Managing Stress Effectively

Stress is a word we use for “external stimuli” that triggers our body’s natural response. This can be caused by anything ranging from having stage fright before giving a public speech, to being confronted by an angry bear in the woods, to being worried about a test. Sources of stress can be anything that causes you to be worried or anxious.

 

It’s important to know that feeling “stressed” is a normal physiologic response to these types of stimuli. Stress can cause mild physical symptoms like tachycardia (faster heart rate) or sweaty palms. But it can also cause more serious responses like having difficulty sleeping, mood changes, depression, or anxiety that interferes with your ability to do normal, day-to-day routines or your ability to interact with people at work, at home, or in other personal situations.

Dr. Cary Cole-Anthony, a family physician at Grand Itasca, says there are some very simple things that people can do to combat feelings of stress—whether it’s journaling,exercising, meditating, praying, talking to family or friends, or any number of things. “It's basically what we've referred to as self-care, or doing the things that you need to do to try to take care of yourself, so that you can manage your stress on your own,” she says.

On the flip side, when you don't take care of stress and keep it bottled up inside of you, it tends to come out in ways that are unfavorable. Dr. Cole-Anthony explains, “At some point it might be a chronic anxiety issue or depression. It could manifest itself as a substance use disorder. It could interfere with your ability to interact with the people you know and love and create stresses in relationships with them.” She adds, “If you are constantly avoiding issues, it just tends to build and build and build until it becomes unmanageable and it really interferes with your life and your ability to cope with things.”

Studies indicate that women tend to carry more stress than men do. Certainly, men can have stress in their lives, too, but many women juggle roles as mothers, wives or elder caregivers while also working outside the home. They carry a lot of responsibility on their shoulders. In fact, the American Psychological Association reported that women are more likely than men to report having a great deal of stress, and they are also more likely to report physical symptoms such as headaches or an upset stomach.¹

Trying to manage many different things at one time can sometimes be very difficult. Because of that, people don’t often take the proper care and time for themselves and then stress becomes even harder to manage. 

 

Consider being proactive if you notice any of the following indications of stress overload:

• You're having difficulty sleeping at night

• You feel so much anxiety and depression that you can't think of leaving the house

• You don't want to do the things that normally would make you happy

• You can't get out of bed in the morning

 

If any of the scenarios above are true, please get in touch with your health care provider to discuss this further. There are medications that can be used to help manage stress, and counseling can be very effective. There are multiple different ways that you can get stress under control.

As parents, we want to take care of our children and it's very hard to see our kids stressed and trying to navigate difficult situations. 

 

Watch for the following signs that your child might be having difficulty:

• More isolation, such as your child spending more time in his/her room

• Not wanting to interact with family or friends

• Not seeming to get excited about things that would normally make them happy, like playing with certain toys or certain playmates

 

The current circumstances, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, are adding a lot more stress for people, and kids in particular—especially with navigating a new school situation or schooling from home. If you notice that your child is having issues that you're concerned about, you should certainly contact your health care provider. 

 

What else can you do? Dr. Cole-Anthony recommends keeping communications open with your child. “Make sure they know that if there's anything that's bothering them or worrying them, that they can come and talk to mom and dad.” Also, getting them outside to play or doing anything that distracts them is always a good thing. But just being persistent is key. 

 

In summary, try to always let your child know that you care about them, that you want the best for them, and that you are a listening ear. Being open to what they have to say is so very important in helping them navigate stress.

 

¹American Psychological Association (January 2012). Gender and Stress. Accessed December 1, 2020.  

https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2010/gender-stress