bills and see how or what you can do to better manage them or lower them. Maybe it’s as simple as calling to see if you can change your due date on a particular bill. Maybe it’s completely eliminating a bill that you want but don’t necessarily need.
For instance, if you have a gym membership and the fee auto-drafts out of your account every month, that’s a bill you can completely eliminate by ending your membership. The gym isn’t the only way to get fit and the sooner you realize that, the easier it will be to end that membership and have extra money in your pocket.
Also, aside from rent or mortgage payments, your electric bill is the next most expensive bill you pay every month. If you can figure out how to lower this bill, it can considerably lower your stress levels. Consider checking to see if there are alternative electricity suppliers in your area. This can help lower your electric bill significantly because the electricity is generated through renewable energy sources.
Life Stressors : Work
Work, regardless of what industry you’re in or how much you love your job, you’re going to encounter a certain level of stress at some point in your career. For some people, the stress is very minimal, while for others, the stress is mind-numbing.
Professionally, you may want to talk to your upper management about your workload or talk to them about what you’re not understanding; you may just need more time to get done with your work. Outside of work, you may want to engage in exercise to boost your energy or try stress relief techniques for when it’s hard for you to sleep at night.
There are plenty of alternative options to explore when it comes to relaxing yourself after a busy day of work. Whether that’s through herbal teas, CBD gummies, cannabis, and much more. It’s worth finding what helps you de-stress and relax so that your work life doesn’t take too much from you mentally and physically.
Life Stressors : Relationships
You may not realize it but the company you keep plays a major role in your mental health, and that goes for all relationship types, not just romantic. Relationships are hard, and maintaining and cultivating them is the hardest part. But in these relationships, if you start to see that you’re the one putting in all the effort to sustain the relationship, it could be time to let go of it.
This is, of course, easier said than done but people can be very toxic and in order to know what’s going on in your relationship, you’re going to have to have an uncomfortable conversation about it.
If it’s your friend, let them know that you feel you’re the one trying to sustain the friendship. If it’s a romantic partner, talk to them about the status of your relationship and where it’s heading… Communication is key in effectively managing relationships.
Share Your Secret
Many people who have successfully implemented ways of managing stressors often hold the necessary experience to identify stress and the nuance required to deal with stress. If you are one of the people who are good at managing stress and maintaining a balanced life, this might be an opportunity for you to share your learnings with other people instead of leaving them to reinvent the wheel. Who knows, you might soon be enrolled in licensed professional counselor online programs such as an online MSED.
The effective management of stress is essential for mental and physical well-being. The tips in this post cover a few key areas for you to focus on. Always remember that stress is like a rocking chair; it gives you something to do but takes you nowhere. One day at a time and with focus, you can make a big difference.
