Nine Ways to Cope with Stress Better

A question on so many of our minds is how can we cope with stress better than we are doing now? 

Unfortunately, stress is part of everyone’s life, especially living in New York City. The stimuli, the expenses, and the stress of city living, to name a few, can magnify issues. Additionally, some people are simply more prone to feeling stress than others. 

This is all built into being an adult and having responsibility. There are multiple worries we all experience almost daily, especially as we become adults. Our lives have many moving parts. There often are financial worries, job stress, relationship difficulties, family issues and, of course, raising children. These are the most common triggers. 

When the pressure builds up with no apparent release or resolution or even when there is simply too much of it, most of us, even the strongest, feel stress. We all know by now that stress is not good for our physical and mental health. Yet, for most of us, it’s unavoidable.

So the question becomes, what can we do to cope better with Stress?

Of course, we all know that we need to eat healthy, exercise and get enough sleep. Indeed all three of these things are critical, but what else?

Here are some of the stress reduction practices many of my patients find helpful:

1. It is very beneficial to get at least 5-10 minutes of mindfulness meditation per day.  For those who don’t know what to do, get the Waking Up app by Sam Harris. It’s simple and good.
2. When the stress starts to build up, ask yourself “Is this life and death?” Almost always it is not. Everyone is alive at the moment, including you. Think about it.
3. Do some deep breathing and focus on the present moment, it is related to the first two suggestions but a little different. You will find that at this very moment, everything is OK.
4. Tell yourself that you will find a solution to whatever is going on in time, we always do.
5. Think about good things in your live – practice gratitude. A good thing to do every day in the morning and at night.
6. Make time to be with loved ones and have some fun. Think of enjoyable activities and do them, and laugh….
7. Talk to a trusted, wise friend about what is going on or seek professional help.
8. Remind yourself that life is full of challenges and that it is just how it is to feel some pressure and struggle with life stuff.
9. Try to be really clear about what it is that is stressing you at this moment.

Try some of these stress reduction tips and see how you do. If you need more professional help, you can always reach out to a therapist who specializes in individual therapy too.