By Stephen Propst
In our society, stress is inevitable. When properly managed, stress can help us form a new, healthier mindset or spur us to take action and move in a positive direction.
Stress as an Opportunity for Growth
In our fast-paced society, it’s no wonder that we often feel stressed out. If you have the time, resources, and experience to effectively manage a situation, stress is kept at bay. When that’s not the case, stress comes into play.
Some level of stress may be inevitable, but it doesn’t have to undermine your well-being. Instead of letting it wear you down, you can actually thrive on stress. You can turn it into a catalyst for building strength, stability, stamina, and self-esteem.
When you learn to control your reaction to the source of stress—troubling issues, difficult conflicts, confusing dilemmas—you turn stressful situations into opportunities for growth.
Stress with Bipolar Disorder
Stress can seem especially overwhelming when you’re living with a brain-based health condition like bipolar disorder. It can physically and emotionally affect your recovery, your overall health, and your peace of mind. Here are some factors to consider:
- Medication side effects, mood swings, and misgivings about recovery can all increase stress.
- The frustration of family and friends, the stigmatization from society, and the maze-like nature of the mental-health system further aggravate stress.
- Your tolerance level for coping with and effectively managing such stress can decrease.
- Left unaddressed or mismanaged, stress can generate feelings of doubt, rejection, anger, and depression.
The Cost of Worrying
A great deal of unnecessary stress is created by one factor alone: worry. Aside from increasing stress, worry perpetuates problems and is a waste of time and energy for a number of reasons:
- The situation at hand remains independent of worry. There’s no correlation between how much you worry and how likely a condition will change for the better.
- You expend time and energy that could have been used to work at solving the problem.
- Your threshold is lowered and it takes less to worry you the next time. You have a diminished tolerance for keeping your cool.
- You lose control and fall into the hands of fate, where you’re often guided by pessimism and irrational thinking instead of logic and reason.
- You move into a reactive posture, making you more susceptible to triggers and less prepared to respond effectively and proactively. Such a mindset can sabotage other recovery efforts.
- As fear mounts, the likelihood of your pursuing potentially effective courses of action dwindles. You shy away from taking the very steps that could help you most.
- The likelihood of your developing other physical and psychological problems increases.
- You detour away from the wellness course as you become filled with doubt and indecisiveness.
Understanding the Role of Stress
There’s no doubt that stress is a force. The good news is that it can play a positive role in our lives. When it’s properly managed, stress can help us form a new, healthier mindset or spur us to take action and move in a different direction.
The more you come to understand the role stress is playing, the more you can respond appropriately. When you take charge of managing stress, there are a number of benefits:
#1 Stress gives you an increased incentive to function more efficiently.
Stop reacting with anger, anxiety, and inaction. Respond by prioritizing tasks, delegating select duties, and managing time more effectively. Focus on staying in control of situations so that the stress they might create doesn’t control you.
#2 Stress lets you learn from your mistakes.
You can take advantage of the experience and gain skills to do a better job the next time. You haven’t reached a dead end—you’re just on a learning curve.
#3 Stress helps you develop resilience.
Don’t give in. Instead, try to bounce back and you’ll gain valuable insight in the process.
#4 Stress encourages you to establish a routine.
Organizing your day, perhaps by keeping a to-do list, makes sense. The more your day runs according to plan, the less stress you experience.
Learning to deal effectively with stress is especially important when you live with bipolar disorder. The strategies you use to control stress also help you control the course your illness takes. When you manage stress, you’re maximizing the possibilities of recovery. When you avoid getting distracted by stress, you stay on track toward wellness.
Maintaining a can-do attitude, coupled with practicing proven strategies, keeps you afloat when stress tries to drown you. You can capitalize on stress instead of letting it sink you. But dealing successfully with stress doesn’t happen overnight, so be patient and persistent.
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Tips to Tame Tension
Are you ready to change how you deal with stress? Here are some helpful tips to keep in mind:
Learn to say no. It’s easy to become overwhelmed when you always say “yes” to requests. Stick to what you know you can handle.
Forget being perfect. No one is. Don’t be scared to ask for help if you need it.
Find time to relax. Have you thought about meditation? Have you tried slowing your heart rate through deep breathing? How about listening to soothing music or going for a peaceful walk? Techniques like these can lower anxiety.
Picture positive results. Be imaginative and visualize yourself effectively managing a stressful situation. Doing so builds self-confidence and enables you to approach seemingly difficult tasks with greater assurance.
Take a step at a time. Stop trying to do everything at once. Start with the most urgent task at hand. Don’t choose your next task until you’ve accomplished the first—and given yourself credit for a job well done.
Practice healthy habits. Just 20 to 30 minutes of exercise relieves stress. Yoga, which combines physical activity with emotional balance, is particularly effective. Good nutrition is also essential. Watch out for caffeine, alcohol, and sugar. Find a way to stop smoking. Get sound sleep and strike a balance between work and play.
Indulge your interests. Doing something you enjoy and find fulfilling takes you away from your worries. Combine fun with physical activity—like gardening or playing basketball—and you get a double payoff.
Know you’re not alone. You’re not the only one who may be having a rough day. Open up to others and share your feelings. Staying in touch provides a source of support and encouragement.
Be willing to compromise. Are you always meeting opposition? It may be time to rethink your position or adjust your attitude. Stand your ground, but do so calmly and reasonably. Be flexible. When you’re willing to give a little, others will be more likely to meet you halfway.
Go easy on yourself. You can feel frustrated and let down when you expect too much of yourself. Watch the self-criticism that says you never measure up. Realize that there are some situations you cannot control.
Express your emotions. Get things off your chest in a constructive manner. Stress escalates whenever you feel frustrated and bottle things up inside. If you can’t find someone to talk to, write your feelings down in a journal.
Get support. Sometimes it makes sense to let a professional, perhaps your therapist, help you manage stress. You might also consider attending a support group.
As you successfully manage stress, you manage your mood and improve the overall quality of your life. No matter what life throws at you, you’ll be prepared to take a deep breath and say, “Hey, it’s nothing to stress out about!”
Used by permission.