How stress affects us

 

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Are you feeling tired, exhausted or even burnt out? Do you wish you had more time? Is your to-do list longer than the hours in your day? Do you need a break or a holiday? There are many ways on which stress can affects us, from Physical to emotional symptoms.

 

  • Sleep
  • Appetite
  • Fatigue
  • Headaches
  • Lacks of concentration
  • Confusion
  • Felling emotional

 

Beating chronic stress is a long-term effort, and we’ve shared lots of ways to deal with it. Here are quick tips and tricks to use anytime you need to chill out and get on with your day.

 

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 Take a deep breath: Your body reacts physically to stress. One of the first things to happen, when you begin to feel stressed, is that your breathing changes. Excessive stress makes your breathing shallow. When you take a deep breath, you breathe in more oxygen, bringing relaxation and promoting wellbeing.

 

 Manage your time:  Do the important tasks first.  This can sometimes make the unimportant tasks irrelevant.  Do not put off the unpleasant chores – make them a priority.  Once the unpleasant chores or tasks are completed your stress levels will be reduced.

 

 Prioritise: Make a list of your “should”. Go down your list and prioritize. Which one is the most important for you to do today? Which ones can wait? What can you discard? Figure out what in your life actually needs attention and what doesn’t. Know what you can easily let slide and what you can drop entirely  and focus your energy on things that will actually make a difference in your life.

 

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 Work within your limits: It sounds easy, doesn’t it? It is not so easy. Take a deep breath. Recognise the reality: you lack the time to accomplish all that you had hoped to.

 

 Balance: one of four essential disciplines that can solve all life’s problems. Balancing requires letting go. Having simplified your demands, you can succeed!

 

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 Learn to say ‘No’:  You cannot please everyone, and if you try you will end up feeling exhausted and resentful.

 

 Meditate: You should meditate if you feel that you are stricken with stress and anxiety. Meditation is an effective way to relax and rid yourself of anxiety. Meditation can be very simple; just listening to relaxing music by yourself in a quiet location for a short time counts.

 

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 Clean up: Have a good clear out on a regular basis, at least monthly. Clutter and mess can load on the stress incrementally. Tidy up your desk, throw out those old magazines, give away the clothes you don’t wear, streamline your life. Making lists of things you need to take care of rather than carrying it all in your head will help ease the pain too.

 

 Get in contact with nature: Spending time in nature is a great to revitalise and reduce stress. If you live in a city, take a walk through a local park or make your garden into an oasis. For country dwellers, get outside as often as you can and enjoy nature at her finest.

 

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 Laugh: Cultivate a sense of humor. Laughing can put us in better mood. Having a laugh is the best guarantee to lighten your load and melt away stress. Numerous studies show that when we laugh, stress hormones decrease, immunity improves, and cholesterol and blood pressure levels drop.

 

 Think positively: Studies indicate that optimism or pessimism may affect your quality of life. Optimism enables you to cope better with stressful situations, likely reducing the effects of stress on your body.

 

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 Make quiet time: Whether you meditate daily, go to the gym three times a week, practice yoga, go hiking on the weekends, or just spend an hour a night with a book, you need to create a space where you can clear your mind of everything that’s dragging at you.

 

 Exercise: is a great way to relieve stress. When you’re wound up, your body releases adrenaline which can leave you feeling really wired – not helping at all. The best way to counteract this feeling is by working up a bit of a sweat. When you exercise your body releases endorphins in your brain, which make you feel happy – and it will help to burn off some of that extra adrenaline too.

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 Avoid unfinished business: and putting off things we do not want to deal with are often the biggest causes of anxiety. Particularly towards the end of the day it is important to get closure on tasks, deal with unresolved issues with others and take actions to move forward with projects.

 

 Eat better: A good diet can help your body better deal with the effects of stress. Avoid using caffeine, alcohol, nicotine, junk food, binge eating and other drugs as your primary means for coping with stress.

 

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 Drink water: natural juices, smoothies, herbal and fruit teas as alternatives to coffee, black tea, alcohol and soft drinks. Your energy will be sustained rather than relying on quick fixes which ultimately leave you in a more tired state than the one you started in.

 

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 Sleep well: Get the right amount of sleep For most people, this is seven to nine hours a night.

 

Now, what is your next move towards stress-free effectiveness?

 

 

Myriam Balerio is the founder and writer of PA Privé. After kick starting her career as a PA and finding success as an assistant, Myriam later trained in digital and online marketing and has since combined the two disciplines in creating PA Privé, the platform through which she provides sage advice for those in the assistant profession and a network for like-mined PAs and EAs to connect. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Myriam has lived in London for over 10 years and currently lives in London with her husband and French bulldog.

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