How to help yourself: 5 ways to deal with stress immediately

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Deadlines, situations of uncertainty, stress - all this pressures and seriously degrades our results. But emergency stress management techniques will help you get the most out of every situation.

The renowned psychologist Hendri Weisinger has conducted research for ten years that has proven that psychological stress negatively affects performance.

In his book "" he described 22 emergency techniques for dealing with stress, and also developed a "knight's shield" consisting of four qualities. We invite you to familiarize yourself with five techniques and start applying them right now.

Technique No. 1. Use positive navigation

- Captain, what to do? We are surrounded!

- Fine. Now we can attack from all sides.

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Everyone knows that it is important to set yourself up for good, but few people use this recommendation every day. Try to maintain a positive attitude before and during a stressful situation. Set your inner compass positive. The excitement will go away by itself.

To do this, speak in a positive way. Do not use phrases such as: "If I manage to get this position", "When we get this client, then …". Say: "When I get this position, then …", "After we get a client …". Get used to express yourself like that. This technique helps out even if you haven't prepared for a stressful event.

The benefits of positive navigation can be traced back to evolution. Of our prehistoric ancestors, only those who could experience a minimum of anxiety when solving problems survived. Panic could cost life. Because positive people survived more often and passed on their genes to their offspring, this way of thinking has become an important factor in success today.

Technique No. 2. Imagine the situation is not that important

There is one psychological law: the more importance we attach to a situation, the more we get nervous and often ruin everything. This is the nature of man. Excitement strongly affects our behavior. We are bad at performing even elementary actions.

Imagine: a surgeon who performs open-heart surgery did not cope with his anxiety because his patient was the mayor of the city. And … he killed him. The operation ended unsuccessfully, because the doctor was unable to do the usual things well. Terrible, isn't it? This is a fictional example, but in every area there are similar situations where our inability to control ourselves leads to disaster.

Therefore, it is worth going from the opposite.

Are presentation, conversation, exam, play very important to you? And you imagine that no! Tell yourself, "This is just another presentation." And you will see how the wave of anxiety begins to subside.

Technique No. 3. Expect anything

On the eve of an important day, imagine the most unexpected scenarios. Suppose tomorrow you are presenting a project that you have been working on for a whole year. What can go wrong and what will you do? Let's dream up.

Ask yourself any, even the seemingly most incredible, questions: “What if instead of half an hour I’m given five minutes to speak?”, “What if I forget my presentation flash drive?”, “What if my laptop or projector breaks down?”, “What if there are terrible traffic jams in the city in the morning? This is useful because it prepares you for a real situation.

The fact is that most of us react painfully to unexpected events. “He just lost his composure and failed,” fans say of a footballer who can't recover from an unsuccessful goal at the start of the match and stalls the whole game.

To prevent this from happening to you, just do a mental rehearsal. Remember, preparing without a plan is preparing for failure.

Technique No. 4. Love the tension

The easiest thing you can do is befriend the stress state. Just think: you have a chance to reach unprecedented heights. It is fortunate that fate is challenging you. You can showcase your talents to the world. Weisinger recommends thinking of stress as pleasant and good.

What is tension for you? Fear and anxiety or pleasure and intrigue? Agree, these are two different things.

As you know, it is not the situation itself that is important, but only how we relate to it. It is within your power to change that.

Try to remember more often that psychological stress is great. Think, visualize, and repeat this to yourself often.

If you remember to do this regularly, you will be insured against instant subconscious reactions. Your subconscious mind will be ready for any stress. Of course, when things are about to happen, repeat it like a mantra for a stronger effect.

Technique No. 5. Focus on your mission

Everything you do is subordinated to some goal or an old dream. People who work 12 hours a day don't do it because they love to stay in the office late. They want to earn money for their own home, provide their parents with a comfortable old age, and give their children an excellent education.

Tense situations are the perfect time to remember what you are up to. The clearer your main life goal is, the easier it is to cope with psychological pressure.

Plus, when you focus on your mission, distracting thoughts and outside influences will create less interference. You can't think about everything at the same time.

Master these techniques and you will be able to get rid of bouts of tension at the moment when you need to show the best that you can do. You will learn to reduce anxiety and anxiety levels, be more focused, and better manage your behavior.

For readers of Lifehacker, there is a 50% discount on the e-book "" of the publishing house MYTH, in which you will find the rest of the emergency techniques for overcoming stress. To get a discount, enter the STRESS promo code on the MYTH website! The promotion is valid until December 18.