Living a stress-free life – is it even possible?

Our own expectations and standards, as well as our reactions, have a huge impact on the way we handle a stressful situation. Just imagine how you’d feel if you’re constantly worrying about losing a couple of pounds and you’re always comparing yourself to others – even though you’re doing everything humanly possible to reach your goal, the constant stress of your own expectations and all that pressure coming from society makes it unbearable. Wouldn’t it be nice to get rid of all that stress?

Stress is a state of mental strain or tension resulting from mentally or physically demanding or challenging situation. Stress is a natural reaction of our bodies but there are quite a number of people who, unlike me, know how to deal with it. Stress fuels the body to help it make the most out of any situation but, in the long run, it can be pretty harmful and leads to a decrease in productivity as well as in the quality of our lives. We signed up for a stress management course to learn to fight stress and everything that triggers it so that we could lead a healthy, happy and balanced life.

The first thing we learned is that there is no such thing as a stress-free life: we all feel stressed every now and again and there are certain factors causing frustration in all of our lives. The problem is that the more stressed out we feel, the less capable we are to deal with these situations so we would do ourselves a favor by learning to actually manage these feelings. But where should we begin?

First, try to identify the things/situations that are most likely to trigger these feelings in your everyday life. If you find yourself with an incredibly long list, chances are you tend to generate problems for yourself in addition to all the problems coming from the outside world.

The second thing you can do is trying to avoid things that lead to a burnout: try to walk away from disputes and stay away from unnecessary drama. Keep your distance from people who are likely to irritate or argue you and be brave enough to say no if something is becoming burdensome. If you can’t stand the morning crowd on the bus, try to ride your bike or go by car – the same way, if traffic jams drive you crazy, try taking the tram instead.

Thirdly, try to overcome your old ways and be more open to new things. Instead of letting your control-freak self trying to make everything perfect like a maniac, work on accepting your flaws and learn from your mistakes. Don’t try to save some time by skipping those much needed times of rest and do something that makes you happy every single day. Stop complaining and work on your gratitude: make a list of things you are genuinely grateful for. The most significant step might be lowering your expectations, though.

Learning to cope with stress and managing those feelings can actually save lives and relationships so we highly recommend giving it a go today. List all the sources of the most stressful situations in your life and take action. If you’re having trouble managing your stress levels, it’s time for a change. If you find managing your time challenging, it’s time to say no to certain commitments or to simply wasting your time on stupid things. If you feel like you’re under a constant pressure to look good and be the best version of yourself, it might be time to leave that place, or those people, behind. Meditation and paying attention to your inner voice can also be of great help on your journey to a more positive and more fulfilling life.

You can’t stop yourself from stressing about things but you have the responsibility to learn how to cope with those stressful situations.

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