Dealing with stress is something we all do every day and each of us handles it differently. Though many of us know intuitively what to do, most of us are not very successful when it comes to the ways to relieve stress under pressure. The result hinders our professional performance, not to mention the mental and physical harm it causes.
It is understood that successful men and women are comparatively better at handling stress and staying calm under pressure. In fact, all of us need to learn how to stay calm and handle pressure so as to not let it affect our health or performance. So, to help you do just that, here’s a list of 11 ways to relieve stress and to avoid losing your calm under pressure.
How to relieve stress
1. Focus on the present
Worrying about “what-will-happen-after-this” in a stressful situation will only amplify the pressure on you. Getting occupied with what-if is definitely not going to reduce stress. Instead, try to forget about it and do what you need to do to diffuse the situation NOW. Take whatever action is immediately possible and you can worry about the “what-ifs” later on. Pushing yourself to think, plan and take some action will distract you from future perils and prevent you from blowing your fuse at the wrong time.
2. Stop and reframe
The best way to deal with a stressful moment is to take control of your mind and start thinking of the situation from a more positive perspective. Yes, I know, much easier said than done, but if you can do this, it can take a load off your mind. The important thing to remember is that things can’t always be in our control and that the only thing that you can navigate is inside your head. Take a deep breath, think the problem through, identify what you can and cannot do about it and force yourself to act rather than react. If there’s really nothing you can do about it immediately, take a deep breath and figure out what you can do to prevent further damage.
3. Ask for advice
Don’t shy away from asking for advice. This is where your peers, mentors, friends, advisors or colleagues come into the picture. Talk to people who have been in similar situations or have seen life. The advice may not always be useful, but it will definitely help give you insight and a better perspective on the situation. Talking to someone always relieves stress and reduces mental pressure. You can’t fix/solve everything on your own; let someone else help you out.
4. Focus on the goal
My first response is usually to get carried away with the situation at-hand and start fire-fighting without a second thought. This is a typical reaction to stress. We lose sight of the end goal and jump into the war. The wise way to deal with pressure is to take a moment to think, arrange one’s thoughts, remind ourselves of the end result we’re looking for and then decide how to act. This whole process may take a few seconds or minutes, but it serves to calm you down, give you a better view of the situation and allow you to take the right decision.
5. You don’t have to be perfect
In fact, no one has to be. Whether you’re a team leader, the boss or a team member, expecting perfectionism from yourself is the biggest mistake you could make. My advice – don’t. The sooner you realize this, the faster you will relieve yourself of the pressure of doing it right all the time. Plan well, do your best and deal with hurdles to the best of your ability. You can’t ace it all the time, you’re only human.
Read Why We Can’t Always Be “Authentic“
6. Focus on the solution
A great stress buster is to stop thinking about the problem. If you turn your attention to the solution instead, you start getting ideas about how to deal with it. That itself can make you feel better. The minute I’m faced with a stressful situation my instinct is to start worrying about the “why me” and “why now”. But if I shake that out of my mind and start concentrating on what to do next, my blood pressure comes down, I stop feeling like I’m steaming up and I actually start getting good ideas to deal with the problem. Of course, it’s difficult, but the result is so much more positive.
7. Simplify
Break the problem down and find order in the chaos. Don’t blow it out of proportion and don’t get caught up in the uncertainty of it all. Clarify, understand the situation clearly and start thinking of what needs to be done immediately to diffuse it. Identify your priorities and start working on what really matters. The less you complicate things in your head, the calmer you will stay to be able to take sensible decisions and action.
8. Be realistically optimistic
For your sake and for the sake of your team, think of the positive side of the situation. Stay realistic, but upbeat. Accept that things can go wrong and consciously decide to learn from them. An effective way to do this is always to be prepared for the unexpected to happen. That way they will have less of a negative effect on you and put you under less pressure. Learn to look at the big picture and you’ll be better equipped when something misfires.
9. Let go
A great reliever in times of stress is knowing when to let go. Humbly accepting that some situations are not in your control and that you need to let it play through before you can do something about it; will definitely give you the breather you need to plan your next move.
10. Be flexible
Staying calm involves the ability to be able to quickly change and adapt to different situations. You may have had a plan, but when a situation demands to change it and moving forward, that is exactly what you should be doing. It will cause you a lot of stress if you cannot immediately realize the need for change and act upon it. Getting stuck in the rut and not being able to adapt can be a huge burden in times when you need to act fast to get results.
11. Taking time to switch off
Believe or not this is very important to increase your capacity to deal with stress. Taking time off to do things that you enjoy and switching off to rest and sleep are activities that build your mental and physical health and prepare you to better deal with pressure. Make it point to do this on a regular basis, put it down in your calendar and take specific time out to grow your ability to handle stressful situations effectively.
No one is born to handle stress. But everyone is born with the ability to learn. Like Eleanor Roosevelt said, “What one has to do usually can be done.” It is just a question of developing your abilities to be able to do what needs to be done.
If you think about it, you’ve dealt with some stress or the other your entire life. Nothing is new, only the way you handle it changes. Be clear about your goals and your priorities, and it won’t be too much of an effort to learn what you need to succeed.
Find this post helpful? You might want to read Skills Every Woman Need To Balance Work-Life
Take care!
Magbè
Suffering from a lot of stress from pressure these days. Must try out your tips to lessen the stress. 😌
Hoping these tips help you de-stress and manage it henceforth.
These are GREAT tips!! I do these from time to time when I feel overwhelmed!
Glad to read it works for you, Ashli
Taking time to switch off is an important one for me!
Many people ignore this then their health suffers. It’s essential to switch off.
I’m under a lot of stress at work right now and a big thing for me and letting go of control. Once I do that I usually feel better.
Same here. Letting go doesn’t mean you don’t care. It’s just your sanity first.
Great, sound and logical advice here! I think the trick is to always try to remain objective and calm to enable you to logically think about the best steps to take in handling any situation.
When under stress, being objective is really hard. It’s best to just make important decisions in the right state of mind.
Stress affects so many people so this post is super relevant especially the tip on letting go.
Glad you find it helpful, Jackline
That’s what I’ve been doing for the past couple of days. It’s really important to get plenty of rest especially if you’re feeling overworked. This post is such a good reminder for all of us.
Good to read these tips you’ve been practising work for you. Many people need to know there is a life saver for stress out there that works.
I was so afraid before I stopped focusing on the present with my whole heart. Past just keeps you in past without letting you go further with accomplishments!
It’s essential to let go of the past. That way, you focus solely on the present.
As a counsellor I know and understand how stress can be bad and all these points are helpful.
Good a counsellor is reaffirming this 😉. Thanks for stopping by.
Taking time to switch off and reboot. Yes yes yes! we need time for this since our brain and body needs to regenerate and fight back the stress of everyday!
I prioritize my switching off time and I always encourage people to do the same.
Taking time off from something is the most helpful for me. I tend to go till I run on dry for way too long. Thank you for this list!
I’m glad I shared this. I’m positive you’ll be relieved when you practice these tips.
It’s true. I often stress myself worrying about what-ifs. It keeps me up at night frequently. Thanks for these tips!
Glad you find it helpful, Melanie
When I am stressed, I Focus on my goals and do mediate to get relieve from stress.
This is one of the ways I kick myself out of stress too. The goal is the clearer picture.
Nice pointers. I love to take time off, meditate or indulge in any mindful activity when am too stressed to proceed with the task.
This is essential and helpful, Anu.
Thank you for sharing these! Those are some great tips on how to relieve stress.
I’m glad you find these tips helpful. Thanks for stopping by, Dee.
Great tips! And I do agree with letting go and accepting things as they are. As they would say, just trust the process. 🙂
Yeah. Trusting the process is the real deal.
Good list. I’d also add “Breathing” as an extra. It might sound silly but deep breathing can actually make a difference. There are even Breathing coaches around!
I agree with you Owen. The breathing exercise is the first thing I do when I’m caught in stress and I need a fast exit.
These are very helpful and I believe you are actually right with these things. I always say to myself when I think negative to “snap it out” – let go! And seize the moment.
That’s the right mindset Kenneth. Snap it out.
Hello, thank you for 11 Super Ways To Relieve Stress Under Pressure. I have been under pressure from weddings lately, I will definitely try them out
Thanks for reading Amirah. I’m sure you’ll find these tips valuable when you start to incorporate them into your daily life activities.
So many good tips on how to stay healthy and relieve stress! I know that somedays I tend to become too stressed and will focus on some of these.
We can’t control what happens, but we can manage ourselves out of stress. So, here you have these tips to use.
Hi! Great tips! And I do agree with letting go and accepting things as they are. Good day!
Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy your day too!
This post comes just in time, when I was just talking to my sister back in our country that i feel lot of stressed.
Sania, I’m sure these tips will help you a lot. Try them and you can come back to tell us how it goes, will you?
Holii!
Suffering stress is the worst thing that can happen to you. But with the advice you give it’s easy to get over it.
Good day!!
I agree with you. Not like medications will take it away. It will only suppress it. That’s why I’m sharing these helpful tips to completely say goodbyes to stress.
This awesome tips, I have a lot of work on deadline that make me stress. I will try your tips. Thank you for share
I hope they work for you Abu. Do let me know how it goes.
These are all really great tips for relieving stress, sometimes people get caught up in it.
Hopefully, this serves as a reminder for you not to be caught up in all of the things happening around you.
Very good tips.Especially if the deadlines on blog post is fast approaching.Nice post.
I know how it feels. Just like I was on a deadline to finish writing this post plus other business I had to attend to. These tips help me dominate these things.
YES YES YES
Walk the hell away is huge for me. As soon as I feel like I’m being gripped by fear (which is, essentially, the heart of stress) I have to tell myself to walk away. Mid conversation. Mid blog post. Mid ANYTHING. Respectfully, though. I tell people I will be back but that I need to clear my head for a few minutes.
And I walk. Or I have a shower. Or I work in my garden. Anything kind of mindless but in a different physical location, doing something tactile with my body so that I can ground myself as I let my thoughts wander and settle.
The shower works best for me. I know how it feels to walk away from what others see as pressing, but YOU first is all I say. Thanks for the added point of respectfully walking away.
Great tips! Feeling stressed is never easy and you can not have only one way to releave it. I think it is very useful to know how to relax from it in a best way
Knowing what works for everyone matters. Thanks for reading, Lyosha.
This is very helpful I am always stressed out. I do find focusing on the present helps me alot!
I also use focusing on the present as an escape too😉
Great article! The tips are very helpful. The one about letting go really hit the spot for me. I often get too preoccupied with minutia.
agreed, Focusing on the present helps a lot.
I do that a lot of time. Thanks for stopping by, Samar
#9 – Letting Go is the most helpful for me. I used to feel like I had to make sure everything was done, even when not my responsibility. Once I accepted I can’t control everything, my stress level has significantly decreased. Great tips.
I’m glad you agree with these tips as helping to de-stress.
Definitely needed this today!!! Thank you for posting and allowing us to start our day right
I’m glad I’m part of your day! Hoping you have a stress free day😉
This is something I need to remember every single day! Thank you so much for posting this! Just what I needed today.
Glad the post is helpful. Stop by for more of this.
I agree, goals are really stressful sometimes. But it is just a matter of right priorities. These tips are great.
Yes, Nina. Prioritizing is super helpful when managing stress.
Thanks for sharing this, I really needed to read something like this. Been under a lot of stress and pressure lately!
Hoping this is helpful.
Such a great list. And #5 all day! Letting go of perfection is something I constantly have to remind myself of.
These are great tips… I’ll try and remember them for next time I’m feeling stressed and anxious!
Please do. I’m sure they will help you.
I’ve been feeling really stressed lately so this is perfect timing. Thank you for all these tips 🙂
I’m glad they will be helpful for you, Sue
I’m pretty efficient under stress but then again, it’s the nature of my job as a first responder. However, I could work on the perfectionist persona and taking time to switch off in my chaotic world.
I read your post twice, i will bookmark it and share it across my network. This is a very very important topic, especially that stress affects almost everyone. Great post.
Thanks for being generous, Chad. Stress is important and sadly, we don’t really talk about it.
a great and fantastic tips to reduce stress thats great thanks
Great stress management tips! It is so important to keep things in perspective and work at mindfulness to keep stress in check.
I couldn’t agree less with you, Sarah
I so need this right now. I have felt so stressed lately with so many things going on. I try to switch off in the evenings but time often gets away from me.
Looking you’ll find that magic that works best among these tips😊
This is just the content I needed. I’ve been stressed up lately due to working continuously without taking sufficient time to rest. Your tips will surely help me. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for stopping by Nahashon. Get some rest. Put some of these in practice and let us know how it goes.
Taking time to myself or focusing on the goal sometimes helps me be less stressed.
Me too. My me-time is so important to like my work itself. No jokes.
Thanks for the tips, in the present stressful working conditions, it very necessary / Important to keep your head cool and work…!
Working under stress has never helped anyone, no one.
We can’t flee from stress, however figuring out how to manage it is the thing that everybody ought to do, this post is very applicable and helpful. Thanks a lot for this.
Thank you for finding the post helpful, Daniel. We have more of this kind of content on the blog.
The best thing I do is really taking time to enjoy myself + to finish the most important tasks!
Taking care of oneself is the best way to ease stress, trust me.
Thanks for sharing these tips! They are really helpful especially taking time for ourselves to fully relax.
Thanks for stopping by Gen-zel.
These are great tips and a very helpful reminder to stop and destress!
Thank you for reading.
These are some wonderful tips and couldn’t agree more with it! I think sometimes letting go things is the only way to reduce stress!
I’m glad you can relate to this post, Ana. Thank you.
I often have a hard time dealing with stress. It is sometimes overwhelming and unbearable. But I am always testing new ways and these tips are therefore great to keep in mind.
These are tips I swear by and I’m sure they will work for you ✔
Your timing is impeccable. I JUST came downstairs from attempting to put my two kids to bed – I got so frustrated with the tween that I had to call in my husband to take over for her, because I was not coping effectively with the situation! Excellent reminders – now if only I can calmly walk myself through them when I need to!
I have a tween to and I know they are loads of stress. We just need to be calm in the midst of their tantrums. You’re doing great mommy.
These are wonderful tips. I’m going to save this. Never know when I’ll be too refer to this.
Please share with your friends too, Jessie😉
Thanks, Magbè this is what I just needed esp what I’m going through currently.
You’ll overcome this. Don’t fret.
Interesting post – some great tips and advice here! I will definitely have to take some of this on board next time I am feeling stressed x
Thinks for reading Becca and I know it will be one of the best decisions you will make.
I agree with you to ask for advice. It always helped. My mom taught us this that when you ask for advice you can think differently considering other options.
Your mom is the real queen. My regards to her.
Thanks for sharing. Sometimes I try to focus on the goal, but I overthinking everything and it’s stressed me out.
Awesome advice! I think the one I liked the most is “You don’t have to be perfect”… I’m very detail oriented and I should keep in mind all shouldn’t be perfect.
Hmmm Interesting point of view. In this week attended to workshops how to handle with stress. During workshop he mentioned also the points from your post 🙂
Managing stress can be difficult and it’s good to be armed with the right tools.
This happens but when you incorporate these tips into your daily life, I’m sure, there will be a difference.
Thumbs up for this helpful tips! I will definitely try and follow these suggestions on the list.
Wow, this has a TON of good information. Numbers two & seven are probably my favorites, I do both of those a lot 🙂
these are excellent tips! I’ve going to share this with some friends
Everyone goes through stressful times in their lives. These are some great tips on how to relieve stress.
Stress is something we encounter often these practical steps which can help
love these tips! every single one of them is important. Thanks so much for sharing
Thanks for sharing your useful tips to relieve stress under pressure. Travel helps me a lot in this regard to free my mind.
This is helpful, thanks! I’ll keep in mind…
Such great advice. I usually spend time outdoors when I’m stressed out. I have to focus on something else.