Contents
Five techniques for managing sporadic stress spikes
Relaxation
Music or patterned breaths can help us return to a calm state
Point stress appears as a consequence of a high pressure situation at a certain time. If these episodes are repeated over time, they can end up triggering a severe pathology, generating complications such as muscular, stomach, intestinal and psychological problems, among others. However, by putting into practice some techniques based on the five senses, it is possible to improve emotional self-control, reaching a state of tranquility and well-being that allows to overcome the peak of stress.
Dr. María Sánchez, e-Health Medical Manager of Cigna Spain, indicates that «the pressure in different areas of life everyday life can end up generating a reaction in our body ». These reactions can be emotional, cognitive, behavioral and / or physiological in nature. He comments that, to avoid reaching this extreme point, “the first thing is to know how to identify this abnormal state, and then to know how to put into practice certain techniques that are within our reach to return to calm.”
Specific stress peaks can be the prelude to a situation of continuous stress, which ends up generating a negative impact on health. These five sporadic stress management techniques will help us improve control over our emotions.
Listen to music at an adequate volume
The noise caused by telephones or printers in an office can be one of the triggers of stress. However, to limit its impact, one of the most efficient techniques is to listen to music, as reflected in the study “The effect of music in the work environment” by Teresa Lesiku. When you listen to the right music, dopamine is generated, which helps eliminate stress and associate work with positive value. So much so that seven out of 10 people achieve greater concentration and improve their mood.
Control diaphragmatic breathing
Knowing how to breathe deeply and slowly is one of the best techniques to cut through stress. One of the breathing techniques The best result offers is the so-called “Cardiac coherence breathing”, since it allows to slow down and stabilize breathing, so that it is synchronized with the heart rhythm. To perform this technique it is necessary to be seated, with your feet on the floor without crossing hands or legs, and to take six inspirations and exhalations per minute for five minutes.
Learn eye relaxation techniques
Focusing your eyes on one fixed point for a long time strains your eye muscles, causing dryness, blurred vision, or eye spasms, and can ultimately cause visual stress. To prevent this, we can implement a visual relaxation technique which consists of looking at a fixed point outside the computer screen or in a place where light is directly incident, and keeping your eyesight for 30 seconds, blinking and fixing your eyes again for another 30 seconds towards the same point.
Relax the body with autogenic training
The muscles in the jaw and around the eyes and mouth, as well as the muscles in the neck and back, are the first to tighten. If these sporadic stress episodes are maintained over time, they can generate inflammatory reactions such as tendinitis or carpal tunnel syndrome, which affects the wrists, elbows, shoulders, hands and fingers. To avoid this, one of the methods suggested by the University of Valencia is to apply Autogenic Training, a relaxation technique that includes six exercises, in which touch has a special role. Is based on the passive concentration and works the sensation of weight and heat in the extremities, in the movement of the heart and the beats, in the autonomy of the respiratory process, and the difference in temperature of the body itself.
Avoid compulsive eating
In many cases, when stress levels increase, it is about channeling negative emotion by compulsively ingesting so-called “comfort foods”, which are usually rich in sugars and fats. To avoid this, the first step is to learn to differentiate between physiological hunger (gradual, open to various food options, does not generate negative feelings) and emotional hunger (sudden, urgent, desire for a specific product, generates guilt). Once this is done, you have to start working on a change in routine: every time you feel the urge to binge eat, try to distract your mind with another activity. The goal is to change that harmful routine, for another that is healthy and generates the same sense of reward.