Just breathe: Ways to cope with stress and anxiety

FARGO - A number of events can trigger stress. For some, it may be caused by something relatively small and short-lived, like sitting in traffic or a looming deadline. For others, it may be long-term stressors like a death in family, a never-ending to-do list or constantly striving for perfection.

In past years, people have reported money, work and the economy as significant sources of stress in their lives. However, a 2017 American Psychological Association survey found that 18 percent of Americans attribute stress to the use of technology while 57 percent blame the current political climate.

"There are certain times in our lives when we are juggling more things, so there's more opportunities for stress or things that are out of our control," says Joan Enderle, registered dietician at the American Heart Association in North Dakota. "The good thing is that you can practice or learn skills so even if you are a type A personality, you can learn to say, 'Is this life or death?' Sometimes we need to change our expectations or adjust our expectation about what we can do."

Stress vs. anxiety

Because stress and anxiety exhibit similar symptoms, it's hard to tell them apart. "There can be a lot of overlap between stress and anxiety, but they can be very separate things, too," says Tracy Hansen, therapist and owner of Hansen Hearts Counseling.

Anxiety includes stress, but stress is not always considered anxiety. "With stress, you can almost identify what's going on in your life at that time that's causing the stress," Hansen says. "With anxiety, sometimes people are aware of what that stressor is but often times it's harder to identify what that cause might be."

Recognizing symptoms

When stressed or anxious, Hansen says it's common for people to experience symptoms including increased heart rate, rapid breathing and muscle tension.

"When you feel stressed, your body reacts by releasing the hormone adrenaline. That temporarily causes your breathing and heart rate to go up, as well as your blood pressure," Enderle says. "The reason your body does that is because of fight or flight - which is very helpful."

The concern arises when the body senses constant, or chronic stress, which can take a toll on the immune system.

"Over time, (stress) can cause heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, panic attacks, panic disorder. People can develop depression if they didn't have it earlier. Ulcers are also a big concern with stress and anxiety," Hansen says.

Reducing stress and managing anxiety

Being intentional is one way to combat stress and anxiety. "People experience more anxiety when they don't have a plan," Hansen says.

Here are some strategies Hansen and Enderle recommend for reducing stress and anxiety:

• Eat healthy. "Being well-nourished helps your body deal better with stress. If you tend to skip meals, that will make a difference," Enderle says. Avoiding caffeine and alcohol may also help. "Caffeine increases your blood pressure and is a stimulant so it doesn't help the situation at all," Enderle adds.
• Exercise. "Set smaller, manageable goals that aren't going to cause more stress," Hansen says. "You can add to them and build them but don't set them so high that you're already setting yourself up for failure."
• Utilize breathing exercises. Hansen recommends periodic check-ins throughout the day regarding the pace of breathing. If breathing is accelerated, simple techniques can get things back under control. For instance, 4-by-4 is a breathing exercise where you take four breaths in, hold the breath for 4 seconds, exhale for 4 seconds and repeat that pattern four times.
• Consider de-cluttering. "For some people, clutter can be a form of stress," Hansen says. "I know even just for myself, if I come home and my house is just chaos I don't' even know where to start."
• Strive for balance. "If you can manage your stress in one area, you're going to be more productive in another area," Hansen says. "If you feel like things are going better at home and you don't feel stressful at home, you're going to make a better employee at work."
• Consider therapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a common method used for stress and anxiety, as it helps people become aware of their thoughts, feelings and actions so they can attempt to respond to challenging situations more effectively. Solution-focused therapy is also effective and helps the patient remember they have gotten through similar situations in the past, and to use those experiences to their advantage.

With stress, it's important to remember that each person has a different tolerance level.
"Everyone has that threshold and you need a certain amount of stress to function," Hansen says. "If you feel nothing, you'd have no motivation to do anything."

Steps to conquering stress

Enderle provides three steps to overcoming stress:

Step 1: Become aware of your emotions. "We encourage people to learn what causes them to be stressed," Enderle says. "Take a few days to observe yourself. How do you spend most of your time? Are you in the low stress or the high stress zone? If you're in the high stress zone, how can you make a change to lower your stress?"

Step 2: Make time for you. "Being outside and being in nature is a natural calm," Enderle says.

Walking not only helps burn off adrenaline from stress, it helps produce 'happy' hormones that brighten your mood, Enderle explains.

Step 3: Envision happiness. Take a break at work or home to simply close your eyes. "Envision yourself being at a place that you are normally calm," Enderle says. "Sometimes it just means shutting everything off and taking a 5-minute break to calm yourself or go to somewhere that elicits happiness for you."