Three Better Ways to Cope with Stress: Learn Skills that Can Change Your Life!

The initial step to stress management is gaining awareness about the role stress plays in your life. To build your self-awareness, you’ll learn three better ways to cope with stress: (1) Stress Brainstorming (2) Keeping a Stress Journal (3) Recognizing Frequent Indicators of Stress. You will then proceed with developing three additional skills that will help you cope with stress.

An awareness of your body’s stress response and your personal stressors are important but not enough to help you cope with stress effectively. You need to know the sequence of events that lead to and trigger your stress response. Keeping a day-to-day account of when and where your signs of stress appear in your life is the key to controlling stress.

The most valuable tool you can have is the ability to analyze your unique stress patterns. The reason is that the stress response and stressors vary for each individual. Your unique stress pattern is the way your mind and body reacts to a particular stressor.

There are two ways for you to keep a day-to-day account about your stress: stress brainstorming and keeping a stress journal. Both activities are similar in revealing your stress patterns.

Many of us think of our stressors in broad brushstrokes: our jobs, relationships, difficult people or financial problems are the causes of our stress. Stress brainstorming and keeping a stress journal helps you get specific about your problems. You’ll realize that you can manage stress by changing your behavior, developing new skills, or even avoiding the stressful situation altogether.

Yes! …It is possible to be your own stress coach, with some awareness, guidance, and taking small steps in the right direction.

Brainstorming or Stress Journal? Brainstorming is more loosely organized and spontaneous while the stress journal is more carefully structured. Choose whichever technique you prefer. You may find that you will want to switch later, or you may discover that a combination of both techniques works best for you.

Yes, these techniques do require some focus, determination, and effort. Know that you are learning one of the best ways to cope with stress by dealing with your problems directly. You will become more of an expert at understanding the cause of your stress and coming up with a solution. These techniques get easier as you practice and begin to internalize effective stress coping skills. The big reward is that you’ll gain more control over your life!