1. Strengthen Your Mind
Stress
management techniques that strengthen and reinforce the body will also
help to strengthen the mind’s ability to resist the negative effects of
stress. But some stress management techniques directly deal with the
mind—the thought processes, emotions, intellect, and, extending beyond
the mind, the quest for spiritual meaning.
2. Avoid the Classic Mental Stress Spiral
Stress
can cause or be caused by a variety of mental and emotional conditions.
Working too hard, pushing yourself too far, spreading yourself too
thin, taking on too much, or living in a state of unhappiness or
anxiety is incredibly stressful. Like physical stress, mental stress
makes life difficult, and the harder things are, the more stress they
cause. You are caught in another downward spiral.
3. What the Spiral Looks Like
Perhaps
you are experiencing difficulties in a personal relationship. This is
stressful, but rather than deal with the problem, you throw yourself
into your job, working long hours and taking on many additional
projects. This new obsession with work adds more stress to your life, as
do the long hours, the lost sleep, and the poor dietary habits you’ve
developed. Your body begins to suffer, and so does your mind. At first,
you may find you have an extra edge at work because you are channeling
the energy from your personal stress into your work. But, eventually,
you will reach your stress tolerance point.
4. The Many Forms of Mental Stress
Mental
stress comes in lots of different forms. Social stressors include:
pressure from work; an impending important event; relationship problems
such as with a spouse, child, or parent; or the death of a loved one.
Any major change in life can result in mental stress, depending on how
the mind interprets the event, and even when an event is positive—a
marriage, a graduation, a new job, a Caribbean cruise—the changes it
involves, even if temporary, can be overwhelming.
5. Avoid These Negative Effects of Mental Stress
As
a result of mental stress you might experience: an inability to
concentrate, uncontrollable worrying, feelings of anxiety and panic,
sadness, depression, fatigue, irritability, and a host of other
emotions. Yes, some of these symptoms of stress can be directly
connected to the body, but these symptoms are often a product of the
mind and its interpretation of and obsession with or attachment to
stressful events. How do you stress-proof your mind? With mental stress
management, of course.
6. Manage That Stress
Stress
management for the mind and the spirit is specifically targeted to help
still, calm, and quiet the overactive mind. These techniques help you
to recognize the thought processes that are increasing your stress, the
attitudes that can trigger a stress response, and the way you tend to
cling to ideas as if they were life preservers. Some of these techniques
are related to physical stress management (specifically, relaxation
techniques) because, again, mind and body are inextricably connected.
But if you are experiencing even a few of the mental negative effects of
stress or feel that your spirit is sorely in need of reinforcements and
want to go straight to the source, try these stress management
techniques for mind and spirit.
7. Don’t Let the Mental Turn Physical
If you allow
stress to continue for too long, you could suffer burnout, losing all
interest in your job as your lack of control increases. You could begin
to experience panic attacks, severe depression, or even a nervous
breakdown, which is a temporary state of mental illness that could
occur suddenly or slowly over a long period of time.
Mental
stress can be insidious because you can ignore it more easily than you
can ignore a physical illness. Yet, it is just as powerful and just as
harmful to the body and to your life. Ferreting out your sources of
mental stress is an important key to managing your stress.
8. Find Your Spiritual Side
Whether
or not you have religious beliefs, you still have a spiritual side.
Think of it as the part of you that can’t be measured, calculated, or
wholly explained—the you that makes you you. When
we ignore our spiritual side, we throw our bodies out of balance. When
our spiritual lives are further compromised because of the effects of
physical and mental stress—low self-esteem, anger, frustration,
pessimism, the destruction of relationships, the loss of creativity,
hopelessness, fear—we can lose the energy and joy of life.
9. Identify Spiritual Stress
Spiritual
stress is more nebulous than mental or physical stress. It can’t be
measured directly, but it remains a potent and harmful form of stress
that is inextricably linked to physical and mental stress. What is
spiritual stress? It is the neglect of and the eventual loss of our
spiritual lives, or the part of us that hopes, loves, dreams, plans, and
reaches for something greater and better in humanity and in life. It is
the noncorporeal within us, the soul.
