tips for when you are in a period of high stress

grshn:

• set priorities and reduce your overall activity

Whenever you’re facing more stress than usual, try to reduce your activities, set priorities, and focus on short-term goals. However, try to not avoid activity all together.

This is difficult, because the way you think about tasks changes dramatically when you are stressed. Try your best to stop during times of high stress and ask yourself “What really needs to be done now? What can I let go until some other time?” 

Also, try to recognise that you only have a limited amount of energy – you can’t push yourself too hard – and remember to take time to rest and take care. Stress drains your energy more, so try to be mindful of that. 

• spend extra time with decisions

Stress interferes with your ability to think. The greater the stress, the more likely it is that you will make poor decisions. Wherever possible, avoid making major decisions during times of stress. But, when a decision does have to be made, try to take more time with it, and talk to people about it who are objective – they may see problems or options you didn’t think off because of your reduced ability to do so while being stressed. 

• plan ahead and take actions during times when stress is low

A lot of the time, you know when a period of stress is coming. When that is the case, try to take some time to plan ahead, make decisions, and take action in advance while you’re feeling better – this reduces the amount of thinking you’ll need to worry about during a period of high stress. Having a plan helps you to focus and prioritise tasks. 

For those times when a period of high stress may come suddenly, try to take some time out to relax and collect yourself, so you’re able to plan ahead and prioritise. This can be difficult, so it’s okay if you can’t. Just being mindful of how your body and mind can be affected by stress can help you through. 

---

some gentle reminders for if you are stressed

• take a moment to breathe; close your eyes, put whatever you are doing down, and count slowly to ten
• take a break if you’ve been working for a long time on something
• write a list of what you need to do, and then slowly put the tasks into order of priority
• take some time out of your day to relax and unwind to the best of your ability
• try your best to not push yourself past your limits
• reach out for help if you need to
• you can do this
• i believe in you
• it’ll be okay