How Successful Are Your Stress Coping Skills?

One way or another, you’ve coped with the daily hassles and crises in your life and survived. But have you wished that you could find better ways to cope with stress and gain more control over your life? Are you concerned that maybe your health is suffering? Let’s look at some of the ways many people relax and relieve stress. As you will see, your body maintains its stress response as long as you don’t deal with the real source of your stress.

Cigarettes initially give you a feeling of relaxation and pleasure, but soon set off a stress reaction in your body by introducing nicotine into the bloodstream and carrying tars and resins into the lungs. Your original stressors remain unresolved while smoking can cause serious health problems potentially lasting a lifetime. Is it worth it? If you think not, and you’re a smoker, click on Tips on How to Quit Smoking.

Alcohol relaxes your central nervous system and creates a temporary sense of well being, but doesn’t stop or reduce your body’s stress reaction and encourages you to avoid dealing with the real cause of your stress.

Drugs distract you from reality and prevent you from coping with the real source of your stress.

Overeating, similar to alcohol and drugs, neither stops nor diminishes stress. If you turn to food when under stress, you have learned to associate smelling, tasting, chewing, swallowing, or the feeling of a full stomach with a sense of relief or relaxation. Overeating can cause excessive weight gain, create health problems, affect self-esteem and make you feel more guilty and powerless.

Overwork or Hyperactivity, "keeping busy," is another strategy people may use to avoid dealing with stress. Do you occupy yourself every moment with work to avoid family conflicts or uncomfortable feelings? Do you spend an excessive amount of time on a hobby or sport? Are you the perpetual gardener or compulsive jogger? None of these activities, by themselves, are ineffective in coping with stress. Productive work and pleasurable recreation are healthy and wholesome ways of dealing with stress. You should be concerned, however, if you are overdoing these activities to avoid your problems or to run from stress.