Stress Management Strategies

Time management

• Find balance in your daily life by learning to manage time efficiently and prioritising tasks

Be realistic about what you can do

• Set realistic and achievable goals for yourself so that you do not become frustrated or discouraged
• Goal-setting is also a good way to get yourself started on organising and planning your time

Think positive

• Confront and lessen your stressful negative thinking such as unrealistic expectations, self-righteousness, a sense of entitlement, blaming, pessimism and doing things your own way
• Avoid being hard on yourself
• Identify some of your positive traits and be less critical of yourself
• Increase the amount of positive self-talk such as 'This is hard, but I can do it!'

Stay healthy

• Maintain a healthy lifestyle — eat well, get enough sleep, exercise regularly and avoid alcohol and drugs

Have a support system

• Develop a support system with friends, family members, peer support, or a spiritual group
• If necessary, seek professional help such as seeing a psychologist, counsellor or doctor

Stress Reduction Techniques

Here are some useful techniques that you can practise to reduce stress. Choose those which best suit you and use them often for best results.

Relaxation exercises

• Learn to relax yourself through breathing and mental relaxation exercises such as visual imagery or meditation.

Physical exercises

• Engaging in exercises such as as jogging or playing sports not only strengthens your physical body but also reduces mental stress in a healthy and natural way.

Find a hobby

• Develop new and fun hobbies, such as taking up music lessons or cooking classes. These can take your mind off stressful events.

Make plans to manage stress

• Give yourself time to relax. Schedule meaningful and enjoyable activities and stick with it.

Maintain a sense of humour

• Instead of complaining about life's frustrations, try to laugh about them as laughing can relieve stress, pain tolerance and increase strengthen the immune system. The bottom line is that we are responsible for the way we feel, whether or not we feel stressed out and also how we choose to manage stress. Remember that we have the power to choose serenity over stress.

Get support

• It always helps to talk with someone who knows or cares about you. These include your family members, friends, co-workers and counsellors.