Stress Management Skills

Stress, anxiety and depression blight the lives of millions of sufferers every year. As well as affecting mental health, these illnesses also affect physical health so let's now look at 3 key stress management skills to help you cope effectively with these problems.

1. You have power - When you're under stress, a feeling of being helpless can creep in. One can start to believe that everything you do is pointless and that nothing will ever change. When you are confronted with a stressful event, it is vital to keep perspective. E.g. You spit-up from your spouse and you begin to feel as though your entire life is a mess. This has the effect of allowing one problem to have an influence on all parts of your life. Even though it is a stressful problem, only a single area of your life will be affected. Relationships with family and friends, your job, and your social life can carry on as normal. Such a sense of perspective will enable you to keep control of the problem and prevent it affecting all areas of your life instead of a sense of helplessness.

2. Maintain contact - A strong feeling of wanting to be alone is a harmful symptom common to stressful illness. You keep your problems to yourself, you start to avoid the company of others and soon, you begin to retreat into your own world. Isolating yourself in this way makes you feel even worse so it's critical to avoid this, even though the urge to be alone maybe very strong. Stay in regular contact with one or two people who are supportive and understanding of you and who you can talk to when you need to. Just inviting a good friend over to watch a film or listen to some music, sharing their company like this is crucial. Sharing problems with someone you trust will generate new solutions and fresh approaches and will considerably alleviate stressful illnesses.

3. You're worth it - Low self-confidence is one more symptom experienced by sufferers of stress, depression and anxiety. When you feel so stressed that you can't handle the situations facing you, your confidence levels soon plummet. To maintain your self esteem, treat yourself to some of the nicer things life has to offer - watching a play, dining out, shopping for new clothes etc. as frequently as you can. I once dated a great girl who'd had to overcome a very difficult situation and she enjoyed going to the theater and dining out often and she always wore really smart clothes. She said: "I do nice things not because I'm seeking approval but because I like doing nice things and I'm worth nice things". One sentence but so much power! Believing that you can enjoy the nicer things life has to offer because you deserve them will help you to maintain your self esteem.

Boost your self-confidence and dramatically alleviate stress, depression and anxiety by putting these three surefire stress busters into action. Importantly, these are key skills that will serve you well for years to come.