Stress is something that we all experience from time to time. But if you are finding that your stress levels are getting out of control, and making you feel overwhelmed, it’s important that you reach out for support.
In this blog, we have provided some self-help tips and advice for managing stress in a healthy way, as well as information on the professional support and stress treatment available at Aspris Wellbeing Centre in Dubai.
Tips and advice for dealing with stress
-
Acknowledge your stress levels
The first step towards better stress management is acknowledging that stress has become a problem in your life, and recognising that you need support.
Feeling stressed and believing you can carry on regardless will only make matters worse. Receiving the right help and support will enable you to address the issue and avoid stress related burnout.
-
Take notice of your body
Your body is the first indicator that you may be experiencing stress. Take notice of how you are feeling at particular times of the day – note how you are feeling physically and also how you are behaving.
Ask yourself the following:
- Are my muscles tense? Are my shoulders hunched?
- Am I feeling irritable with those around me?
- Am I finding it hard to concentrate on tasks?
- Have I developed a headache?
If you are experiencing stress, try to go outside for some fresh air and take a walk. This short break will help to recharge you and ease some of the stress symptoms.
If you aren’t able to take a walk, try a relaxation technique such as deep breathing, or progressive muscle relaxation. Videos showing these techniques can be found easily online.
-
Take time out to relax
Throughout your day, try to enjoy small moments where you can take a break from stressful activities.
Go for a walk during lunchtime, take a coffee break, do some light exercise or have a relaxing bath.
If something is making you feel stressed, stepping away for a short while and then coming back to it later will help to alleviate some of the symptoms. If you have difficulty taking regular breaks at work, try ‘micro-breaks’. Get up to make a coffee and enjoy the process of making it, savour the time away from your desk. These small moments will help to give you a ‘time out’, and improve your wellbeing at work.
-
Talk to somebody for support
Keeping how you feel to yourself can make matters worse. If you are able to share what you are experiencing with somebody else, this can be helpful.
Try to think what support you would like from the person you confide in:
- Do you need to talk to somebody to unload your worries?
- Do you want to know if they have experienced the same situation as you, so you are not going through this alone?
- Do you need help finding a better solution on how to handle a particular situation?
Once you have thought of what it is you need help with, try asking for it. You might be surprised by the support and understanding you receive from them.
-
Learn how not to overcommit
The more you take on, the more you will start to feel overwhelmed. We all want to be helpful, and feel part of a community, but we also need to realise that we have our limits. Taking on too much can have a detrimental effect on your health and wellbeing, ultimately leading to burnout.
If there are certain things you can cut back on, don’t be afraid to say no to the demands that could be contributing to your stress levels.
Learn to evaluate what is achievable within your day by considering the following:
- What are your current priorities?
- Is this a short or long-term commitment?
- Have you weighed up all that will be involved?
- What is driving your decision?
Saying no to commitments that would cause you to be overwhelmed can be difficult, but this will help keep your schedule manageable and ease your stress levels.
-
Try to achieve good work-life balance
Work-life balance is extremely important and imperative for managing stress levels.
If you have noticed that your job has started to infringe on other areas of your life, try speaking with your employer to review your workload and assess what it manageable in your role.
To achieve a good work-life balance you could consider:
- Taking personal responsibility for your work-life balance
- Having set working hours and sticking to them – some things can wait until tomorrow
- Taking proper breaks throughout the day
- Prioritising tasks and allowing yourself enough time to finish them
- Keeping work and home life separate – if you work from home, try to work in one area and close the door on it once your work day is over
- Recognising the importance of life outside of working hours by exercising, doing hobbies and spending time with family and friends.
Seek professional support for stress
Using tips such as those mentioned within this blog can be helpful, but if you find that your stress is continuing or worsening regardless of what you try and do to improve it, it may be that you need to seek professional support.
Our experienced psychiatrists and psychologist are committed to providing everyone they see with expert treatment so that they can start to feel better and enjoy life once again.
For more information about the mental health support offered at Aspris Wellbeing Centre in Dubai, you can call us on: (+971) 4 385 4493 or send an enquiry online.
More information about the stress treatment we offer can be found here.