“How do you treat psychological stress?”

Stress is how your mind (psychological) or body (physical) responds to things that are happening in your life (external circumstances). We don’t necessarily have much control over things we are faced with (such as who asked for the pandemic, right?) but we all have 100% control over how we RESPOND/COPE with the circumstances we are dealt. Healthy responses will lead to reduced stress. For example, person A can spend his days complaining about the restrictions the pandemic brought about, feeling depressed, angry about social restrictions, and anxious about what the new normal will look like. Person B, on the other hand, may spend his time enjoying the ability to skip the commute to and from school/work due to distance learning or working from home, appreciating more intimate family time he doesn’t typically get, involving himself with hobbies and perhaps learning a new language or playing video games with friends. Person A and B are both hit with the pandemic which is not within their control but they respond differently and therefore their psychological stress levels will be completely different.

It depends if you are experiencing a brief and acute stress or it is chronic. It also depends on many other factors, like interpersonal relationships, stressful job or educational stress. In any case, try to sleep well and long enough, exercise of your choice, organize your schedule, and reach out to people who can understand and support you.
Good luck.

Psychological stress is best treated by diminishing our mind's emotional response to a perceived threat, and by reframing situations or events so they are no longer seen as dangerous. Even when a threat is real and present and actually dangerous, we handle it best without the primitive emotions we are naturally equipped with, and upgrading that response is a key part of the treatment.
I hope this is helpful.

Hi,

Thank you for your question. There are a lot of stress management strategies that you can try, including deep diaphragmatic breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, mindfulness and meditation, and other coping strategies such as journaling, reading, drawing or other forms of artistic expression, listening to music, exercise or going for a walk, petting your dog, reaching out for support from a trusted friend or family member, etc. I would also recommend seeking professional help through therapy to explore other ways of dealing with stress that you can try.

Best,

Jenna Torres, PsyD

It is important to figure out what is your stress and where it is coming from. Can you reduce some of the stress or would talk therapy be good to work through some of your stress?

Sara Cole, MS, LPC, CAC III, NCC, CFRC

Hello and thank you for your question,

Psychological stress can be treated using relaxation techniques and talk therapy.

Respectfully,

Patricia Harris | MA, MS, LPC

See this link..
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/16-ways-relieve-stress-anxiety#1.-Exercise
or
https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publications/how-manage-and-reduce-stress