One of the surest ways of coping with the stress you encounter on a day-to-day basis is to anticipate when stress is going to hit you, and to do something to either avoid that stress, or at least minimize its impact. The one thing you cannot do is ignore it.
Each stressful event that you encounter will provide you with a different type of challenge, but if you can anticipate what your reaction will be, there are several techniques to help you to cope. These are:
Planning for stress
There are three ways to plan for stress:
1. Avoid-This can only work when you have control over the event. For example, if your commute is stressful, you can alter your route.
2. Alleviate-The best way to do this is to minimize the time that you have to spend in the stressful situation, or reduce your input if possible. For example, if you have to sit through a two-hour meeting, and you are only needed for 20 minutes, remove yourself from the meeting after your input has been received.
3. Rehearse-Rehearsal can come in two forms. You can rehearse how you will act in a given situation, or you can rehearse how you will deal with the stress that you will feel. For example, if you are attending an interview, you can rehearse answers to possible questions. You can also rehearse what you will do to calm yourself down, such as practicing a relaxation technique.
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