April is Stress Awareness Month. Here’s how to cope
By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
Stress isn’t only the hair-tearing day of unexpected cancelations, breakdowns and missed connections.
Stress can also come from perfectly happy causes, like a job promotion, new baby or retirement.
Any change can provoke stress. Life is never stress-free and we wouldn’t want it to be. But we can plan to mitigate stress to avoid its harmful effects on physical and mental health.
A big part of stress management is catching it early “before it comes to a head and you meet a breaking point,” said Matthew Drury, licensed master social worker at Rochester Regional Health Behavioral Health.
He recommends scheduling self-care measures and “being proactive with these types of things.”
Schedule a weekly walk with a trusted friend, treat yourself to time for pleasure reading for a few minutes each day, book a massage therapy session and plan to take a long bath or shower, for example.
Rushing through each day tends to compound stress. Delegating where possible and eliminating unnecessary tasks can help lighten the load.
Brendan Cooper, licensed clinical social worker in private practice in Rochester, encourages slowing down instead of speeding up to reduce stress.
“Be more deliberate about how we go about things,” he said. “If I have a stack of phone calls and emails and I have to figure out what to get for dinner and pick someone up — I can’t do all these at once. There are only one or two things you have to do right now.”
Focusing on the task at hand can help reduce stress because that task is more likely to get done rather than hopping from chore to chore without completing any.
Cooper also promotes mindfulness as a strategy for mitigating stress. Mindfulness involves directing the attention to the sensory input at hand — sight, sound, sensation, scent and taste — and acknowledging and appreciating them. Mindfulness sets aside planning and doing for just being and enjoying.
Meditation offers a helpful tool for managing stress. Spend time daily focusing on pleasant thoughts, uplifting mantras, spiritual writings such as Scripture verses or gratitude lists — anything that helps you feel grounded and peaceful.
In addition to meditation, deep breathing can help mitigate stress, according to physician Stephen Judge, director of the UR Medicine Primary Care Network and associate chairman of Primary Care Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center.
“Breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth,” he said. “It really works.”
Try to gradually increase the time breathing in and out, making them longer, slower breaths to calm the body. This practice has been proven to provide both mental and physical benefits relating to stress.
Taking care of basic physical needs can also help the mind and body better tolerate stress. Judge said that regular exercise, a healthful diet and plenty of rest can help mitigate the effects of stress.
The World Health Organization recommends a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical exercise throughout the week for supporting good health. This should include aerobic exercise and resistance exercise. A balanced diet should include plenty of whole produce, lean sources of protein, healthful fats, whole grains and plenty of hydration. Try to reduce consumption of processed foods and simple sugars and simple starches. Most people need around seven to eight hours of rest every night. Maintaining a regular sleep schedule and a restful place to sleep can help establish a good wake—sleep cycle and beneficial slumber.