Stress is an emotional or physical tension which the body creates when presented with events or thoughts that cause worry, frustration, anger or nervousness. While short-term stress can help avoid danger, long-term stress can cause health issues.
Over 90% of Indians suffer from stress, and 65% of them are uncomfortable discussing their problem with a mental health professional. Reasons such as Financial constraints and lack of social acceptance due to which people do not seek professional help for mental illnesses such as stress. Even though it is extremely important to be properly treated for any mental illness, stress is one disorder that can be handled on your own too.
So, we must take time to identify the triggers that create stress and to develop strategies for dealing with them. Stress management is an effective tool to accomplish by trying the “Four A’s”.
Avoid – Although it is not possible to avoid every stressful situation some are part of life and some are necessary to boost your performance avoiding unnecessary stress can significantly impact your mental health. For example, the habit of working overtime or stretching too much can be extremely stressful. So, it is advisable to say NO when you are already occupied and cannot accommodate extra work. In the same ways, you can avoid environmental factors that make you anxious. All these can be easily avoided to prevent unnecessary stress.
Alter – If avoiding a stressful situation is not possible, the next best option is to “Alter” it. It may either require you to change the way you communicate or operate the things in your daily life. For instance, you can alter your environment by communicating the need of silence to your officemate/roommate. In this way one can find a centre ground that is suitable for both of you. Thus, alter your schedule in a way that it accommodates some family time, as working all the time can be quite boring.
Accept – The next possible tactic is adaptation to stress. If there is a stress that cannot be avoided or altered, it is always best to adapt yourself to it. This will automatically help you regain your sense of control over the stressor. Avoid negative self-talk and focus on the positive. Try to learn from past mistakes and accept them as “teachable moments.”
Adapt – Lastly, some stressors are entirely unavoidable, unalterable, or unadaptable, well in such cases Accepting the situation and moving ahead is the only way to cope. There are many situations that are not in our control, and you can do very little about them yet they are uncontrollable, so the best is to accept the situation and resolve to move on. Also, forgiving is an essential part of accepting the situation or stressor.
Over to you:
Stress has become a part of everyday life; however, practicing the 4 A’s of stress management can help. Hence, initiate by avoiding, altering, adapting and accepting stressful situations and live a healthy and content life.
