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Kayla Rickert

Professor Carter

English Composition 1201

26 March 2022

Managing Stress

Stress is one of the most common feelings that people feel on a daily basis nowadays in a

variety of ways for many distinct reasons. Stress is evidentially the make it or break it in our

daily lives and overcoming it can be rough and different for everybody. To best manage stress

and anxiety, people should talk with someone they trust, write in a journal, focus on getting more

sleep and exercise, and make some environmental lifestyle changes. Read along and see if any of

these management tips and statistics found could help you manage stress.

The definition of stress is a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from

certain circumstances. An example of stress is when someone has a lot of things to do at one

time and does not know how or when to find time to get it all done without letting people down

and leading to failure. I personally have experienced these feelings of stress. If you can relate to

this, you should read along to see an explanation on how to effectively use these stress

management tools.

First of all, exercise is great overall for the body mentally and physically. Internally it

makes the body feel better and externally looks better. Once you see the physical changes

working out can do to your body, your mind will create a sense of routine and want to be at the

gym and gain motivation to look and feel your best all the time. This is the first way to manage
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stress. When exercising, taking your stress- that leads to anger out at the gym can help to release

it and feel better and relieved from stress. “Exercise reduces levels of the body's stress hormones,

such as adrenaline and cortisol. It also stimulates the production of endorphins, chemicals in the

brain that are the body's natural painkillers and mood elevators” (Harvard Health Publishing).

Once the stress has been released from the body and the endorphins are produced, one’s mood

increases drastically and sets you up for success in whatever it is that caused the stress in the first

place.

Furthermore, exercising, and heavy activity can lead to exhaustion. This calms the body

and can help to reduce stress. Taking naps and resting after a long workout due to using so much

energy can ease the mind and create a feeling of calmness. Being calm is a great short-term fix

for stress even though it may not last long. After exercising, the mind can be cleared and free

from many emotions, more than just stress. A calm way of exercising can be taking a nice walk

or even doing some breathing exercises. Mental exercise is just as important as physical exercise

for the body. Uneasy breathing can be a common response to stress. “You can learn to control

your respirations so they mimic relaxation; the effect, in fact, will be relaxing” (Harvard Health

Publishing). This small exercise can do so much, and you can even take it up a notch with some

meditation or yoga.

In addition, sleep can help to manage stress. Exercising leads to exhaustion and

exhaustion leads to sleep. A common side effect of stress can be sleep deprivation and just

causes an endless cycle of sleep deprivation and increased stress. To get better sleep, some of

these tips can be helpful. They include exercising regularly, drinking less caffeine and alcohol

near bedtime, setting a sleep schedule, exposing yourself to more sunlight, and do not looking at

any electronics up to 30 minutes to an hour before bed. “Sleep is so crucial that even slight sleep
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deprivation or poor sleep can affect memory, judgment and mood” (APA 3). It all goes back to

how mentally feeling better can improve and help to reduce stress. Lack of sleep can even cause

psychosis in any individual depending on how long since the last amount of sleep was.

(APA).

Some adjustments may need to be made to the environment that you live in. This may

include the bedroom. To be able to sleep a bed needs to be comfortable and clean. Try washing

your bedding and cleaning your room to get a bit of a reset to sleep better at night. Another way

de-cluttering can improve one's life is by freeing the mind of the stress caused by being

unorganized or dirty. This way, it is much easier to focus on what is truly important to get the
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stress completely released from the body. I know when I have a clean room, I feel much more

put together and in a much better mood than when I have a messy room or am in an unorganized/

dirty environment in general. Penn Medicine, Chester County Hospital wrote, “...having too

much clutter can actually negatively impact your sense of home — and can cause some serious

stress” (Chester County 23). Not having a sense of home is another potential cause of moodiness

and when someone does not feel happy in their home, it will be stressful.

Another manager of stress can be communication skills. There are many ways of

communicating but the most effective is seeking professional help from a therapist. Attending

therapy can be a way of releasing stress. Knowing that there is someone to keep your issues to

themselves and that is there to listen to you will already help to relieve stress. Cognitive

Behavior Therapy is an example of talk therapy that can change negative thought patterns and

release bad stress. “Professional help can be beneficial in giving you an outlet to talk about your

stress, learning to identify the main causes of stress in your life, and learning how to incorporate

tools for reducing stress daily” (Cohen). A therapist can listen and pick out exact strategies for

someone personally struggling with stress based on their personality and what the cause of it is.

One could disagree that communication could be the worst way to manage stress.

Someone with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder could be terrified to share their experience and

attend any type of therapy or speak about their stress and issues with a trusted other. Everybody

is different, but one way to fix this is to encourage them. Be their support system and let them

know that they are strong and can do it. With the right materials and support this can easily be

changed. The type of therapy that would be best for someone with PTSD is cognitive behavior

therapy. “CBT is a type of psychotherapy that has consistently been found to be the most

effective treatment of PTSD both in the short term and the long term” (ADAA 2). Inside
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cognitive behavior therapy there are many kinds of therapy that can be used if one fails. These

include exposure therapy, cognitive restructuring, cognitive processing therapy, prolonged

exposure, and stress inoculation training.

To add to the idea of talking with someone about your stress to release it, one can also

connect with friends or family members who will listen. “When you connect with people in

person, your body releases a hormone that stops your fight-or-flight response” (Ragland). You

begin to relax after connecting and it is even better when you come to the realization that you are

not alone, and others may be going through the same stress as you. Connecting to others and

sharing with likeminded people who have experienced the same situations that you have

welcomes people to open up about their trials and triumphs in life, creating a rapport with peers.

Talking is said to be a way to calm you and naturally release stress.

Building rapport with people is important; therefore, to add, there is no problem if you

cannot trust someone enough to spill out all your stress from life onto them. There is one more

way of communicating your stress and it is through writing. “Writing down what you’re

worrying about can help you to clear your head and reduce stress and anxiety” (Reachout.com).

This can be done with a journal or diary, notes on your phone, or even texting with someone over

the phone. This is a good outlet for letting things out and not expecting a response or for anyone

to know your business. Some introverts or people who are shy will convert to this method of

communication when dealing with stress.

In conclusion, the best ways to manage stress are through communication, exercising,

and proper rest. Once the stressor has been identified then it can be isolated and worked to

minimize the overall stress through communication, exercise, and a restful night of sleep.
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“Exercising to Relax,” Harvard Medical School, 7 July 2022,

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/exercising-to-

relax#:~:text=Exercise%20reduces%20levels%20of%20the,natural%20painkillers%20and%20

mood%20elevators. Accessed 26 March 2022.

Ragland, Lauren. "Ways to Manage Stress,” Web MD, 14 September 2021,

https://www.webmd.com/balance/stress-management/stress-management Accessed 26 March

2022.

“PTSD Facts & Treatment” Anxiety & Depression Association of America,

https://adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/posttraumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd/treatment-facts.

Accessed 26 March 2022.

“The Psychology of Clutter: Why Spring Cleaning May Help With Your Stress” Penn

Medicine, https://www.chestercountyhospital.org/news/health-eliving-blog/2020/april/why-

spring-cleaning-may-help-with-your-stress Accessed 9 April 2022.

“Stress and Sleep” American Psychology Association,

https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2013/sleep Accessed 9 April 2022.

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