It’s a funny idea, right? That exposing yourself to stress can help you deal with stress? But, think of it this way, it’s like getting a flu shot. Exposing yourself to the flu, helps make sure you don’t get it or can fight it easier. The same idea applies to stress, here are some ways that you can bulk up against stress.

Exposing Yourself to Stress

One way to healthily expose yourself to stress is through knowledge. If you are experiencing a divorce, a death in the family, or any other significant stressful event, talk to someone who has been through that event. See what you can learn from them. They may offer advice or maybe just let you know what’s to come. This way you have an idea of what may happen.

Rehearsing is another great way to handle stress. If you know that you have to give a presentation or maybe meet with someone that stresses you out, you can practice. Read your presentation over and over again, read it in front of people you trust see what worked and what didn’t. Practice with a friend and have them be the person you have to meet.

Create a bunch of different scenarios, so you can be ready. Then when that stressful event happens, you know you are ready and can handle it. Plus, exposing yourself to many stressful situations can actually change your body’s biological response to stress, allowing you to handle it better.

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There are many ways to deal with stress, exercise, deep breathing, and mediation; but if none of these work for you, do you have other options? The answer is yes, you can write the stress away. Many studies have shown that writing can help reduce stress.

Write the Stress Away

Researchers find writing as a great method because you can write your story down in your perspective without getting interrupted. This means you can get out all your thoughts and cleanse the brain in a sense.

You can even edit what you’ve written and this may change your perspective of what happened. Maybe you’ll see something you didn’t before. Also by having something to look at, you can identify stressors and see how you can either avoid them or find a coping mechanism.

Writing can also force you to change your life. Write down your goals everyday, and then write why you didn’t achieved them. Maybe there was no time, not enough money, or your body hurt too much. The next day you can look at what you wrote and ask, what is really standing in the way of my goals? Maybe you don’t make the time like you should, maybe you aren’t treating your body well, maybe you spend money on worthless things. Seeing everything laid out can be easier to comprehend.

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Everyone gets stressed, it’s become a part of our lives. Whether it’s from personal matters or global matters, it’s always there. Most people see stress as negative but what if changing your views on stress, changed your interactions with it? Stress gets a bad reputation and you will see why stress can actually be useful.

Changing Your Views on Stress

Stress got its reputation because of how we see it, so if we change our views, our interaction with stress will be different. University of Wisconsin-Madison did a study where they followed a group of people for nine years to see how stress affects their health.

The results were surprising, stress did not guarantee early death or bad health. Those who had a lot of stress but didn’t believe it impacted their health were fine, while others who did believe it was taking a toll on their health increased the risk of premature death by 43 percent.

Another study was done by Harvard involved a collection of people split into three groups. The task for them was to give a talk and then take a test.

The first group got to play video games before the talk, the second was told to ignore the stress they were feeling, and the third group was given advice on how to look and handle stress.

They were told that stress makes the body stronger to prepare for the tough challenge ahead. The quickening of your breathing means more oxygen goes to brain, allowing them to think clearer. The heart pounding you feel means that your body is getting ready to face that challenge.

The group that was taught how to rethink their interactions with stress did much better than the other two groups. They smiled more and had more-positive body language.

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