The sad truth about the modern way of living is that it is filled with a lot of stress. Everyone has to deal with at least one stressful encounter almost every day. Our individual differences make it hard to anticipate precisely how we will react to stress. Nevertheless, we all end up high-strung due to similar reasons, which puts us at an advantage.
If we manage to learn what the most common causes of stress are, it becomes easier to deal with them. To help you out, we are going to explore those sources and see how to handle them.
Types of Stress
Numerous psychological studies have managed to group various stressful events in three general categories:
- Acute stress – the source of acute stress are short-term events. They don’t last that long, but they can be very traumatic, thus living a long-lasting impression on us.
- Episodic stress – if we regularly end up in short-term stressful events, this stress tends to accumulate over time, potentially causing all sorts of health and mental problems.
- Chronic stress – these stresses are long-term in nature. Their sources are often problems associated with family, partners, and work.
Major Changes in Life
One of the most common stresses people encounter at least once in a lifetime is moving to another home. Why? Because moving home exposes you to a dramatic change. While we are at it, we have to mention that situations that require change, in general, are very often stressful.
Adapting to new circumstances puts us in a position that requires us to mobilize all our physical and mental capacities. This is stressful by itself, let alone having to deal with unforeseen circumstances. Beside moving home, other stressful major changes in life include starting a family or starting a new job.
The best way to avoid this type of stress is to do some research and arm yourself with information before you willingly go into the change. For instance, if you are moving home, there are plenty of online guides to help you learn how to pack, how to choose a neighborhood, how to shop for the best mortgage, and so on.
Stress At Work
Stress at work is also pretty common because we spend so much time at work. According to the American Psychological Association survey, 70% of Americans suffer from workplace stress. This may reflect on your health, but also your capacity to do the work accurately and complete your tasks on time. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to protect yourself.
Make the most out of your breaks at work. Listen to your favorite music, take a stroll, or Face Time, your family members and friends. Once you are done with your workday, make sure to disconnect from all work-related tasks if possible. This means no catching up with work nor emails.
Find a hobby and spend some quality time with the people you hold dear.
Social Stress
There are two general sources of social stress. First, you will be exposed to a lot of stress if you aspire towards the ideals nurtured in your culture or mainstream developments and keep failing at it. And secondly, if you tend to conform to other people’s opinions and preferences, you will neglect your own, which might cause you a lot of stress.
Social media platforms also play a role here. Not getting enough shares, likes, and comments can also cause you to feel less worthy or even rejected and alone.
To minimize social stress, try to go on a mini social break. This will give you enough space to hear your inner voice and discover who you want to see and hang out with. You will soon discover that your list is significantly shorter than you thought, and the quality of time you spend with friends will improve.
Stress Caused By Personal Appearance
We live in an era that emphasizes a “good and beautiful” physical appearance. Thousands of cosmetic companies and personal trainers ads stand as a proof for this claim. If you don’t perceive yourself as good-looking, your personal appearance can easily turn into a source of stress. This can potentially affect your confidence as well.
The most common reasons for being unsatisfied with your personal appearance are balding, extra weight, wrinkles, and spots. If you find that you are exposed to this type of stress, you should know that you are not helpless. The advancements in the field of medicine can help you with balding, wrinkles, and spots, even though these are natural consequences of the aging process and inherited genetics.
When it comes to being overweight, you can sort this out too. Introduce a physical activity to your life. Multiple studies confirm that exercise has positive effects on our well-being and self-concept.
Finances As a Stress Source
Financial worries are also a common source of stress. Taking care of monthly payments on time, figuring out interest rates, shopping for credit cards are micro stressors that contribute to the overall stress and an uncomfortable feeling of financial insecurity.
Since all of us are in a unique financial situation, it’s impossible to provide just one solution for all financial problems. There is something that can help you deal with this type of stress, though. Staying on top of your monthly budget and improving the way you manage your money can help you alleviate a good portion of this stress.
These are the five most common stress causes. They are intertwined with our day-to-day lives, which makes it very hard to avoid them. This is why you should arm yourself with the tips we’ve shared with you and start working on the issues that give you the most grief.
