Stress
Stress and how to manage it
Stress is your body’s natural reaction when you feel threatened or when you have too much going on at once. Everyone reacts differently to stress. Stress can result in various physical symptoms, impact your behaviour, and heighten your emotional reactions. When you’re stressed, you might notice that your heart beats faster, you breathe quicker, your muscles tighten, and you might start sweating. Once the tough situation is over, your body calms down and goes back to normal.
Everyone experiences stress, it could come from school, university, work, family, friends or concerns about money. With the pressure to do well at work or school, keep up with friends, and deal with family expectations or money worries, it’s normal to feel overwhelmed sometimes.
Some stress is good for you and helps motivate you to get something done. Stress can push you to be your best, like when you’re preparing for an exam or a presentation. But when you are under too much stress for too long, it affects your health and wellbeing. Learning how to manage stress is a key life skill. Learning how to use that pressure to your advantage can turn stress into a helpful motivator.
If you’re constantly stressed, too much stress can also be unhealthy and impact your body, mood and behaviour. You may also not think clearly. Signs of too much stress can include headaches, stomach aches, poor sleep, being tired and grumpy, or using stimulants such as coffee or sugar to keep you going.
Because stress is a part of life, learning how to manage it is an important part of having good physical and mental health. It involves learning to recognise what causes stress in your daily life and having activities and skills that you use often and before your body’s stress response fully kicks in. Staying active, trying out relaxation techniques, and exploring your creative side are awesome ways to relax and handle the pressure. By figuring out how to manage stress, you can take on life’s challenges with confidence.
Signs and symptoms of stress
Stress is something that can affect anyone, and it can show up in all sorts of ways. Here are some signs you might notice if stress is getting to you:
- You might feel anxious or a bit sad.
- You could get more irritable or angry than usual.
- Sleeping might be tough, and you can’t seem to get enough rest, or you feel tired even after sleeping a lot.
- Maybe your eating habits change, like feeling hungrier than normal or not at all.
- You might start thinking negative things about yourself.
- You find you are thinking or focusing a lot on the things that are causing you stress and it’s hard to focus on anything else.
- You lose interest in activities you usually enjoy.
- Concentrating on school or work or other tasks might feel really hard.
- And sometimes, your body just doesn’t feel good – you get headaches, feel sick, or just plain tired.
Top tips to try to manage your stress
A good way to manage stress is to build in stress relief activities into your daily life that you do even when you are not stressed to keep you healthy. It will take time for you to find the things that that feel right for you. What works for you at home might not be an option when you’re at school or in the community (dancing around your room might be helpful but dancing in the supermarket might not be). It’s important to have a variety of stress relief tools at your disposal.
Here are some DO’s and DON’Ts for managing stress:
DO
Exercise
Be active every day. Try walking, swimming, cycling, dancing or play a team sport – just find something you enjoy and keep doing it.
Sleep
Lack of good sleep can increase your stress levels. Learn about good sleep habits. Avoid caffeine later in the day, maintain regular sleep schedule, spend some time away from devices prior to going to sleep.
Eat well
A healthy diet with fruit and vegetables and low in sugary and processed foods gives your body the nutrients it needs to help you manage your stress levels.
Relaxing activities
Find activities that calm you – such as walking, painting, sewing, knitting, carving. Try different things to find what works best for you – then do it regularly!
Deep breathing
To help you relax and take some deep breathes by using your diaphragm. To practice diaphragmatic breathing:
- Put one hand on your chest and the other on your stomach.
- Breathe in deeply through your nose, making sure the hand on your stomach rises and the hand on your chest doesn’t.
- Breathe out very slowly, then clench your abdomen muscles.
- Repeat these steps four times.
Visualisation techniques
Close your eyes and picture yourself in a relaxing place such as lying on the beach or walking in the bush. Keep imagining this for a few minutes or even just for a few seconds to help your body and mind unwind. Add music to your visualisation if you like.
Practice mindfulness
Mindfulness is a technique to bring your focus into the present moment which can help when you have lots of stressful thoughts. There are apps and online courses, that you can use to help learn about this.
Do yoga, tai chi or other mindful-based movement
Yoga and other physical practices that encourage calm, mindful connection between body and mind have been found to reduce stress.
Try massage, rongoā, and other therapies
Massage, and aromatherapy have shown to have some effect in reducing stress. Rongoā is a traditional Māori healing system that uses a variety of techniques to promote wellbeing
Listen to calming music
Listening to music you love, especially calming tunes, can help relax your nervous system and lower your stress levels.
Shake it off
Sometimes, stress builds up as tension in your body. A fun and easy way to release it is by literally shaking it off! Stand up, put on some upbeat music if you’d like, and shake your hands, arms, legs, and whole body. Wiggle, bounce, or dance around for a few minutes. This helps release built-up energy, relax your muscles, and boost your mood. It’s a simple and playful way to reset and let go of stress!
Take a break
Take time to give yourself a breather now and then. Step away for a short break during your day, whether at work or home, to do something you truly enjoy.
Connect with family/Whānau and friends
Talk to someone
Connecting with family/whānau and friends is a great way to get support when you need it. They can also help you take a break or distract you from what you are stressing over.
Reaching out to a support service like Youthline, your family doctor or other trusted person to talk can help a mange stress and talking with Youthline could also help you identify other stress management skills to try.
Get organised
Some people find that having a plan or getting organised on how to tackle work or studying can help reduce stress.
Write it down
Writing how you feel about situations that bother you can also help to reduce stress. Use the note pad on your phone or get a writing pad to keep by your bed to write things down before you go to sleep.
Bonus: be with your pet
Spending time with pets tends to make people feel calmer and less stressed.
DON’T
Using smoking, drugs or alcohol to de-stress
These may seem to provide temporary relief, but they ultimately make things worse in the long term.
Overwork yourself
Sometimes taking time for a break or to reset can really help things.
Be hard on yourself if you don’t achieve all your goals
Take some time to look after yourself and keep working towards your goals if they are still important to you.
Feel like you have to manage your stress on your own
You’re not alone.
There’s support available to help you manage stress. Reach out to friends, family, or a trusted professional for guidance and encouragement.
Get Support
If the stress gets too much, reaching out and talking about it can make a huge difference.
Face to Face counselling (Auckland Only)
Talking to a Youthline counsellor online or in person can be helpful. Find out more here.
24/7 National Helpline
Remember, you can contact us anytime – our Helpline is free, private and available 24/7. There’s no need to worry about anyone finding out. Here’s how you can reach out for help:
Call: 0800 37 66 33
Text: 234
Email: talk@youthline.co.nz
Webchat: You can also chat with us online if that’s easier for you.