ARE you one of those working girls and guys feeling the stresses of your workload despite your day off? Are you feeling the burden of your internship and thesis defense?

For Louie Domingo, 20, an engineering student, it is pretty hard to treat himself to some “me time” after a hectic week of doing engineering plates and other non-academic activities he needs to do the moment he gets home.

“Sometimes I feel like it’s a sin to sit for a moment because of the workload that I have because 24 hours is not enough to do all these tasks,” Domingo told republicasia in Filipino.

Effects of stress

According to experts, when you are under strain, your body reacts by releasing hormones that cause an increase in both your blood pressure and heart rate. These changes may be dangerous. The term for this reaction is the stress response. 

According to the National Library of Medicine, the effects of long-term stress can be detrimental to both the body and the psyche. It may put you at risk of developing anxiety, depression, high blood pressure, stomachaches, headaches, and other health concerns. 

Take a Pause

According to clinical psychologist Riyan Portuguez, also known as “Your Millennial Psychologist” in social media, pausing all work and academic activities is very important for someone to function well.

It’s time to normalize the phrase “rest is productive” because pausing everything allows a person to refuel and recharge to give a quality performance, he said.

Author Rachael O’Meara said pausing is the “perfect opportunity to step away from your everyday life and your preoccupied self.”

“We often resist pausing to avoid falling behind or looking like a slacker. Instead, consider pausing to enhance creativity or needed downtime, even if it’s for a few minutes,” she said.

In her book, “Pause: Harnessing the Life-Changing Power of Giving Yourself a Break,” O’Meara said the fastest way to happiness is to slow down. 

Relaxation

“Self-care and grounding techniques such as relaxation exercises decrease our distress and improves our well-being. These help us to function well at work and perform well in academic work,” Portuguez said to republicasia in mixed English and Filipino.

The National Library of Medicine also said that those who wish to de-stress might consider doing the three ways to alleviate the levels of stress they are experiencing:

Meditation

It likewise said that meditation may calm your emotions and thoughts, particularly stressful ones.

Some ways of meditation include: 

Focus: Focus on your breathing or through your words. 

Silence: Meditation is usually done in solitude to avoid distractions. 

Posture: Meditation can be done lying down, strolling, or standing. 

Openness: You remain open to thoughts during meditation. By concentrating correctly, you let these thoughts go without criticizing them. 

Relaxation: Meditation slows your breathing, and it may also soothe you.

Yoga

One of the most significant advantages of practicing yoga, as per the American Osteopathic Association, is that it can assist a person in better managing stress, which is well-acknowledged to have adverse implications on the body and the mind. 

A consistent practice of yoga can bring about mental sharpness and peace, raise bodily consciousness, alleviate tendencies of chronic stress, relax the mind, and heighten focus.

Deep breathing

It added that deep breathing exercises could also release stress and tension in mind. 

Here’s how to do deep breathing exercises:

• Place one hand on your stomach and relax by sitting or lying still. 
• Feel your stomach expand as you take a deep breath in. 
• Don’t breathe for a moment. 
• Release your breath slowly and feel your stomach sink.

Breathing exercises help lower stress felt in the body and can also manage anxiety when practiced regularly, it said.

While these are some of the prescribed techniques to manage stress, what are alternative methods you do to de-stress yourself?