Manage stress and build resilience in uncertain times.
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If you’re experiencing stress, you’re in good company. In fact, the majority of people globally are struggling in uncertain times. We’re stressed about everything from current events and the economy to violence and a lack of connection. This is true for all generations, making it critical that we manage stress and build resilience.
Despite the difficulties, it’s possible to use a few pragmatic approaches to build your strength and find ways to thrive.
Uncertain Times
We are in a period of discontinuity and disintegration where it may seem that things don’t make sense anymore. We may feel disconnected from ourselves, from others or from what we thought we knew. It may feel like things are fragmented and we can’t count on the future. I spoke with a CHRO of a global manufacturing company recently, and he commented that, “nothing we’ve done in the past is working anymore.” This is an expression of the experience many of us are having.
In fact, people are purchasing spells on Etsy at record rates. They purchase the spells for financial gain, for sports wins, for a good college roommate, for success in life and more. Experts hypothesize that people are doing so as a rational response to a system that has stopped making sense to them. They say it’s not about people becoming less rational, but about people responding to an irrational system.
It’s a situation of discontinuity and disintegration.
Manage Stress and Build Resilience
So how can you constructively manage stress and build your resilience as you go through uncertain times? There are four primary strategies you can use.
1. Manage Your Thinking
The first way you can address stress and build resilience is to manage your thinking. An old saying is appropriate, “What you focus on gets bigger.”
A story attributed to Native American lore describes a grandfather who tells his grandson about two wolves that are fighting inside everyone. One wolf is negative, angry, afraid, sad, envious and resentful. The other is joyful, peaceful, hopeful, kind, loving and compassionate. The grandson asks, “Which wolf will win?” The grandfather responds, “The one you feed.”
Our focus is like this too. The issues, topics and emotions that we give our attention to are those that tend to grow, build and become primary in our thoughts.
But it’s tough to attempt to remove our focus from something. This can feel impossible. It’s more effective if we re-focus on something else. For example, instead of thinking about all the potential ways we may lose out, we can re-focus on the ways we may gain. Or we may adopt a saying that helps us get through like, “This too shall pass,” or “If this is my biggest problem, I’m very fortunate,” or “I’m doing my best everyday,” or “If it were easy, everyone would do it.”
As you manage your thinking, you’re also wise to focus on the present, rather than over-processing the past or worrying too much about the future. As you’re managing your thinking, also realize that your thoughts drive your emotions. It’s possible to feel an emotion and talk yourself down by validating all that you’ve achieved already, reminding yourself about your capabilities and reassuring yourself that you’ll find solutions to the problems you face.
It’s also worth noting that managing your thinking isn’t the same as toxic positivity. Instead of repressing, ignoring or imposing unrealistic cheerfulness on others, you’ll stay aware of challenges, invest energy in solutions, demonstrate empathy and be authentic.
To manage stress stay connected with your people.
getty2. Manage Your Community
Your community is also core to your ability to manage stress and build resilience. When you’re facing a challenge or a problem, it’s natural to want to process it with all your people. But a better choice is to limit the number of people you talk with. Share your worries with just a small number of family or friends that you trust to keep your confidences. By limiting your verbal worrying, wondering or hypothesizing, you’ll reduce the power of the rumor mill, but you’ll also reduce your own focus on the problems or pressures you’re facing.
You can also manage stress and build resilience by focusing on supporting others. When we’re worried or depressed, our focus can become insular, and our worlds can feel like they’re closing in. But when we consider what others are also going through, it expands our perspective beyond ourselves. Be attentive to others, ask questions, listen and provide support and compassion.
In addition, if you’re going through uncertain times as a team or an organization, be sure to give other people grace. They’ll have ups and downs just as you do. And as they’re facing stress, they may not be at their best. Allow them to make mistakes in how they relate, apologize and move forward.
Connect with your people, participate in activities with others and build your relationships. When you do, you’ll increase happiness and wellbeing, according to a study by Southwestern Methodist University.
3. Manage Your Habits
You can also deal with stress and build resilience by managing your habits. Stay hydrated, consider meditation and get enough sleep. In the American Psychiatric Association study, 40% of people said sleep was a primary contributor to their mental health.
Also be sure you’re taking breaks as you need them, and avoid doom scrolling because depression, anxiety and even narcissism are increased when you spend more time online.
Also stay active, because exercise drives happiness and reduces stress. A study at the University of Michigan found that exercise, even small bouts, were correlated with wellbeing and happiness. And the University of Tsukuba found that running is particularly helpful because it enhances mood and cognitive function.
You can also consider reading. It is proven to enhance health and longevity, based on research published in Social Science & Medicine. And an additional study in in Neurology found that reading led to better thinking and memory.
Another surefire way to manage stress is to embrace the power of nature. Comprehensive analysis across 62 countries and 301 separate studies featured in Science Advances linked time in nature with thinking, cognition, connection to each other, communication, confidence, character development, creativity, intuition, inspiration, reflection and renewal. Wow! That’s an incredible effect.
Take a walk, breathe the air or spend time in a park to tap into the power of nature when you’re going through stressful times.
4. Manage Your Actions
As you manage stress, you’ll also want to manage your actions. Take a deep breath and give yourself permission to wallow or worry but then be sure to move ahead.
Taking action contributes to mental health because it reinforces your own agency and helps you feel empowered. It also gives you an opportunity to learn. You take action to solve a problem or to manage your stress and you get feedback about what works well, what you can improve and how you can keep working through things.
Winston Churchill said it bluntly, “When you’re going through hell, it’s best to keep going.” The challenges you face may not be as drastic as the ones he was referring to, but the message is apt: Whatever your situation, it’s helpful to keep moving forward. Albert Einstein expressed a similar sentiment, “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.”
In the psychology of change management, the liminal stage can be the hardest. It’s the point where the past has ended, but the future has not yet solidified or become clear. If you can’t yet take action on tasks or new responsibilities, take action on managing yourself through connecting with your people, exercising, getting outside or the like.
Manage Stress and Build Resilience
If you’re stressed, you’re not alone. There are plenty of pressures we face, with 77% across the US who feel stress from the economy, 70% who feel stress from current events and 69% who are stressed out by violence. Among those who are 18-34, a lack of social connection is the primary factor affecting their mental health. All this is according to the American Psychiatric Association.
Globally, based on a survey of 17,000 people from 16 countries across Europe, the United States and Asia, 64% face stress and 43% face depression. And anxiety has reached a record high of 23% who are likely to suffer from it. according to the annual AXA Mental Health Report.
The AXA Mental Health Report also demonstrates that only 25% of people globally are flourishing while 32% are just getting by, 29% are languishing and 14% are struggling with mental health. And young people are suffering especially, with a 144% increase in depression among those who are 12 to 17.
The stats are sobering, but you can positively manage stress and build resilience by managing your thinking, your community, your habits and your actions. In the process you’ll empower yourself to grow and develop and you’ll strengthen your ability to get through uncertain times.