Stress is something that we all deal with at one point or another. At times, a little stress can be a powerful motivator. However, if it gets to the point that you feel like you have a lingering sense of stress regularly throughout the day, this can be very detrimental to your health. As such, you should look at what causes you can find and manage them to better take care of your mental health. Here are five things that are amongst the most common contributors to stress.
Feeling under pressure
If you feel like certain decisions or concerns have you facing a lot of pressure, then it can be easy to let stress take over. Often, it’s because that pressure is one of the first and last things on your mind throughout the day. Practising mindfulness meditation through tools like InsightTimer can help you get away from those pressures for a while and better examine the causes of the stress that you’re feeling to mitigate its impact.
Being overwhelmed by your responsibilities
If you feel like you are overwhelmed by your daily responsibilities, you need to bite the bullet and recognize that things cannot go on as they are. Whether it’s addressing your work-life balance, asking for help with your kids from family members, or slowing down on a project, you can’t “power through” periods of stress like that healthily. More often than not, it’s likely to result in a breakdown.
Having trouble with sleep
Sleeplessness and stress have a cyclical relationship. Being unable to sleep causes stress, and the physical and mental effects can make it harder to fall asleep as well. Setting up a proper nighttime routine, using a weighted blanket, and buying a white noise machine can help improve your quality of sleep, but if you’re having real trouble, then a medicinal solution like Circadin might be worth looking into. At some point, you need to make sure that you’re able to get some sleep.
Experiencing physical pain
Pain and stress can be cyclical, too, and sleeplessness can be involved in that cycle. Physical pain, especially when it’s a constant like back pain or joint pain, is a well-known cause of stress, as well as sleeplessness, which leads to even more stress. Finding relief for your pain, be it through your doctor, with treatments like massage therapy, or even through long-term strategies like rehabbing your injury over time can have a profound impact on the levels of stress that you’re feeling.
An unhealthy lifestyle
This isn’t meant to make you feel worse for any bad habits that you might already be self-critical over, but it’s widely accepted that an unhealthy lifestyle often includes indulgence as a coping mechanism, which can do more harm than good. Making positive lifestyle changes and finding healthier coping skills can help reduce stress.
If the above issues are causing you stress, then hopefully the tips provided can help you fight them. Otherwise, you should try to closely examine your stress and what it might be in response to.
Author: Mandy Kloppers
Mandy is a qualified therapist who treats depression, anxiety, OCD, PTSD, trauma, and many other types of mental health issues. She provides online therapy around the world for those needing support and also provides relationship counselling.
