Too much stress can be debilitating, and the worst stress often occurs when you feel out of control. Obviously, you can’t always control the things that are stressing you but you can control how you think about them and the way you react to them. The way you think about things has a major effect on the way you feel about them. Once you change how you think, you can change how you feel.
If you find yourself:
- feeling depressed, edgy, guilty, or tired a lot of the time
- having headaches, stomach-aches, or trouble sleeping
- laughing or crying for no reason
- blaming other people when bad things happen to you
- only seeing the downside of situations
- feeling that things you used to enjoy aren’t fun anymore
- resenting your responsibilities
- feeling like giving it all up
... it could well be that you have too much stress in your life.
If this is the case, these tips may help you take back control of your life:
- List all the things that are causing you stress
Think about your friends, family, work, studies and social activities. Think about how each one affects you and then accept that you can’t control everyone or everything on your list.
- Take control of what you can
For example, if you never have enough time to get everything done stop and think about your day and see what you can change – your routine, your journey, the time you get up, your social activities etc.
- Don’t over-commit yourself
If you’re already too busy or too tired, stop and think before you take on more commitments and stress. Practice saying ‘no’ to all those time-consuming requests.
- Go easy on yourself
Remember, you can’t always be right or know it all. You can’t make everyone in your life happy all the time. And always remember, it’s okay to make mistakes now and then!
- Talk to someone
Talking to your friends or family can help. It gives you a chance to think things through, express your feelings and then put things into perspective. But, of course, problems in your social life or family can be the hardest to talk about – particularly to someone who knows you. So if you feel you can’t talk to your family or a friend, try talking to someone outside of the situation - someone who'll listen and be committed to helping you find happiness. Perhaps someone like a good life coach?
