Annoying hiccups that occur in life, such as the car breaking down on your way to work. Or forgetting your card when you’ve just pulled up to the supermarket, happens to the best of us.
But, what you don’t want to do is panic even though that’s usually the most natural feeling that occurs when a stressful event unfolds.
To help skip the stressful stage, and handle all of life’s many speed bumps in your stride, the below steps can help.
Breathe
Step back, and take a few deep breaths. It can be challenging to think clearly and act logically when you’re feeling upset or angry.
By using breathing exercises, you can self soothe your stresses and move into a calmer, more controlled state of being.
A breather is the first step for helping you take back control of a situation.
Perspective
By altering your view of stressful situations, you can change what you would usually look at as a threat – instead, as a challenge.
Research reveals that viewing an event as something to overcome enables you to get your brain into action and use your resources to solve the problem.
On the other hand, seeing a bad situation as a threat exacerbates stress levels. And it can force your flight sense to kick in, which pushes you to run away from the problem.
Think
Following a breather, and altering the perceptions of the matter at hand, puts you an excellent position to start thinking of reasonable solutions.
For instance, if you’ve locked yourself outside your home, it’s time to make a mental note of your options and work through each one.
Whether checking your house to see if you’ve left a window open, you can climb through, or contacting a local Emergency Locksmith to help you access your home. Compiling solutions, and taking action, allows you to begin taking charge of the circumstances; in doing so, you’ll start to think and feel more positive.
Don’t Give Up
Just because your first idea to the problem didn’t work out, don’t lose faith, try the next plan.
When you’re in an anxious situation, it tests your character and can show you what you’re made of. And so, rather than giving up on a problem keep looking for a way out.
If you’re going through hell, keep going – Winston Churchill
Self Talk
Be mindful of your thought process when handling a stressful situation. Negative, intrusive thoughts can be damaging for your self-confidence levels, which can disable your motivation and perseverance to fix a stressful occasion. Instead, replace negative thoughts, with positive affirmations, such as “I can do it”, “I will fix it”, “I’m great at problem-solving”.
Learn
Handling stress in your stride, particularly for people who are sensitive or easily overwhelmed takes continuous practice and learning to attain coping mechanisms that work for the individual. And to build resilience which enables a person to bounce back from a problem quickly.
Next time you’re in a predicament, and you feel your stress-levels rising, turn to the above steps to help you deal with the situation calmly.