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Stress

What is stress?

Stress occurs when we perceive a situation as difficult for us and when we don’t have the abilities, knowledge, or skills to solve it. A stress response is the body's response to events and situations that require additional inner resources and adaptation. Stress itself is not a bad thing, it is a way our body adapts to new situations. Short-term stress is necessary and helpful for us in such situations. Stress is tension and tension must be followed by relaxation. However, if the stress reaction is prolonged and the body has no chance to recover and relax, it may eventually start to have a negative effect and various physical and mental symptoms may occur.

What causes stress?

Stress is usually associated with change. Not only negative events can cause stress, positive events such as marriage, the birth of a child, or a planned job change can also be a cause of stress. All the major life changes require some adjustment period and additional energy, and it usually leads to a stress response that can help us deal with this situation. It is important to understand that short-term stress is not bad or harmful.

How to cope with stress?

A stress reaction is usually uncomfortable, but it cannot be completely removed from your life. However, it is useful to get to know your stress, manage it and keep it at a suitable level.

Firstly, try to identify what situations are causing you stress and notice how you react and manage your stress. Often, people use harmful activities such as drinking, smoking, or eating too much to relieve stress, but this is harmful in the long run. Instead of this, it is helpful to learn to manage stress in a way that does not harm your health. All kinds of physical activity and various relaxation and breathing exercises can help to relieve tension. It is also important to get enough sleep. Better time planning, talking about your worries and problems and active problem solving can also help to manage stress.

You can find different relaxation techniques here: https://peaasi.ee/en/lodvestusharjutused/

You can also find different techniques on Youtube. Try to use the ones that help you the most.

Here are some examples in English:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoQVgJx_QN4&t=114s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23K_lFus09w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQHQ7nKUUpc&t=12s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihO02wUzgkc&t=37s