Conquering Chronic and Everyday Stress for Optimum Wellness and Productivity
In an ever-busy world, stress is a daily factor for many of us. Unavoidable in one form or another, from the daily commute to juggling work or making time for chores or social and family events, stress is everywhere. We're also seeing more of the physical, mental, and emotional symptoms of stress than ever before, from chronic pain or tension held in the body to greater struggles with low mood or anxiety, through to insomnia and even heart disease. Stress is an ever-present threat to our daily wellness; but there are an increasing number of simple solutions we can all practice to help manage and mitigate stress, from the everyday to the chronic. In this article, we'll explore a few of our tried and trusted stress-management techniques here at Team FlexiSpot.
Every Day or Chronic: What's the Difference?
Before you know how to tackle stress, it's essential to know what kind of stress you're dealing with. Every Day Stress relates to daily hassles that we all encounter which, whilst small on their own - a traffic jam or running out of coffee, perhaps - can build up over time and, if left unchecked or on top of other life stressors - can feel overwhelming.
Chronic Stress, however, refers to an ongoing and prolonged state of anxiety or tension that continues over a longer period. These could be bigger life stressors like family or financial worries a period of grieving, work-related pressures, or chronic health conditions. If left unaddressed, chronic stress can have serious implications for physical and mental well-being.
You can also see how the combination of Every Day and Chronic Stress can be a dangerous mix, and that dealing with smaller daily stressors can feel much more difficult if you are already trying to cope with chronic stress.
Coping with Everyday Stress
First things first, let's look at coping with everyday stress. Whilst chronic stress often comes from more major life events, the cumulative potential of everyday stress can be very difficult. Managing everyday stress involves adopting simple yet effective coping strategies that can be integrated into your daily routine. Let's take a look at some of these:
Mindfulness Practices
Incorporate mindfulness practices into your daily routine, such as mindfulness meditation, yogic or mindful breathing, mindful eating, or getting into nature - even for just 5 minutes a day - can add some calm and perspective to your day and alleviate stress. When you feel every day stress building up; take a few moments away and try some of these tips. See what the difference is after a week. You might be surprised!
Exercise Breaks
Take regular breaks throughout the day for a little exercise or movement, even if it's just a short walk or stretching exercises at your desk. Even brief exercise releases tension, boosts mood, and increases energy levels, whilst alleviating stress with a hit of endorphins.
Write It Out
Whatever your stressors, even if they seem small, taking some time to write them out - whether that's venting in a journal or gathering a to-do list for the afternoon - can help things feel clearer in your head and release you from a spiral of stress.
Strategies for Managing Chronic Stress
Managing chronic stress requires a comprehensive approach that addresses both the underlying causes of stress and its symptoms to ensure you can live a more stress free and healthy lifestyle. Here are some of our favourite strategies for coping with chronic stress:
Keep Up With Healthy Habits
Adopt and maintain healthy lifestyle habits, even when things feel calm. Habits like regular exercise, balanced nutrition, getting enough sleep, and limiting caffeine and alcohol intake can all help make you more resilient when big life stressors come up.
Time Management
Whatever the task at hand, being well practised in good time management skills can help you tackle practical stressors much more easily. Prioritise tasks, set realistic goals, and establish boundaries to manage your time effectively. Break tasks into smaller, manageable steps and delegate responsibilities when necessary - whether that's colleagues in the office or family or friends to help with more personal situations. Learning to say no to additional commitments can also prevent feelings of overwhelm.
Seek Support
Reach out to friends, family members, or a mental health professional for support and guidance. Talking about your feelings with people you trust and can feel safe with can help ease life's bigger worries and create space to manage stress. Even when things feel calm, space with friends or more professional emotional support can help strengthen your personal resilience - remember, prevention is always better than cure, and taking time to value your wellbeing is a priceless effort.
Invest in Kinetic Support
Building a home and workspace that supports your ergonomic wellbeing can be another great strategy for managing stress, although often overlooked. Another preventative means of stress care, flexible and kinetic furniture like ergonomic seating or height adjustable desks can offer adaptive support for the body while you work on projects or relax at home. This supports a healthy range of motion in all of your activities, instead of picking up bad habits that can lead to physical aches and pains or chronic health conditions, alongside the stress of pain.
A Life Built With Ease In Mind
Chronic and everyday stress are inevitable aspects of modern life, but they don't have to limit our lifestyles: there are means of successful stress management that can make all the difference. By adopting effective stress management strategies we can build resilience and cope with stress more effectively emotionally, as well as supporting the body in healthy and supportive movement. With a holistic approach to stress management and the right tools at our disposal, we can conquer stress and cultivate a sense of calm, balance, and well-being in our lives.
