THE PHARMACIST : 10 strategies for coping with stress

Stress can affect how you feel, think, behave and how your body works. It causes your body to release a surge of hormones that enable you to deal with pressures or threats. The so-called ‘fight or flight’ response.

There is little you can do to prevent stress, but there are many things you can do to manage stress more effectively such as learning how to relax, taking regular exercises and adopting good time-management techniques.

Recognising trigger factors that cause stress is quite important. This can easily be done by keeping a diary, making note of stressful episodes for 2-4 weeks and reviewing it.

The key to good stress management is building emotional strength, being in control of the situation, having a good social network and embracing a positive outlook.

The following are suggestions that can aid you in managing stress.

1) Being active:

This will reduce some of the emotional intensity that you’re feeling by clearing your thoughts and dealing with your difficulties more calmly and productively. Exercising for at least half an hour a day will not only give you a healthy heart but stress free mind as well.

2) Take control:

The act of taking control is in itself empowering, and it’s a crucial part of finding a solution that satisfies you and not someone else. Having the right mindset of taking control of your life with confidence is very crucial.

3) Connect with people:

A good support network of colleagues, friends and family can ease your work troubles and help you see things in a different way. The activities we do with friends help us relax. We often have a good laugh with them, which is an excellent stress reliever. Always plan time to socialise with family and friends.

4) Have some personal time:

Setting aside a couple of nights a week for some quality ‘me time’ away from work is a good idea to deal with stress. Keep some personal time for reflection, meditation and deep thinking. You could use the aid of slow calming music to unlock your inner self.

5) Challenge yourself:

Setting goals and challenges whether at work or outside such as learning a new language or a new sport, helps to build confidence and deal with stress. It’s a great idea to take up new hobbies.

6) Avoid unhealthy habits:

Many people rely on alcohol, smoking and caffeine as a way of coping with stress. This is not good as it creates an addiction and avoids the stressful situation instead of managing it.

7) Help other people:

Research suggests that people who help others through activities such as volunteering and community work become more resilient and can handle stress better.

8) Work smarter, not harder:

Working smarter means prioritising your work and concentrating on the tasks that will make a real difference. It is important to keep a to-do-list of the most important tasks. This helps to complete tasks in a timely manner. Reminders for projects with deadlines will aid you in being a step ahead of all your work.

9) Try to be positive:

Look for the positives in life. Appreciating the things we have can bring a good outlook to start with. Keeping a notebook with all the things you’re grateful for is a great confidence booster. Some successful people have said that reading a good book early morning or waking up with a motivational quote has helped them deal with stress during the day.

10) Accept the things you can’t change:

Changing a difficult situation isn’t always possible. Try to concentrate on the things you do have control over and leave the rest to time.