How to Reduce Stress

Everyone experiences stress at some point in their life since we live in challenging times. Because there are so many different causes of stress, people of all ages and backgrounds are susceptible to it. Stress can affect those who are driven, ambitious, successful, and responsible. Stress is defined as anything that disrupts a person's tranquility as a result of demanding circumstances. Since stress can harm a person's health, it is extremely important to identify it. Each person experiences stress differently, and it may be divided into four general kinds that are covered in more detail later in this paper. The ways you respond to stressful events determine how efficiently you overcome it. It is paramount to determine what is causing the stress as the first step towards reducing stress. Highlighting the cause and symptoms of stress will help people identify whether they are suffering from the condition. The various practical ways to reduce stress are then discussed comprehensively.

Stress causing factors known as stressors may be either external or internal factors (Sincero n.p.). External factors that cause stress are relationship problems or lack of friendship, financial problems such as the inability to earn the desired income, significant life changes such as relocating to a different country or being as busy as a bee at work. Sincero defines external factors as stressors outside one’s self. The problems at work are a leading cause and may be due to the surroundings of the workplace, having a demanding job leaving you with no free time or even being unhappy about the job (Potoku 15). There are many internal factors as well. They include the inability to accept reality, having a pessimistic mindset, being a perfectionist and having high expectations, as well as the all-or-nothing attitude. It is important to be aware of these external and internal stress causing factors to help you perform a self-diagnosis.

Major life events may also cause stress. They include the death of a loved one, marriage separation or divorce, imprisonment, loss of jobs, retirement, and the death of a close family member or detention. A study conducted on 32,827 participants in the UK showed that life events were the biggest indicator of mental problems such as stress (Kinderman et. al 6). Chronic illness of a person, their close friend or family member can also contribute to stress. There are many chronic diseases such as cancer, kidney failure, high blood pressure, and diabetes which affect almost all families. The caregivers of these patients are a risk of getting stressed (Sincero n.p.). It is, therefore, essential for anybody going through any if these life events to recognize that they are likely to get stressed and choose an effective way to respond to the events.

The four categories of stress symptoms are the emotional, physical, cognitive and behavioral symptoms. Emotional symptoms witnessed include being frustrated and moody as well getting a low self-esteem. Physical symptoms include headaches, palpitations, low energy and nausea (Michie 67). The other categories of symptoms are cognitive symptoms which most people recognize such as constant worrying and inability to focus or concentrate and memory problems (American Institute of Stress n.p.). Finally, the behavioral stress symptoms set in such as lack of appetite, withdrawing from friends and increased alcohol intake. Stress creeps easily into a person, and you need to be aware of these symptoms to seek help before you face severe consequences.

Suffering from stress should not be a cause for alarm since there are very many proved ways to reduce stress. Stress and other mental illnesses affect one in every four Americans (Kinderman 1). I will address home remedies that will apply to people of all income levels and genders. The first step to take after you realize that you are getting stressed is to avoid the stress factor. These stress factors have been discussed above, and therefore you can identify the one that relates to your stress. Michie agrees that identifying the stressor helps in preventing stress (Michie 4). After you identify, find ways to avoid the stress, for example, you can reduced stress caused by a financial crisis by looking for a second job to meet your financial needs. If it is not possible to change the stressor, then it is advisable to change how you view the stressor from a positive perspective. In conclusion, identifying a stressor will be very effective in determining the prevention strategy (Michie 6).

Exercise is a very effective way of reducing stress (Kim et.al 2576). This includes any forms of exercise such as taking a stroll, yoga, swimming, jogging, doing head rolls, stretching, or even doing shoulder shrugs. The activities need not be intensive (Morin n.p.). It initiates the releasing of chemicals called endorphins into the blood. Endorphin is a feel-good hormone that helps relieve pain by triggering positive feelings. The other direct effects of exercise are the ability to meditate while in motion. It has also been shown that exercise improves your sleeping pattern and will be a relief to insomnia which is a physical symptom of stress. Finally, exercising will improve your mood (Kim et al. 2573). I, therefore, recommend we make exercising a regular activity as a stress reduction measure.

Writing is a good way of expressing one's feelings and is therapeutic to stress (Murnahan 6). Writing a memoir on a sad life event that you are going through will help you express your fears and accept the life events. Journaling either on pen and paper, typewriters or on the laptop is useful in dealing with stressors that you do not feel comfortable to share with anyone else (Murnahan 7). I have used writing to deal with stressors previously where I used to take twenty minutes before sleeping every evening to write about my stressor. This activity involved pouring my thoughts on my diary without minding about punctuation or spelling mistakes. Journaling reduces stress by acting as an avenue to throw away negative thoughts and giving you an opportunity to unplug and recharge (Morin n.p.). You should, therefore, embrace writing to help in handling stress.

Music which is accessible to all society members has the power to reduce stress (Morin n.p.). It helps us identify feelings associated with stress, therefore, identifying the stressor. The existing literature shows that listening to music has an impact on the psychobiological stress system. A study conducted in Zurich exposed sixty volunteers to a standardized stress test after being assigned three conditions randomly including listening to music. They then measured the endocrine response to all the conditions. Results showed that endocrine levels were highest in the people who had listened to music (Thoma et. al 7). Listening to people sing reduces stress by distracting listeners from their misery as well as increasing the ability to tolerate the pain leading to the stress. Slow music was found more relaxing (Thoma et. al 8). It is advisable to listen to music when facing a stressful situation.

Stress can also be reduced by consuming a healthy diet. Although healthy eating is practiced by the wealthy; it is not a costly plan. This is a cost-effective method that has many more advantages besides reducing stress. A healthy body achieved by eating healthy is better placed to fight stress. The right food to eat to reduce stress is fruits and vegetables as well as high fiber carbohydrate-rich foods which are low in fat (The Physicians Committee n.p.). These foods will provide the energy required to boost your immune system. Carbohydrates will help reduce stress since they trigger the body to produce a hormone called serotonin which is responsible for relaxing the body (The Physician Committee n.p.). Beverages such as tea reduce the production of stress causing hormones should also be included in the diet (Morin n.p.). Foods that make stress worse include high-fat foods, caffeine, and sugar. It is, therefore, important to observe diet to help you cope better with stress as well as gain the other health benefits.

As we can see, stress is a broad topic that touches the causes, symptoms, and ways to reduce stress. There are two major classes of stressors namely the external and internal factors. While only the internal factors happen within one’s self, all the causes can trigger stress if not prevented. When stress sets it, it can manifest itself in four different ways. The can be physical symptoms, cognitive, behavioral and emotional symptoms. They have been highlighted here to help one determine whether they are experiencing stress. Finally, the paper discusses five cost effective ways of preventing and reducing stress. There are very many causes of stress, and therefore everybody is vulnerable to the mental condition. However, by employing any of the methods discussed above, you are assured of living a stress-free life.

Typed List

Purposeful alliteration - finally, the behavioral stress symptoms set in such as lack of appetite, withdrawing from friends and increased alcohol intake.

Creative comparison - external factors that cause stress are relationship problems or lack of friendship, financial problems such as the inability to earn the desired income, significant life changes such as relocating to a different country or being as busy as a bee at work.

Descriptive words - active people, ambitious, self-reliant, successful and responsible people can all get stressed.

Vivid verbs - consuming, address, taking a stroll, jogging, sing.

Compound sentence - stress creeps easily into a person, and you need to be aware of these symptoms to seek help before you face severe consequences.

Complex sentence – although healthy eating is practiced by the rich; it is not a costly plan.

Compound-complex sentence - while only the internal factors happen within one’s self, all the causes can trigger stress if not prevented.

Complex transition - these stress factors have been discussed above, and therefore you can identify the one that relates to your stress.

Sentence with a semicolon - although healthy eating is practiced by the rich; it is not a costly plan.

Works Cited

American Institute of Stress. “Stress Effects.” AIS,

https://www.stress.org/stress-effects/

Kim, Jong, and McKenzie, Larry. “The Impacts of Physical Exercise on Stress Coping and Well-Being in University Students in the Context of Leisure.” Health 6 (2014):2570- 2580.

Kinderman, Peter, et al. “Psychological Processes Mediate the Impact of Familial Risk, Social Circumstances and Life Events on Mental Health.” A Psychological Model of Mental Health 8.10 (2013):1-8.

Michie, S. “Causes and Management of Stress at Work.” Occup Environ Med 59 (2002): 67 - 72.

Morin, Kate. “23 Science-Backed Ways to Reduce Stress Right Now.” Gretist,

https://Picture/23Science-BackedWaystoReduceStressRightNow_Greatist.htm.

Murnahan, Brian. “Stress and Anxiety Reduction Due to Writing Diaries, Journals, E-mail, and Weblogs.” Senior Thesis 230 (2010): 1-31.

Potoku, L. “What Are the Main Factors Causing Stress And What Are The Coping Strategies For Norwegian Subordinates.” The Faculty of Social Science 2015.

Sincero, Sarah. “Knowing Your Stressors.” Explorable,

https://explorable.com/knowing-your-stressors

The Physician Committee. “How to Eat Right to Reduce Stress.” PRCM,

http://www.pcrm.org/health/health-topics/how-to-eat-right-to-reduce-stress.

Thoma, Myriam, et al. “The Effect of Music on the Human Stress Response.” Plos One 8.8 (2013):1-12