Many people struggle to manage difficult people in their lives, such as coworkers or family members. Dealing with these stressors can have a substantial negative effect on our mental health.
Self-care is essential when dealing with difficult people in our life. Here are some of the stress-reducing activities we suggest for those who frequently must deal with challenging individuals in their life.
1. Meditation
Effective communication with difficult people is essential for both our mental and physical wellbeing. Excess stress can have detrimental effects on both, such as high blood pressure, anxiety, depression, sleep issues, and poor concentration. Meditation is an excellent way to reduce these stresses while improving quality of life overall.
Meditation offers many benefits and can help you achieve a deeper sense of calm, focus, and empathy. Most commonly, this involves sitting quietly while focusing on your breath.
Meditation can be practiced without any religious belief required. Popular forms include guided, Osho, Sufi and Taoist meditation.
Self-inquiry meditation aims to gain an awareness of your thought habits and how they shape your behavior. It also teaches you how to recognize harmful or self-defeating thoughts.
One of the most effective ways to reduce stress when dealing with difficult people is by understanding yourself and what triggers you emotionally. Doing this will enable you to avoid reacting emotionally in situations that don’t warrant the effort.
You can take steps to break free from the negative mindset that’s causing your negative reactions by considering how a more objective person would handle similar circumstances. For instance, if someone were spread false rumors about you, consider how you would respond if faced with this person.
Another effective way to reduce stress when dealing with a difficult person is setting boundaries and sticking to them. If the other party continues being disruptive and unwilling to cooperate, you have two options: confront them directly or cut ties completely.
You can also try to come up with a resolution that works for both of you and make sure to stick with it. Doing this will help keep you on track with your goals and prevent you from becoming victimized by difficult people’s behaviors.
2. Exercise
Exercise is a stress-reducing activity that can improve your mood and mental health. But to reap its full benefits, it must become part of your regular life and schedule.
Sleep, meditation and other self-care techniques can be essential in relieving the stress that often comes from dealing with difficult people. While these methods won’t solve your issues with them, they will make it simpler to deal with them in the future.
Physical activity can help improve your overall mental health by regulating hormone levels and relieving feelings of stress. Furthermore, it improves oxygen utilization in the body as well as increasing blood flow to the brain and heart, potentially preventing heart disease.
Walking or running can be a form of meditation for your mind, as you focus on an action such as walking or running. Additionally, it serves to distract yourself from other things that are making you stressed, while helping to relax you.
The great news is that it doesn’t take much effort to incorporate exercise into your schedule. Just 30 minutes of moderate exercise five times a week can provide significant rewards.
Exercise not only reduces your stress level, but it can also build resilience during trying times. This allows you to cope with difficult circumstances in a healthy way without turning to alcohol or other unhealthy coping mechanisms.
One of the primary obstacles to starting an exercise regimen is lack of time. But this can easily be overcome by finding someone to join you on your new endeavor and explaining its many benefits to them. With their support, you may find more motivation to stick with it if others witness its effectiveness.
3. Yoga
Yoga is an exercise that helps reduce stress. It also increases relaxation levels, enhances flexibility and can assist with sleep issues.
Yoga combines physical activity with breathing techniques and meditation, which helps to relax the mind and reduce anxiety. It strengthens parts of the brain related to memory, awareness, and thought.
It’s easy to get caught up in the hecticness of life and neglect yourself. Yoga’s calming effects can be especially beneficial when dealing with difficult people in your life.
Wallin emphasizes the benefits of regular yoga practice on your body. According to Wallin, it helps your nervous system adjust better to stressful circumstances by increasing sensitivity to cortisol levels – which rise during vigorous asana practice and then decrease after you’ve relaxed in Savasana (Corpse Pose) after all of the strain has been lifted.
If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed or anxious during a hectic day, try carving out some time for yoga – even just 15 minutes! It won’t take up much of your precious time; just 15 minutes can make a big difference.
Another effective way to incorporate yoga into your daily life is by creating a self-care flow that contains all essentials. Start with gentle, nurturing sequences or try something more challenging to test out strength, agility and concentration levels.
For a more relaxing experience, focus on your breathing while performing each pose. Taking long, deep breaths will slow your heart rate and activate the stress-relieving benefits of yoga.
Yoga can be an incredibly beneficial tool for stress reduction, but finding the time and motivation to make it part of your regular lifestyle can be daunting. If you’re searching for ways to incorporate yoga into your self-care routine, here are seven practices that will help make it a priority.
4. Getting enough sleep
Sleep is essential for our physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. Not only does it reduce stress but it also enhances memory, learning, focus and mood – just to name a few benefits!
Most adults require seven to nine hours of sleep nightly, though infants, children and teenagers require more. Factors like work commitments, daily stresses, disrupted sleeping patterns and medical conditions can make it difficult for some people to get enough rest each night.
Sleep deficiency can put yourself and those around you at risk, leading to problems at work or in relationships. Drowsy driving for instance can increase the likelihood of an accident; plus, lack of shut-eye may increase your likelihood for depression, heart disease and other chronic illnesses.
Studies have also demonstrated that lack of sleep can have adverse effects on memory and cognitive processing. For instance, grade school students who don’t get enough shut-eye may have lower test scores and difficulty mastering new concepts.
College students may experience similar consequences of inadequate sleep: decreased academic performance, lower GPA and increased ADHD symptoms.
One way to ensure you get enough sleep each night is setting a consistent bedtime and wake-up time, regardless of what time of day it is. Additionally, limit your screen time before bed as light from screens suppresses melatonin–the hormone responsible for making us feel sleepy–which can prevent fatigue.
If you are having difficulty sleeping, seek the assistance of a doctor who can suggest an appropriate treatment plan. Certain medications, such as those used for depression and anxiety, may interfere with your ability to fall or stay asleep so it’s best to steer clear of these if possible.
5. Taking time out
Take time out of your day to recharge and rejuvenate – it will leave you feeling re-energised and prepared to tackle whatever comes next. Unfortunately, taking breaks and reflecting can often go unnoticed when life gets busy and stressful; however, taking some time out to unwind and reflect can help us feel refreshed and focused again – so it’s something that should not be neglected!
Studies have consistently proven that taking time out for yourself can actually boost productivity and performance at work. This is because it gives your brain and body a break to rest and recharge, leading to greater efficiency and effectiveness throughout the day.
Additionally, exercise helps you conserve energy for dealing with more challenging situations in the workplace. This is especially crucial when dealing with difficult people since they can be draining on your resources.
Therefore, it’s essential to strive for a proper work/life balance and take regular breaks during the day. Doing so will enable you to return into a more positive mindset and prevent burnout.
As previously discussed, when dealing with a difficult person it’s essential to remember that they aren’t there just for you and there may be reasons behind their behaviour. They might be going through a trying time in their personal lives or dealing with other issues which have contributed to how they act.
