10 Healthy Strategies To Cope With Pressure

Is it weird that more people are searching for ways to cope with pressure surrounding them every day?

As shocking as it may sound, the statement above is nothing but the reality of many adults today.

What exactly could be stressing these people out this seriously?

Ask a random person in the streets today and every other day what they so much desire in life and listen to them describe ‘peace of mind’ and ‘true happiness’.

Peace of mind especially has become a luxury that many can no longer afford. We are all just trying to find it; within ourselves, in places, things, and people we meet.

Where The Pressure Lies

In other words, what causes pressure? Simple answer? Life!!! I’ll explain how.

In every sense of it, life causes us so much stress. As we grow older, our responsibilities expand. The man begins to think of ways he can become responsible. He wants to meet the needs of his family. If anything happens that delays the process of achieving these goals, the man begins to pressurize himself.

The average woman wants to be able to take care of herself and her family comfortably. However, there’s a clock ticking by her side that she must check now and then. And matter how hard she tries to ignore this clock, society is always there to remind her of it. So there lies another type of pressure.

In my understanding of the word ‘Pressure’, there are two kinds. First, the pressure you inflict on yourself, and second, the pressure on you by others. So call it ‘Internal & External Pressure’.

Internal Pressure

Here comes pressure that arises from the expectations, demands and attitude that we want from ourselves. We constantly measure our achievements and growth by our expectations. We carry these around like a filter. We are looking through to see what we’ve not done right and how long we have left.

We are at war with ourselves. Sometimes, we let other people’s success affect how we look at our journey in life. We are so sure of where we are supposed to be, and when life tells us something different, we respond with a war against ourselves.

External Pressure

The external pressure comes from life’s hurdles, demands, challenges and difficulties. Though these traits are part of life, they get adamant and annoying.

Family members, friends, employers or people who barely know us can put unnecessary pressure on us. They can successfully do this through their words and actions towards us.

We all have a way we’d want our life to be, but life has other plans for us. So, are we going to keep fighting? Or, are we going to let life guide us?

We may not be able to prevent it all from happening. However, we can learn to manage it.

Hopefully, the following ten strategies will help you cope with pressure.

10 Healthy Strategies To Cope With The Pressures Of Life

• Understand that you are human and that these situations are bound to arise as you grow in life.
• Identify your triggers and address them. For example: “Why do I feel pressured? What or who is causing this pressure? What is the best way to react?”
• Accept the things you can’t change. Then, focus more on yourself and your journey instead of other people’s expectations of you.
• Celebrate your small and big wins and remind yourself of the better days ahead.
• Track your progress. Keep a journal, pour your heart into it and read it out to yourself to remind yourself of how far you’ve come.
• Take a break. Listen to your body, understand it enough to know when it just needs to pause, catch a breath and rest.
• Seek support. Don’t be afraid to open up and ask for help when needed. But, don’t be too expectant. It’s okay for people to say no.
• Live at your own pace. Another person’s success isn’t a measuring tape of your life’s journey.
• Be grateful. You’ve come a long way.
• Be patient with yourself, with others and with life. Your time will come.

The pressure will come and go, but you will remain—cheers to life.