Stress less and live more

Navigating your 20s with ease

When you reach your 20s, you're a fully fledged adult. The world opens up in so many wonderful ways and you have the independence to do what you want, when you want. But often stress can accompany that new sense of freedom. In fact, it's a normal psychological and physical reaction to the demands of life.

Our brain is hard-wired with an alarm system for our protection so that when it perceives a threat, our body releases a burst of hormones. This is called the flight-or-fight response. When the threat is gone, our body returns to normal. Unfortunately, the non-stop stress of modern life can mean that our alarm system rarely shuts off!

This is why stress management is so important. It gives us the tools to reset our alarm system. Without stress management, our body is always on red alert. Over time, that level of stress can lead to serious health problems. Now's the time to start learning effective stress management techniques.

Stress is a good thing in small doses. It can energise and motivate and even prevent or delay damage to our cells. But prolonged or excessive stress, usually the kind that overwhelms your ability to cope takes a severe psychological and physical toll. High stress levels are linked to depression, anxiety, cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal problems, an impaired immune system and cancer.

Our genes, personality and life experiences all influence the way we respond to stress. Situations and events that are distressing for most people might not bother us in the least. Or, we may be particularly sensitive to even minor stressors. The first step in dealing with stress is identifying our particular stress triggers.

Some causes of stress are obvious, including job loss, a divorce or the death of a loved one. But small, daily hassles and demands also contribute to stress. Over time, small, persistent stressors can wreak more havoc than sudden, devastating events.

The stress journal

There are some techniques which may be helpful in identifying the factors causing your stress. For one week, note in a stress journal which events and situations cause a negative physical, mental or emotional response. Record the day and the time. Give a brief description of the situation. Where were you? Who was involved? What seemed to cause the stress? Also, describe your reactions. What were your physical symptoms? How did you feel? What did you say or do? Finally, on a scale of 1 (not very intense) to 5 (very intense), rate the intensity of your stress.

Consider making a list of all the demands on your time and energy for one week. Some examples may include your job, volunteer work, peer group pressure even social demands. On a similar scale, rate the intensity of stress that each demand causes.

Sit down and look at your stress recordings. Pay particular attention to events that you ranked as very stressful. Select one of them to work on using problem-solving techniques. That means identifying and exploring the problem, looking for ways to resolve it, and selecting and implementing a solution.

Do you know anyone who isn't stressed out these days? The pace of our lives makes stress management a necessary skill for all of us. Learning to identify our problems and implement solutions is the key to successful stress relief. Identify the triggers, and think about the strategies to make the stress less of a problem. Sometimes the solution may be as easy as turning off the TV when the evening news is too depressing. When you can't avoid a stressful situation, try brainstorming ways to reduce the irritation factor. And don't feel that you have to solve this all on your own. Seek help and support from family and friends.

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Stress won't disappear from our lives. And stress management isn't an overnight cure. But with practice, we can learn how to reduce our stress levels and increase our ability to cope with life's challenges.