And, being a stress management coach and writer, I examined all of the different strategies that can be used--some that I used yesterday, others that I could have chosen--to manage stress on One Of Those Days. There are problem-focused coping strategies, emotion-focused coping strategies, and mixes of both. There's a pretty broad variety of ways to manage the same set of stressors! Here is a selection that you can use right now, or any day you need a little help getting through "one of those days:" Just 'One Of Those Days'?
How do you handle stress when it's One Of Those Days? Share your strategies in the comments section, or you can talk about your overwhelming days and find support from others. And if you find this post helpful, please consider sharing it with friends!
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My bad days seem to come in clusters of 2 and 3 at a time–I get ‘in a funk’! I’ll try these and see what works. Right now, what helps most is just stopping everything and cocooning myself, but that’s not always possible. Hence the 3-day funk. I’ll try meditation and see what that does.
the breathing exercice is sure a good one and i hope trying to laugh off strees by bringing out its humourous side will will be as simple as simple and effective as the breathing exercise
I have a big problem! I seem to be overwelmed and stressed alot! I always feel like I never get a break – sometimes even a life! I have to go to school, and if something happens in first hour that is overwelming, I can’t take a break, I have to move right on to second hour! Also, I have other things that stress me out that I can’t really talk about, and it is horable! For sure, I have to get in the habbit of getting under control! Your blog has helped me alot!
my bad day is always unmanageable.everything goes wrong and i get so worked up that i snap at anybody that comes my way.but you know what after reading your write up on ‘one of those day’ if such day comes up i will pause take a deep breath, maintain a sense of humor and let my family laugh with me.
I’m lucky in that for the most part, my bad days are few and far between. Mostly when I have them, there’s a hormonal component (they generally happen around the same point in my cycle – and the flood of hormones means it can be harder to remember that I have a library of tools to deal with the stuff that’s going wrong if I’d only just use them instead of feeling sorry for myself!) So for me, it’s not so much knowing what to do – it’s remembering, in the moment, that I already know things I can do, and that doing them will probably be much more satisfying and constructive in the long run than fuming/beating myself up/etc!
Ooooh – a technique I find incredibly useful when I *am* having a bad, stressful day when I remember to use it? Exercise – give all that excess emotional energy, adrenaline and cortisol something to channel itself into.
If I have the energy, a boxing session at the gym – slamming the heck out of a poor punchbag that’s never done anything to me – is immensely stress-relieving, but to be honest, even just getting away from the situation and going for a 10-15 minute walk in the fresh air can do wonders to hit the “reset” button on my mood. It won’t deal with my problems for me, but it can put me in a far better, far more constructive mindstate where I’m more capable of dealing with them myself when I get back to them
Great advice Elizabeth,
Saying NO is such a difficult thing for many people, and at the root of both physical and psychological turmoil. I find (after much practice) when I cannot say Yes without hesitation, I either say No or Let Me Think About It.
Typically you know, either by previous experience, or by a subtle mind/body twinge you shouldn’t be agreeing to something, yet we say Yes simply because it comes with less internal resistance than saying No.
And it goes beyond the first No. If you agree to something reluctantly, chances are everything to follow around that agreement will be “more” stress. It’s hard to say No, and people will try to make you feel guilty, but in the end you’re doing them and yourself a bigger favour by just admitting up front you’re not comfortable with this, and cannot do it.
That’s not to say you should be closing the door on everyone, sometimes, especially with family/friends you need to bite the bullet and find a private way to deal with any associated stress.
Hi Elizabeth! Love your blog and website! I’ve been looking for someone in the stress arena to “partner” with. I just released my 5th novel, STRESSED in SCOTTSDALE, and am looking for someone to do seminars with me. Please check out my website if you’re interested. maybe read a review on Amazon. We could be a great marketing team! http://www.marciafine.com or jeanrubinblog.com
Great comments, everyone! Susan, Tiffane, Yinka and Oluchi, it sounds like you have new directions and tools to try–I hope they’re working well for you! Starfire and Joseph, great suggestions; thanks for sharing. Marcia, your novel sounds wonderful. I’ll email you. Nice to hear from all of you, and I hope you’re having a great day now!
Pretty great post. I simply stumbled upon your blog
and wished to say that I’ve truly enjoyed browsing your blog posts. After all I’ll be subscribing on
your feed and I hope you write again soon!
This was a great read today! Stress is always lurking! So to find great tips on dealing with it is awesome! Riana Milne who is also a life coach has a book Live Beyond Your Dreams, and she has some great tips as well for stress management! Worth a look, rianamilne.com. Good luck everyone, hang in there!