Climbing Out of the Pressure Cooker: Dealing With Anxiety Without Stressing Yourself Out

Frog meditatingThere is a billion-dollar industry designed to help you escape from stress. From escapist vacations to spa treatments that promise to “melt away stress” you can actually feel a lot of pressure when trying to stay calm. Is it just me, or does that sound a little backwards?

Maybe it’s time to rethink the whole concept. Even the Scientific American thinks that stress may not be the health boogeyman most of us were raised to think it is. So how can we handle stress in a way that doesn’t actually drive us to screaming at someone or scarfing down a box of Twinkies on a random Thursday night? There are a few options:

Turn pressure into your ally

Pressure is natural for humans. We are equipped to deal with it, with adrenaline surges and other responses. More to the point, pressure and stress are designed to help us detect and respond to danger. High pressure can also be a road to peak performance. When we are stressed, that may be the kick in the butt we need to climb faster, run harder, or get that business off the ground. Stress is designed to help us survive — and thrive. What we are not designed to deal with is low-grade, non-stop pressure, simply known as stress and anxiety. That sort of niggling worry is what will age us and hurt our cardiovascular system. The trick is to learn to recognize this type of anxiety and address it.

 

Define it. Name it. Own it.

Write down a list of the things in your life that stress you out. Sort it so that the most stressful items are on top. Give each source of anxiety a nickname, preferably something a little silly. Every time you feel stress creeping up on you, say can always say to yourself, “Oh this is just that stupid worry about getting all my ducks in a row, nothing more.” This is the first step to self-control.

 

Cross that bridge when you come to it

Deal with your pressure items one at a time. If this isn’t the time and place for it, wait until it is. One of the great things about stress is that you can procrastinate. You put off work and car repairs all the time, so why not delay something as tiresome as money worries? If you find yourself worried about your business, tell yourself “I will worry about that tomorrow. Right now, I’m only going to think about my health concerns.” The idea is to “be in the now” or “be in the moment.” It keeps from being overwhelmed by multiple worries.

 

Find ways to address what worries you

Once you have a list of your worries, they are no longer vague anxieties — they become concrete problems. And that means they can become actionable items. Beside each worry on your list, brainstorm things you can do to turn the situation around. Are you worried about your health? Maybe you can visit a new doctor or hire a trainer. Do you have financial woes? Maybe you need to sit down with the accountant. Anxiety usually happens because you feel out of control. When you realize that there are things you can do, that tight feeling clenching in your chest eases up a bit. It feels better to do than to sit around and worry.

 

Use a productivity system

Get things out of your head and into the system a trust, like a productivity app or personal assistant. This way you can focus on doing things instead of worrying about things you may have missed. This lets you free your mind from remembering where everything is and what to do next, so you can re-focus on getting things done. Most of us also worry about things falling through the cracks. When you have a good system in place, that’s at least one worry crossed off your list.

 

1% theory, 99% practice

There is no shortage of advice on dealing with stress and pressure, but “knowing and not doing is not knowing.” Make sure you spend 99% of your time in practical application instead of reading endless books and articles about dealing with stress. Practice makes perfect.

 

One practical thing you can do to address worry is to train your mind. An untrained mind can accomplish nothing, and the only mind-training method known to man is meditation. Start with 3 to 5 minutes, twice per day, ideally when you wake in the morning and before you retire to bed at night. Don’t be greedy and add more time too quickly. There’s always the danger that starting too strong will tire you out quickly. Think of it as a marathon, not as a 100-meter sprint. My advice to beginners – and personal favorite – is zazen, a sitting meditation that is the core and only form of Zen practice. Another good choice is the Sedona Method, which teaches you to stay in the moment and release stress. Or you can always look up a meditation group or class in your area.

 

You don’t need another day off to deal with stress — you need a better solution. Start with that list of worries and start owning your anxiety rather than letting it rule your life.

 

About the author:

Dmitri Eroshenko is the founder of Relenta, an innovative solution for business CRM needs. When he’s not busy helping companies whip their marketing and customer service into shape, Dmitri likes to travel, read, and spend time with friends and family.

The following two tabs change content below.
My Twitter profileMy Google+ profileMy LinkedIn profile

Gary

CEO at 3Bug Media
Gary Shouldis is the founder of 3Bug Media, a web marketing company that helps businesses create 360 Marketing Strategies to dominate their market. His blog is read by over 20 thousand small business owners a month and has been featured in the N.Y. Times Small Business, Business Insider and Yahoo Small Business.