English Spanish PortugueseFrench
Request A Call Back

How to be better at stress by support and relationships

blog

Both a source of stress and a way to relieve it might come from your friends and family. Rely on your loved ones One of the most prevalent types of stress is the strain brought on by familial obligations. But, our friends a

How to be better at stress by support and relationships

Both a source of stress and a way to relieve it might come from your friends and family.

Rely on your loved ones

One of the most prevalent types of stress is the strain brought on by familial obligations. But, our friends and family are more likely to offer us the assistance we need to get through stressful circumstances.

One of my favourite relationship studies comprised 34 college students, a hefty rucksack, and a steep slope. Each student was given a bag filled with free weights that made up 20% of their body weight. On the University of Virginia campus, they were positioned at the bottom of a hill with a 26-degree gradient. They had to picture climbing that slope while carrying the bulky backpack and estimate the grade. When a student was by alone, they tended to assume that the hill was really steep. The hill didn't seem as intimidating, though, when they were standing close to a friend. Overall, compared to students who were alone, students in pairs consistently underestimated the inclination of the hill. And the more time the buddies had spent together  other, the less steep the hill appeared.

 

The takeaway: When you have a friend by your side, the world does not seem as difficult.

It is impossible to overestimate the importance of friendship, family, and support networks for those who research stress. Research consistently demonstrates that social support is a key factor in our happiness, quality of life, and capacity to handle stress.

 

Your Social Network on a Map

We tend to withdraw when under a lot of stress. We postpone social events and concentrate on the stressful situations at work, with our finances, or from past trauma. But, the finest types of therapy for temporarily escaping stress are friends and social support. Also, having friends can improve your self-esteem, which will make the stress in your life seem less overwhelming.

When Dr. Southwick, a psychiatrist at Yale Medical School, co-wrote his book on resilience, he interviewed a number of people who had demonstrated perseverance in the face of great adversity, including former prisoners of war and trauma survivors. Their shared experience with social support was one thing.

 

According to Dr. Southwick, "the resilient persons we questioned actively looked out for support." "They don't just wait around,"

Even POWs kept apart from other prisoners of war came up with a tapping system for communication. Dr. Southwick stated that "most, if not all, thought it was life-saving to know they weren't alone and they were cared for."

One of the first things a psychiatrist named Dr. Southwick does when he meets with a new patient is draw a diagram of the person's social network. Some patients want to sketch it out on paper, while others prefer to simply talk about it. "Who do you know? Who can you trust?" Dr. Southwick queries. Create a list of everyone in your social network and keep it close at hand for when you need to ask for help.

 

Don't just ask for help; offer it.

Add one more item to your daily to-do list if you lead a life that is extremely hectic. Giving back

Helping others and providing social support have frequently shown to be effective ways to reduce stress in your life and increase resilience. Your personal capacity to manage stress and thrive can be improved by engaging in volunteer work, mentoring, lawn-mowing for your elderly neighbour, and listening to a friend who is having a hard time.

 

Our lives have meaning and purpose when we spend time assisting others, imparting our knowledge, and offering social and emotional support, according to Adam Grant, a Wharton management professor and co-author of "Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy," which he co-wrote with Sheryl Sandberg. Even more potent than receiving social support may be getting out of oneself and helping others.

Put Your Hand Into Someone's Hand

Your stress can be reduced by merely touching someone else or being touched yourself. The University of Virginia's James A. Coan, an assistant professor of psychology and a neuroscientist, sought out 16 women who believed they received solid support in their romantic relationships. He gave each woman a light electric shock three times while keeping an eye on her brain to imitate stress. The woman received the shocks while she was 1) alone, 2) holding a stranger's hand, and 3) holding her husband's hand, in no particular order.

Significantly, throughout both hand-holding sessions, the woman's brain's stress-related regions experienced less neuronal activity. But, the effect was considerably stronger when the lady was holding her husband's hand, and it was especially noticeable in women with the highest marital-happiness scores. While receiving an electric shock, holding a husband's hand caused a calming of pain-related brain areas, simulating the effects of taking a painkiller.

According to Coan, the study mimics how a loving marriage or partnership enables the brain to delegate some of its most taxing neuronal tasks. He explained to me that when someone holds your hand during a study or just gives you a back rub to show you that they care, it serves as a cue that you don't need to control your bad mood. In essence, the other person is controlling your negative emotion in place of your prefrontal cortex. If we have someone there to help control us, it puts a lot less strain on ourselves.

 

Animals Are Helpful

Stress might be temporarily reduced by spending time with your pet. Spending time with your dog and taking it for a walk are a win-win situation since you get to enjoy both the benefits of having a pet and a relaxing outside stroll.

 

The evidence is strong that having a pet can provide solace and reduce stress. Patients receiving post-traumatic stress disorder treatment at Veterans Affairs facilities have reported feeling less anxious thanks to therapy animals like dogs and parrots.

Research have showed that patients' levels of stress hormones decrease and their levels of pain-relieving endorphins rise after just 20 minutes with a therapy dog.                           

Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles found that patients with heart disease who spent 12 minutes with a therapy dog experienced a significant decrease in anxiety levels and blood pressure in the heart and lungs. However, similar patients who were not visited by a dog did not experience a similar effect.

Pzifflife Care