Stress Busting 101

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Managing even a minor crisis becomes more difficult if you let small things build up, according to Jane Brody in a blog for the New York Times.

Brody noticed herself getting stressed out over small things when she was in the midst of preparing to take a holiday trip this year, despite being an expert speaking on the subject of managing anxiety. She became less effective in terms of her personal problem-solving, simply because her mind was on many other small details. Brody writes that one of her neighbors had to put the issue in perspective for her, helping her to re-prioritize her “to do” list before the trip.

It’s All About Perspective

Brody uses this personal analogy to highlight what experts in anxiety management has long since discovered through scientific research. In the words of Pennsylvania stress and anxiety psychologist Tamar E. Chansky, “everyday stresses add up.” Chansky believes all of us lose perspective at times when stress mounts. The problem becomes more acute, however, when anxiety is a way of life. People can sometimes lose so much perspective on a daily basis that anxiety becomes chronic and life-crippling.

Chansky advises not sweating over the small stuff, letting go of what she terms “extraneous catastrophes.” Sometimes by letting go of minor issues, or problems over which we have no control, we can better manage our baseline level of stress. The less we worry about, the better we are able to handle real crises when they emerge. Chansky advocates positive thinking, focusing on what can be done to alleviate a problem, rather than fretting about how bad the problem is, or how it cannot possibly be solved.

Brody finds these suggestions very helpful, and employs a kind of informal “self-help group” while she’s walking with her friends. Everyone shares a problem, she relates, and inevitably someone with a more neutral perspective will offer a workable solution.

Chansky offers other valuable solutions, including taking a break when you find yourself getting worked up and practicing breathing slowly and calmly. Deep breaths help slow the heart beat and respiration and will help calm you down, she explains.

Re-Direct Your Focus

Therese J. Borchard, Associate Editor of PsychCentral, agrees with many of the tips offered by Chansky, and offers a few additional pointers. She suggests focusing on a sound or object in your environment instead of the issue that is stressing you out. This kind of break can help calm you, enabling you to more objectively evaluate the situation.

If you are overwhelmed by the big picture, Borchard finds that focusing just on a small task, or a small unit of time each as short as a minute, can help you get through the crisis. If you can make everything “fine” for just one minute, you are more likely to continue this positive spiral for longer and longer periods of time, until you have successfully resolved the crisis.

All of these writers advocate a common theme which is to learn from anxiety, rather than be swallowed whole by it. Feelings of anxiety are a sign that something in your life, either an external event or even an internal thought trigger, need to be changed to become more adaptive. In the words of Borchard, “Bite off less professionally and invest more energy into finding good help for the kids and housework. Because [we] can’t do it all.”