The Two Keys To Minimising Your Stress Response

We all know that ongoing emotional and psychological stress is bad for our health, our relationships and our happiness. However, modern urban life is filled with so many potential stress triggers that we can't avoid them all. So what do we do? Hide under a bushel, just decide you can't beat it and go with it, or turn to cigarettes, alcohol and drugs to just numb it all away?

We cannot control everything that happens in our lives, and trying to do so creates more stress for us. What we can always control or have a choice about is our response to what is happening in our lives. There are two keys to minimising our stress response: perspective and resilience.

Perspective

Perspective is how you view what is happening in your life. It is how you interpret it i.e. the classic do you see the glass half empty or half-full: do you see a problem or an opportunity? This is not just about willful positive thinking though, it is about your core beliefs about life. Just trying to be positive when you really haven't worked through your true feelings and beliefs is just putting up a facade, and it is stressful trying to wear a mask to cover up your true self.

Perspective links into the next key: resilience. When you take the time to get to know your true self, tune into your feelings and beliefs, develop those beliefs that serve you and let go of those that don't then your perspective will naturally become more positive.

Taking a break can be great for helping you to see a situation from a larger angle, one where you are at least partly removed from it. Removing yourself physically and at least somewhat, emotionally, creates space for you tochoose your perspective and next steps rather than just reacting. Breaks don't have to be long. You could just go and make yourself a cup of tea, go for a 5 minute walk or listen to some uplifting music. Doing some physical activity is extra helpful for facilitating a change in perspective though because exercise can help decrease stress hormones and increase feel-good endorphins.

Resilience

Resilience is about love. If you love and respect yourself, if you feel confident in your worth and if you have a belief in the over-riding goodness (love) of the Universe/God, then you are far less likely to feel overwhelmed by the events of life.

Like any relationship though, your relationship with yourself needs to be nurtured in an ongoing way. While you may have break-through and 'aha' moments when you move to a new level of love and acceptance of yourself it's not like you ever 'get it' and then that's it. You need to regularly spend quality time with yourself, feed your mind the thoughts that foster your happiness and do things that bring delight to your soul and a smile to your face.

While there are many things we can do to 'manage' stress, building a strong foundation of self-love means we are far less likely to be shaken by potentially stressful events in the first place. It is prevention, rather than treatment.

So what is the best thing we can do to minimise our response to the many potential stress triggers we encounter every day in modern life? Have fun. Do something everyday that makes you smile and that makes you feel good about yourself. Invest in yourself.

You are the most important person in your life and you always have the power to choose how you will see and respond to the world.