Ways to Stay Calm in Stressful Situations

Stress is part and parcel of everyday life and it’s a natural human response to certain situations. However, if you find yourself feeling stressed most of the time and don’t deal with your symptoms, this can lead to more serious mental health issues such as depression.

What causes stress?

Everybody is different and what might be stressful for one person might not be for another. But there are some situations that tend to be stressful for the majority of people, such as:

• Moving home
• Job insecurity
• Relationship problems
• Financial issues

Stress is our body’s way of responding to mental or emotional pressures and it can be a sign that we need to take action to preserve our wellbeing.

Symptoms of stress

There may be times when stress goes unnoticed but the longer it does so, the worse it can become so it’s important to recognise early signs and take action. Some of the symptoms of stress include:

• Feeling angry or irritable 
• Headaches
• Sleep disturbance
• Exhaustion
• Lack of self-confidence
• Tearful
• Digestive problems
• Change in appetite and weight 
• Increased risk of heart disease
• Brain fog
• Poor memory

How to remain calm in stressful situations

It might not always be possible to avoid stressful situations owing to the nature of life’s ups and downs, however, there are ways you can learn to stay calm.

1. Breathe

One of the simplest ways to ease feelings of stress is to focus on your breathing. When we’re feeling stressed or anxious, our breathing tends to become faster, and we take shorter breaths which sends a message to our brain that can make us feel even more anxious as it sends our body into fight or flight mode. By paying attention to your breathing and intentionally taking slower, deep breaths, it helps us to feel calmer.

2. Recognise when you’re stressed or anxious

When we find ourselves in stressful situations, often we let our body’s response take over. Just by recognising how you’re feeling, you become more in control and are able reduce the feelings of anxiety and take action to either remove yourself from the situation or manage your breathing.

3. Rationalise the situation

Feelings of anxiety and stress can easily get out of hand when your mind fears the worst. By challenging your initial thoughts and rationalising the situation, you can talk yourself into feeling calmer. Instead of thinking the worst or imagining ‘what if’ scenarios, ask yourself what advice you’d give to someone in your situation if you weren’t feeling stressed.

4. Exercise

Exercise is a great way to release any negative emotions as it releases serotonin and endorphins in the brain and can help relieve stress and anxiety and make you feel calmer. These feel-good neurotransmitters improve your overall mental wellbeing by boosting your immune system, making you feel happier and helping you to relax. It’s also great for improving your sleep which is often disturbed when you’re feeling anxious or stressed.

Find out more

For more about stress and ways to manage it, download our FREE booklet "The Stress Factor - Your Guide To Stress" >