7 Ways To Build Resilience Against Stress

Allow me to remind you what stress is NOT.

If you are going through a rough patch in your life right now, please remember that stress is not the unpleasant events you are facing. Stress is not being passed over for promotion. Stress is not the rejection, the insult, the financial crisis or the divorce. Troubles in life are called stressors, and stressors are inevitable, but stress is not.

Life has been defined as one darn thing after another. Stress is not in the darn things, it is in the way you choose to respond to the darn things.

You can block the natural flow from a stressful event to actual stress, with its physiological abnormalities, by responding in a healthy way to the stressors that confront you.

We all tend to respond to the difficulties of life in ways that are injurious to our health and wellbeing, and stress is the results of these responses.

Acute stress has been found to cause stress cardiomyopathy, but the point is that it can be avoided even if you are in the heat of the battle.

It seems natural for our physiology to be dismantled when the hardships of life hit us but we can remain firm, upright, optimistic and healthy by responding in self-enhancing ways and so avoid stress.

My basic point is that hardships and irritations are inevitable but stress is not.

Here are 7 things you can do right away to make yourself resistant to stress. Practice these ideas and the stressful situations that destroy others will be a source of better health and happiness for you.

1. Turn up the wick of your awareness. Take time to know who you are. Increase the intensity of attention that your bring to your own life. Be conscious of how you act at every moment. Notice how you feel at every step. Awareness is the most powerful gift you have been given, use it and focus it on your body.Listen attentively to your body so that it will not have to shout at you with some disease before you take note. With your awareness you will be training yourself to take action against stress at the slightest onset of discomfort.
2. Believe in a new way, with greater vigor and conviction, that you can handle whatever life throws at you.Make up your mind that you have the power to deal with the difficulties of life.

   Your beliefs are under the control of your will, so decide that no matter how weak you may feel or how great a predicament you may be in, believe that you can handle it.

   Look every disaster in the eye and say to yourself with sincere belief, ” I can handle that”.

3. Anticipate the stressors that are likely to hit you and plan to deal with them.You are a prophet. You can predict with great accuracy the kind of day that you are likely to have. So take a moment to predict and prepare.

   One way to do this is to use your imagination to visualize yourself in a stressful situation that you think might hit you. See the predicament, experience the difficulty in your mind, but see yourself handling it masterfully. This is how you prepare your body and mind to excel when the storms of life actually hit you.

4. Begin today to regard every difficulty you encounter as a cue to build a more refined and resilient physiology – a superior body and mind.As soon as troubles strike, activate your belief, say with conviction, “I can handle this” and begin to breathe deeply in and out and relax all your muscles. Let every crisis serve to instruct you to be calm and steady in the midst of all that comes and goes.

   Don’t waste your trials. Use them to improve your health and performance.

5. Exercise at least 5 days a week for 45 minutes. Get medical clearance first.Exercise teaches the body how to recover quickly from stress. It is a good way to train your body to avoid becoming stressed. It builds both mental and physical toughness.
6. Keep a low arousal level – a low sympathetic tone. Let your physiology be so calm that it would take a lot to dismantle your composure. Try to become imperturbable.Practice this exercise all daylong, ” Breathing in I observe my body and mind, Breathing out I smile and relax.” Please say the words to yourself and do the actions at the same time.
7. Build good relationships. Never take people for granted.Reach out in a loving way to people, and surround yourself with loved ones who understand and support you. Stress likes when you are alone and flees when lots of support is around.

Practice these techniques and you will find yourself able to face the vicissitudes of life.