Gulfport Healthcare

Most people have very similar lists. The number of issues that seriously affect the majority of people is actually quite small. Money, work, and relationship issues are the most common causes of stress. Any time you interact with other people, there is the potential for stress. And the lack of money is certainly extremely stressful.

These issues are all very common, but they cause some people more stress than others. Why? Well, some people seem to have better built-in coping mechanisms than others. Perhaps it’s just a natural, innate ability. Perhaps it was somehow taught to them or passed on to them by the people around them.

If you want to learn how to cope with these stressors in a better way, it can be learned. Fortunately, anyone can learn how to develop these coping mechanisms.

We’re going to take a look at ways to deal with some of the most common stressors. You’ll learn how to manage these issues in order to minimize their impact on your life, and how to deal with the stress they do bring in to your world.

Money Issues

The most common source of stress in most people’s lives is money, or lack thereof. The old saying says “money is the root of all evil”, but perhaps it would be more apropos to say “the lack of money is the root of all evil”.

It’s understandable that money troubles are such a huge cause of stress. When money is tight, you may face all kinds of issues. You may be at risk of losing your car, your utilities, even your home.

Not only do you have to worry about losing the actual items, but you have to worry about the repercussions of this. For example, your family might be pretty upset with you if they suddenly had no cable television. This might cause arguments within the family. Also, if you lost your car, you might have no way to get to work. If you lost your home, you might have nowhere to live.

These are all extremely stressful situations. And the arguments and conflicts that tend to crop up as a direct result of money problems can make the situation a lot worse.

When dealing with money issues, there are two main elements at play. First, you must make more money. Next, you must find ways to control expenditures so you spend less.

Making more money may involve taking on another job, but this could end up being more stressful, especially if you are already under a lot of pressure at your main job.

You may also take on some part-time freelancing or consulting jobs, perform odd jobs here and there, start a small business on the side, sell some of your unused stuff, or something similar.

It may not be realistic for you to make more money if you’re already extremely short on time, so you may have to instead work on spending less. There are many ways to cut expenditures. Even if you think you aren’t spending much unnecessary money, almost everyone can find ways to cut expenses without experiencing too much discomfort. Some ideas to get you started include:

• Cutting down to basic cable
• Moving your cell phone plan down to a cheaper monthly rate
• Eating out less often
• Taking your lunch to work instead of eating out
• Eating breakfast at home instead of on the way to work
• Turning lights off when not in use to save electricity
• Taking public transportation instead of driving
• Take coffee to work in a thermos instead of buying it
• Pursue free forms of entertainment

These are just a few ideas to get you started. If you don’t feel comfortable cutting out certain expenditures, don’t. Just find some that you can feasibly cut out and do so.

The point is to make your life less stressful. If cutting out a certain expense would make your life less happy and fulfilled, don’t worry about that one. Just do your best to cut spending down as much as possible without affecting your quality of life too much.

Relationship Issues

Perhaps the second most common source of stress is difficulties in relationships. While there will usually be problems in all interpersonal relationships, those that happen between romantic partners are usually the most stressful.

Your romantic partner should be your rock, your biggest supporter, the person who helps ease your stress. Unfortunately, this is an unrealistic ideal in most relationships. While this should be what happens, it rarely is. Most relationships are filled with a lot of hostility, jealousy, and other negative emotions that cause excessive stress for both partners.

One thing you need to realize is that if you are experiencing stress due to your relationship, your partner probably is, too. This leaves open the possibility of talking with your partner and working things out.

Sit down with your partner and let them know that you feel the problems the two of you have are contributing to your excessive stress levels. Let your partner know you don’t blame them for the issues, and that you know that they are probably also experiencing stress.

Tell your partner how much you care about him or her, and how you want things to be better. Stress is not healthy for either of you, and it’s certainly not healthy for your children, if you have any.

By sitting down together and working on the issues, the two of you might be able to come to some sort of peaceful resolution. If nothing else, perhaps the two of you could see a therapist who might be able to help you through your issues in order to ease the stress that both of you are experiencing.

It might be a good idea to sit down together and make a list of all of the things that are currently bothering you with regards to your partner and your relationship.

Once you’ve completed your lists, swap lists and discuss the issues. Try to find ways that the two of you can work together to eliminate some of the issues, as well as ways to reduce the stress you feel from those you can’t eliminate entirely.

It’s extremely important for the two of you to be able to work together in order to improve the relationship. It’s best to stick together if at all possible, but if you cannot resolve your differences, you may have no choice but to leave the relationship behind in order to reduce your stress levels. Remember, this is a last resort. Ideally, you want to work out your problems and stay together if you can be happy together.

Workplace Issues

Issues at work are a huge factor in the stress levels of most people. Whether you’re the boss or an employee, whether you work for someone else or you’re self-employed, you will undoubtedly experience some stress as a result of your job.

One of the most common sources of workplace stress is the inability to realistically meet deadlines. If you feel the deadlines you receive aren’t realistic or are problematic, you will either need to discuss the issue with your boss or clients and try to get your deadlines relaxed a little, or you will have to learn better time management skills.

If other employees are given similar deadlines and are successfully meeting those deadlines, you may have to take a look at the situation and try to find out if there are specific reasons that you are not able to meet your deadlines when other people are. It could be a problem with your time management skills, it could be that you have special circumstances, or it could be that you have an issue like depression or ADD that might need to be treated.

Another common workplace issue is simply not getting along well with your coworkers. If you are having an issue with a coworker that you feel is interfering with your work or causing you undue stress, try talking it over with them first. If you go behind that coworker’s back and talk to your superior first, you may alienate that coworker even further, perhaps making the situation even worse.

If you try to work out your differences and aren’t successful, you may have to go to your boss for help. Just explain that you have already tried unsuccessfully to work out your differences with your coworker, and that you really need help. Your boss might be able to at least work with your coworker to find a reasonable solution for both of you.

If you are having trouble at work, don’t ever be afraid to talk to your boss. Even if your main issue is caused directly by your boss, talking to him or her may be beneficial. If you can’t work out your problems no matter what you try, you may have to consider finding another job. Since your job is your livelihood, you can’t let this kind of stress stay in your life.

Time Management Issues

As I mentioned in the previous section, time management issues are common in the workplace. They can also cause problems at home, at school, and anywhere else.

If you don’t have very good time management skills, you may find it very difficult to get everything you need to get done finished in a day. This can lead to you getting behind on your work, which is very stressful.

I suggest taking a time management class or getting a good book or course on it. Even if you think you already have good skills in this area, it can’t hurt to improve them. Time management can help you in every area of your life, from work, to school, to home, and more.

If you aren’t good at managing your time, you will find yourself under extreme time constraints often. This can happen at work when you fail to manage your workday efficiently or you fail to meet deadlines. It can happen at school if you aren’t able to get your homework done on time. And it can happen at home when you fail to manage your housework and scheduling well.

Imagine how stressful it would be to have your teenage daughter yelling at you because you were supposed to take her to a party at the same time your son had a baseball game that was very important to him and your sister had planned for the two of you to go out to lunch together.

In this situation, you would upset your daughter, your son, and your sister all at the same time. This would be detrimental not only to your relationships with these very important people, but also to your own sanity!

With better time management skills, you would be able to manage your schedule better, and you might be able to find a way to fit everything into your day without upsetting anyone.

At work, you would be able to better manage your time each day, and you would also be able to meet deadlines more effectively. This type of thing can translate into absolutely every aspect of your daily life, and it could really help you reduce your stress.

Family Issues

Sometimes you may have issues with family members that cause you a lot of stress. Usually these issues can be resolved by simply talking things out, but sometimes things are more complicated than that.

If you’re having very serious issues with a family member that you can’t seem to resolve, you basically have two issues. You can either seek the help of a mediator such as another family member who is neutral, or a professional such as a therapist, or you can simply cut that person out of your life.

If that person is your child, it may not be that simple. You can’t simply cut your child out of your life without causing yourself significant guilt and distress. In fact, it may be more stressful to cut your child out of your life than it is to have them in it. In this case, it’s vital to try as many times as necessary to talk out your differences, and to seek qualified help if you are unable to work anything out on your own.

If the family member is not your child, it is still preferable to try to work out your differences first. Family is important. Having a strong, tight-knit family structure is actually a great stress reducer. Even if you have to see a therapist or other qualified mediator together, it can be very beneficial to repair the relationship rather than just abandoning it.

Of course, if you try everything you can to repair the relationship and are unsuccessful, you may have no alternative but to cut off contact with that person. Your mental and physical health should be your top priority, and if your family member cannot respect that, perhaps they have no place in your life at the present time.

Friendship Issues

As with family, friends can often be a major source of stress. Just like with family, you should first try to resolve your problems amicably. It is a much better idea to try to repair an existing friendship, and it’s sometimes easier to do that than to try to make new friends.

Sadly, there will always be times when a relationship simply can’t be mended. If you must, don’t hesitate to cut people out of your life. Remember, your mental health and physical health is at stake, and they are far more important than any friendship could ever be.

Illness

If you are physically ill with a major disease or injury, especially if it causes you significant disability, it can be extremely stressful. Mental illnesses can also be extremely stressful.

If that illness is life-threatening, the stress it could cause you could be immeasurable. Life-threatening illnesses, either your own or that of someone you care about, are one of the most terrifying and stressful events you could ever imagine.

If you are experiencing a serious illness or injury, it’s very important to seek help from a therapist, especially if that illness could be life-threatening. You should never have to go through something like that alone, and even your friends and family may be unable to support you in such a frightening time.

If the illness is not yours, but that of someone you love, you should be sure to spend as much quality time with that person as possible. Not only will it be comforting to you to know that you spent as much time as possible with them before they passed away, but you would also be providing them with love and support in their greatest time of need

Next Part 4 Eliminating Stress-Stress and Your Diet