Stress treatment
What is stress?
Stress is healthy response to challenging or dangerous situations.
It may not be possible to remove the stress from your life; however, managing your stress may help you to get things done. Below are some ideas for managing stress:
- Be aware - monitor your levels of stress and ask whether they are helpful or getting you down.
- Take stock - think about things in your life or pressures you place on yourself that may be increasing your stress.
- Take charge - deal with unhelpful sources of stress before they build up and become a bigger problem.
- Make choices - look at areas in your life where you could manage your situation better or change the way you respond.
Some examples of good ways to deal with stress:
- Take some deep breaths.
- Talk to someone you trust.
- Create a stress diary, note down when you feel stressed and why.
- Have a health check with your doctor.
- Exercise.
- Eat a healthy, balanced diet.
- Try to avoid smoking, alcohol and caffeine.
- Make time for things you enjoy.
These are ways to help you bounce back and become more resilient to stress.
Recognising the signs and symptoms of stress will help you figure out ways of coping and save you from adopting unhealthy methods such as drinking or smoking.
You can talk to your doctor about ways to help you bounce back and become more resilient to stress.
Not sure what to do next?
If you or someone you know are finding it difficult to manage mental health issues, try healthdirect’s symptom checker and get advice on when to seek professional help.
The Symptom Checker guides you to the next appropriate healthcare steps, whether it’s self care, talking to a health professional, going to a hospital or calling triple zero (000).
Last reviewed: September 2015
