5 Emotional Management Techniques To Control Stress
It is increasingly common to hear expressions like “I’m stressed” in our environment Stress is so established in our society that sometimes we use these types of comments as a “wild card” to describe a certain activation in our emotional system when we are very busy.
However, it is convenient to understand what we mean when we talk about this problem since it is more complex than we may initially think.
In general, the stress response consists of an immediate and intense reaction, which involves the general mobilization of the body’s resources and which occurs in situations that place significant demands on the person when facing a task or challenge, a risk (real or imaginary) or even the possibility of material or personal loss. The stress response includes a set of responses at the physiological level (what I feel), cognitive (what I think) and motor (what I do).
The stress response itself does not have to be bad. In fact, in many cases we are talking about an adaptive reaction that has allowed the species to survive and not become extinct.
In the same way that feeling anxious in certain situations is vital to face a threat, stress can be a tool to overcome daily demands.
However, when this reaction appears very frequently in a context where there is no real danger, it can cause a waste of resources and lead to the appearance of problems of various kinds. In this case, stress is not useful and therefore we would speak of a maladaptive response
Once we conclude that the physiological, cognitive and motor responses are intense, long-lasting, uncomfortable and interfere with our daily lives, we can act at several levels:
1. Techniques to change stressful situations
They are aimed at modifying the environment in which the person finds themselves The objective would be to change the environmental conditions to reduce stress, such as maintaining an adequate temperature in closed spaces, controlling noise or avoiding the consumption of substances that activate the Central Nervous System (caffeine, nicotine, etc.). In the same way, we would try to generate stimuli that favor responses incompatible with stress, for example, music, light, taking breaks or even strategies such as relaxation.
2. Time planning strategies
Sometimes, Stress appears as a result of a lack of planning As Labrador (2000) points out, managing time is deciding what to dedicate the available time to. This decision must be based on the importance or value given to each task or activity. An order of priority or a hierarchy of tasks must be established, according to the importance of each one. Depending on the priority given to the tasks, the planning of activities must be established.
Specifically and especially the time planning of each day. First of all you have to deal with urgent and important tasks. Next, the important and non-urgent tasks. Next, those that, although urgent, are not important. Finally, the non-urgent and not important ones.
3. Cognitive techniques
Psychology has strategies for changing thoughts that are very useful in coping with stress. In this sense, it is important to work on the following issues:
Differentiate possibility from probability Learn to calculate the probability (from 0 to 100 for example) that the worst will happen if we do not achieve the set objectives. Sometimes we confuse something possible with highly probable when it doesn’t have to be that way.
Know/learn to say “no” to those activities or tasks that are not a priority for oneself.
It is vitally important to divert the focus of attention to pleasant tasks that distract the person as a stress control strategy. Rewarding tasks that “disconnect” the person. For this goal, you can make a weekly planning of rewarding tasks
5. Relaxation techniques
Relaxation techniques are the strategies par excellence for coping with stress. Diaphragmatic breathing is one of the classic deactivation techniques that usually works best.
Currently, addressing stress from “Mindfulness” represents a good method of choice against stress since it combines deactivation strategies such as meditation and thought control simultaneously
In summary, Psychology has powerful tools that have proven to be effective in managing stress. All of these techniques are explained in numerous scientific publications and training courses such as the one offered by Psychological Training in its practical course on stress control techniques, the purpose of which is to provide useful strategies to deal with one of the most frequent emotional problems of the 21st century.
