Community-accepted stress therapies, distorting modalities
It requires taking back control of our stressful lives, and controlling our emotional energies to relieve stress; We must eliminate the methods that, unfortunately, cause more harm than good; Those that suppress our emotions, keep us distracted, and prevent us from dealing with feelings of stress.
It can be difficult to move from avoidance tactics to proactive actions. Society allows and even encourages some of the methods used to relieve stress, which actually sabotages both our mood and our energy, such as smoking; This is the most common habit used to numb unpleasant feelings resulting from stress, and smoking is usually associated with high levels of stress, fear, and anxiety in people.
"I need to smoke a cigarette"
Did those words come out of your lips in a moment of anger? You often say these words during moments of high stress, sometimes we want to relax and forget about our problems for a while, and we feel relaxed by just smoking a cigarette as a little vacation for our burdened mind.
In fact, smoking is not a relaxing solution; Rather, it is a habit that draws behind it a feeling of distress, confusion, and anger, and reduces your mental and physical energies, so that you cannot solve the problem in the first place.
Resorting to smoking to control emotions is a problem in itself. On the one hand, it reduces the size of our initial response to stress, so that there is a scientific term for this: "stress-response dampening". On the other hand, the pleasurable sensations elicited by smoking cigarettes are relatively short-lived. This temporary relief is accompanied by many undesirable effects, even when smoked in low to moderate amounts.
How effective is stress management in increasing your energy?
In the long term, smoking, by any means, fails to relieve stress and energy and actually drains it. Here are the negative effects of smoking, and what you should replace with it:
1. Troubled Mood
Mood swings spoil our energy; Emotional energy directly affects our happiness, productivity, and success, but taking charge of our mindset isn't just about revamping our belief systems; It also requires controlling our emotions. Dopamine and serotonin are two natural chemicals in the brain that form the basis of this emotional will.
Smoking to relieve stress is difficult, as it initially causes an increase in these feel-good chemicals that fill the brain. This temporary feeling makes us feel that smoking has improved our mood, but soon the brain works to restore balance to the levels of these neurotransmitters, using a balancing approach aimed at returning them to their normal levels; As a result, these chemical levels actually drop to lower than they were before smoking a cigarette, and this process is not limited to heavy smokers or addictive people; Rather, even with a one-time smoking experience.
Tip: Use chemically sustainable enhancers that make you feel happy, exercise, immersion in nature, meditation, laughter, spending time with loved ones, and aromatherapy massage are just a few of the actions that support effective stress management and increase your energy.
2. Exacerbation of tension due to the accumulation of problems
Have you ever been late paying your bills? And you didn't deliver it on time for any reason like no money available or lost in the mail etc. Upon discovering this, did you try to save yourself the worry by throwing the notice in the trash? Or did you address the issue immediately in order to prevent possible charges to your credit and loss of service?
If you're a financially responsible person, you likely took action right away no matter how frustrated you felt then. The same goes for dealing with stress. We may conserve energy and boost our mood by shifting our thoughts away from stressful situations. But the truth is that ignoring our problems will not solve them and will often make them worse.
The only way to solve problems is to get through them. This means that we must face our obstacles head on with intelligence and emotional maturity.
Tip: Instead of lighting a cigarette, ask yourself: “What small action can I take right now to address this source of stress?”.
In the example of bills, even if you don't have the money to pay them right away, other steps can be taken towards resolution. You can call the company and ask for an extension or set up an installment plan to pay in small installments.
No matter the problem, breaking it down into smaller parts and taking action on it individually can provide great relief and help move you to the next steps to eliminate stressors for good.
3. Increased response to stress
We've already discussed the "stress response dampening" effect of smoking, doesn't that mean smoking reduces stress?
Remember that this calming effect is only temporary. In fact, alcohol reprograms our brains, making them unable to handle stress.
Over time, the artificial “feel good” stimulation our brains receive from smoking makes us neurologically unable to enjoy everyday activities we once enjoyed, such as seeing a friend, reading a book, or even intimacy, all of which, by the way, are effective activities in and of themselves to manage stress. These effects are not limited to the time we smoke.
Just like with any other drug, our brains build tolerance to smoking and to keep smoking. Over time, it's common to gradually require 3, 4 or more cigarettes to feel the same relaxing effect, and our awareness of this escalation can cause more anxiety because we will ask; "Am I addicted?" Then comes the fear of shame and stigma, and this is one of the opposite effects of smoking. It causes more anxiety and drains energy.
Advice: evaluate your habits and be honest with yourself; If you are feeling anxious or stressed about your smoking, or if the effects are not as good as before, it may be time to make a change. Sometimes in search of answers and support, you don't have to be addicted to smoking to decide to quit.
In conclusion
Avoiding our feelings is common and culturally acceptable, but it is ineffective in reducing stress and usually involves practices that further deplete our mood and energy. Confronting our emotions directly and deliberately allows us to achieve unrestrained stress relief.
We will never get rid of stress completely, life is full of ups and downs by nature, but armed with the knowledge and tools we explained above, we can take back control of our energy and emotions to restore a happy and healthy life; It only takes a few simple shifts to arm ourselves with the habits that sustain us.
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