Controlling Stress

Do you have difficulty controlling stress in your life?  Do you find yourself overwhelmed with too much to do in too little time?  Does you worry about the future rather than focus on the present?

Controlling your stress can be accomplished using the three stress management strategies described below. Do you want to become more productive and happier.  Try these strategies and notice a difference.

---

Limit events that cause you stress.

For some reason, women just tend to overbook their time. Time management and stress have a direct connection.  Our best advice is to slow down, spend time completing assignments and attending events that contribute to building a better life for yourself.  Too much time is spent attending to stuff that, in the long run, doesn’t matter.

Take a good long look at your schedule.  Make a list of all the things that you are trying to accomplish—whether these are work related, kid related, volunteer efforts or family responsibilities.  Now reduce this list by two items—as a start.  You probably have a few things on that list because you felt guilty that your friend needed help or your Mom asked again, but are these commitments really things that you consider priorities?

This leads us to the next step in controlling stress in your life.  Establish the priorities that allow you to continue moving forward in life and achieving your goals.  What are the most important things in your life?  What do you value?  Does your use of time reflect these priorities and life values?  Sort through your “to do” list, and remove those items that you find that do not match your life values and are not priorities.  Doing this exercise allows you to spend time focused on fewer things that are also more important to you.  Controlling stress starts by not being overwhelmed.

Watch your thinking.

There is a lot going on inside that head of yours.  Your mind is like a running commentary, always judging what is happening and revisiting past events—over and over.  And if your mind is not focused on the past, it is probably busy anticipating future events.  How many times do you catch yourself worrying about what might happen?

Part of lowering the stress in your life is finding ways to keep your mind focused on the present.  The past events have already occurred, and there is no use dwelling on events that you no longer can change.  You can plan for future events, but worrying about things out of your control does you no good—mentally or physically.  Take time to focus on what is happening right now—in the present.  Slow down, notice your environment around you and be mindful of what you are experiencing now.

We often become so preoccupied with the future that we avail ourselves little time to enjoy the present.  Your inner voice is speaking to you most of your waking hours.  It provides subjective review of what has happened, what people might think of you and what you should be worrying about in the future.  Controlling stress is easier when we spend our time focused on the present and allow the future to arrive without worrying about it.

Take time to relax.

If you stop trying to cram so many activities into so little time, you will find that you can accomplish what you need to do in a comfortable amount of time.  This allows you to take time to relax, enjoy the people around you and find time to rejuvenate yourself.  Controlling stress is possible when you allow your body to recover from busy, hectic schedules and stressful situations.  Get enough sleep, exercise and eat well.  Taking care of your physical well being allows you to have the energy to tackle the daily challenges that arise.

 
Controlling stress includes being in good health to respond effectively.  If your body has time to recover and replenish itself, it will have resources available to handle stress as it develops.  Part of controlling stress levels in your life is learning how to handle events that you don’t control.

Stress Management for Women

Return to Home Page