By Akanksha Pandey
- Maintain Sleep Hygiene
Sound sleep helps in physical restoration, information processing and memorization, clears the brain of toxins, strengthens immune system and for mood regulation. Quality of sleep is as important as quantity of sleep. Don’t perform any other activity in bed other than sleeping as brain associates it as a place of activity and turns on the active mode. Do not spend too much time in the bed to get sleep, rather get out of the bed for sometime if unable to fall asleep. Read a book instead of doing digital reading as the lights activate the brain.
- The Role of control
When you try to focus on what is not in our control such as how people respond to you or other’s values, we end feeling helpless, anxious and stressed. The easier tactic is to focus on what is in your control such as your own thoughts, your reactions and your values as it makes us feel empowered and more relaxed.
- Prioritise
Learn to make effective use of your time by using delegation and negotiation skills in a positive way. Avoid excessive future work and prioritize your work by assigning them to given four categories- ‘Important and urget’, Important but not urgent’, Not important but urgent’ or ‘Not Important and Not urgent.’ It takes few minutes to start your day with this planning activity but sorts out your entire day. Also, make time for family and most importantly always have a ‘Me Time’ where you can focus on your hobbies, interests and relaxation.
- Be ‘Mindful’ and not ‘Mind-full’
We often tend to be very critical about our thoughts and actions or even our surrounding and let everything influence us. This makes us very vulnerable to become stressed out and also keeps us anxious. Being ‘mindful’ means being in present moment with a non-judgmental awareness of consciousness, that is, noticing one’s thoughts and feelings in the moment and accepting them without judging or trying to change them. Mindfulness improves one’s abilities to regulate their emotions and to tolerate distress instead of falling prey to difficult situations and end up feeling victimized.
- Be Assertive
People find it very difficult to say NO as it is assumed to be a negative trait. Its okay to say ‘NO’ at times. Everyone have their limits and when you try to push yourself beyond that, you end up being stressed out and anxious. People mostly assume a submissive or an aggressive approach in such situations. They say Yes when they want to say No and let others take advantage of them or for some people its ‘my way or the highway’ which may make them regarded by others as being insensitive to others, thus resulting in poor social adjustment or even failed relationship at work as well as in personal front.
Being assertive is art of expressing one’s feelings or letting one’s needs known without being aggressive or submissive. It’s a key to enhancing quality of communication and interaction and makes situation less intimidating as well as less unpredictable. It increases our understanding of our social world and promotes social inclusion.
(The author is a Clinical Psychologist – Fortis Hospital, Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore. Views expressed are personal and do not reflect the official position or policy of FinancialExpress.com.)