How To Stay Grounded

Do you find yourself frequently overwhelmed at work, or preoccupied with potential problems and worst-case scenarios that haven’t occurred? If so, you might be experiencing stress, a common issue that can lead to a range of health complications, including high blood pressure, heart disease, depression, anxiety, and difficulty sleeping.

Stress doesn’t just affect individual health; it also has a significant financial impact on businesses, costing billions annually. A Gallup survey revealed that nearly half of all Americans report feeling stressed daily, highlighting the widespread nature of the issue.

Chronic stress can impair one’s ability to perform effectively in the workplace, with its effects varying from person to person. While some manage stress well, others find it more challenging. Fortunately, there are effective ways to mitigate stress, maintain balance, and enhance your health.

Managing stress involves adopting various strategies to handle stressful situations better. Here, we offer several practical tips for coping with stress and maintaining equilibrium.

How To Stay Grounded

If you feel overwhelmed or can’t seem to handle any more stress in your life, consider seeking help. Here are some resources and professionals that could help you:

Therapy

Therapy can help you cope with emotional distress, learn new coping strategies, gain insight into your past experiences, and identify strengths and weaknesses.

In addition, it might be helpful to talk about sensitive topics like family history, sexuality, abuse, suicide, etc. See if your insurance covers therapy costs; you can call a local mental health clinic or therapist to inquire. o understand more about the therapeutic process and its benefits, read “How to Prepare for Therapy Session“.

Counselor

Counselors usually specialize in providing individual counseling to adults.

They can provide support and guidance, teach skills for dealing with stressful issues, and help develop healthier responses under challenging situations.

For example, a counselor can help you work through complex personal problems such as depression, anxiety, or grief.

And although many counselors are trained to treat children and adolescents, they may also be available to counsel parents, siblings, couples, and friends who are experiencing difficulties. For those considering counseling, “What to Expect from Couples Therapy” offers valuable insights.

Family Doctor/ Physician

Although the term “family doctor” may conjure images of a warm bedside manner, a friendly smile, and a reassuring voice, these qualities are less important than being able to connect with patients emotionally.

In addition, physicians should listen carefully and ask direct questions so patients feel comfortable talking openly about their concerns.

In addition to listening, physicians must convey empathy, compassion, and understanding. Asking open-ended questions helps patients find answers to their questions.

Open communication between patient and physician reduces frustration and increases satisfaction. Those dealing with anxiety can benefit from reading “Can You Go to the Hospital for Anxiety?” for further guidance.

Psychologist 

Psychology is the study of human behavior. People who practice psychological therapies help clients understand themselves better, change unhealthy patterns of thinking and behavior, and create rewarding relationships.

Psychological therapists (also called psychotherapists) use different techniques depending on working with children, teens, adults, or older individuals.

Some psychologists focus on helping people overcome specific problems such as anger management, anxiety, depression, or drug addiction.

Other psychologists conduct clinical research studies to answer scientific questions about the causes of certain behaviors.

A psychologist’s training includes medical school during residency, education at a graduate level, and additional training in counseling psychology or other specialties. Clinical experience is required before licensure.

Psychiatrist

A psychiatrist specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness.

Unlike a psychologist, a psychiatrist doesn’t work with healthy people or those with physical ailments but instead focuses on disorders that affect how people think, feel, behave, and relate to others.

Psychiatrists have extensive training in medicine and receive further specialized training in psychiatry.

They go beyond treating symptoms by exploring underlying causes such as stress, trauma, chemical imbalances, genetic conditions, and personality traits.

Support Groups/ Community Services And Programs

Support groups are made up of people with similar challenges. They often offer an opportunity to discuss common issues without judgment. Community programs provide services and counseling to people across the lifespan.

These programs include social service agencies, educational institutions, faith communities, health care providers, and governmental agencies.

In addition, many organizations offer free or low-cost support groups for various populations.

Alternatives To Professional Help

Know What Causes Your Stress

You need to know what causes your stress before you can begin to handle it. Identify how certain events make you feel tense and uncomfortable.

Once you learn more about these triggers, you’ll have greater control over how you respond to them.

Get Support From Others

Sometimes people around us can help us deal with our stress. For example, talking to friends or family members helps relieve tension. Ask someone close to you for advice on what you should do when you feel tense.

This will allow you to avoid negative emotions like anger and frustration.

Take Time Off 

It’s hard to focus when you’re under too much stress. Taking time off to relax is one way to help yourself unwind. Get away from the office and enjoy an activity you really enjoy doing.

Enjoy nature, go shopping, or just lay back and watch television. It’s important to remember that there’s no right amount or type of exercise to suit all individuals. Everyone needs different amounts of physical activity.

Set Boundaries 

If you get caught up in constant worry, you must set boundaries between work and home life. Separate your personal life from your business by focusing only on work during working hours.

Keep your professional life separate from your personal life. Don’t let your job responsibilities interfere with your relationships.

Accept Yourself 

Acceptance is one of the best ways to calm down when you’re feeling overwhelmed. Take the time to think through why you’re experiencing stress. Do you fear making mistakes? Is it because you’ve made so many already?

Try not to beat up yourself for having anxiety. Instead, accept it and ask God to give you peace and patience if you’re religious.

Change Your Thinking If You Can

Negative thoughts can lead to negative behavior. Change your thinking by noticing irrational beliefs and replacing them with rational ones.

Think positive thoughts instead of negative ones and focus on solutions instead of problems.

In addition, visualize success instead of failure. It’s essential not to gaslight yourself into believing everything is fine when it’s not. Make sure you’re still feeling all your emotions and processing your sadness.

Focus On What You Can Control 

Many people believe that if something terrible happens, then it’s meant to be. But this isn’t always true.

Focusing on the situation as a problem to be solved rather than an opportunity to grow stronger makes us lose sight of what we can actually change.

Instead, concentrate on changing things that we can control. For example, you may want to become more organized or look for better ways to accomplish tasks.

Don’t Judge Yourself Or Others

Judging other people can cause stress. We often judge ourselves harshly by comparing ourselves to others. Stop judging yourself and others.

Instead, focus on what you can do to solve the issue at hand. Look for examples of how others handled similar situations successfully. Let go of the comparison game.

Be Realistic 

Always remember to take each day as it comes. Don’t get carried away expecting to make everything go smoothly. Expecting perfection leads to disappointment.

Recognize that not every day will go perfectly. Learn to live with imperfection.

Exercise For Stress Relief 

Exercise releases endorphins which are natural pain relievers. The good news about exercise is that you don’t have to spend hours exercising to see results. Simply going for a brisk walk can relieve stress and improve mood.

Exercise also improves sleep quality and makes us feel happier overall. Remember to keep active!

Final Thoughts

Staying grounded isn’t always easy. However, we recommend you try out some of the tips we’ve discussed in this article to see if they work for you.

As everyone’s different, you may need to engage in a trial and error process to reduce your stress. Good luck!