Can you banish chronic stress with just a few quick hacks?
In a previous post, I explored how a lot of stress management advice guides us to take big leaps in life in order to beat chronic stress. Like a lot of advice, there is some good you can take from it, and some things to be careful about. (If you haven’t checked out that post it might be a good place to start).
On the other end of the spectrum is a completely different approach to reducing stress. Basically, it’s the idea that stress can be eliminated with a few easy tricks; no deep introspection or life overhauls needed. While there’s a lot of merit to the basic concepts here, on their own they’re not likely to drive meaningful, lasting change, for most people.
Understanding chronic stress
The biggest caution here is that most quick tips for reducing stress are designed to calm you down in the moment. They might get you through a temporary stress for a minute or two. But, they may not be what you need to beat the ongoing, continuous stressors that lead to chronic stress. Not to mention, all the health issues that come with it.
While there are a lot of benefits to easy hacks and quick tips, it’s worth thinking of them as part of a larger plan.
Beating chronic stress requires understanding the roots of your own ongoing stressors, and attacking them from many angles. While there are a lot of benefits to easy hacks and quick tips (see below), it’s worth thinking of them as part of a larger plan. Stress takes many forms, and chronic stress requires a longer-term, holistic view.
How this stress myth shows up in everyday life
This is all about your quotable tips, infographic advice, and lists of 50 easy hacks. They are easy to do and sometimes promise a quick fix. Lots of great stuff that is often low-commitment and low-risk. These would include things like:
- A long list of self-care tips or easy stress hacks
- Any single food product, herb, or tea
- Anything touted as “the one thing” that will relieve your stress
Why quick hacks aren’t enough to beat chronic stress
For the most part, a lot of this stuff is harmless, but temporary, when used on its own. Did you really think that drinking lemon water every morning would rid you of all the sources of stress in your life? Probably not. 😆 And that’s true for most little tips and tricks which can be integrated into your life with little or no effort.
This quick-fix part of our culture can subconsciously convince us that meaningful change is possible without real introspection. If you’re facing constant daily stress, chances are you’ll benefit from looking for more than these tactics have to offer.
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with integrating a few healthy habits into your life to help with reducing stress from moment to moment. The important thing here is to understand why you’re doing it, and be mindful of what you expect to gain.
What’s not realistic is thinking we can substantially change our lives or eliminate chronic stress, with just some quick and easy tricks.
How quick hacks can be helpful in fighting chronic stress
All that said, there’s a lot of good that can come from ideas that fall into this category. As part of your overall, personalized stress management plan, consider the following.
- Small changes can be the most important first steps on the path to bigger changes. Starting one small habit can kick off a snowball effect. You might then make other small changes, and more good decisions, that all add up to a massive impact.
- Quick-fix tips are great to have in your arsenal for when the going gets rough. For example, pausing to take a few deep breaths can be a powerful way to maintain your calm in a stressful situation. Will it immediately erase all stress from your life? Not likely. But it will probably help you get through that moment. And, if you make it a habit, perhaps you’ll be on a path to calmer days overall.
- Easy hacks are a great place to start when faced with overwhelming stress. When life seems to be one stressful event after another, we need things that are easy; that don’t take a lot of thought or preparation; and that we can do even when mentally exhausted.
If used as one part of a holistic approach to beat chronic stress, quick fixes, hacks, and easy tips can be a valuable addition to your toolbox. Just remember to look at the big picture too.
Designing your own path to succeed against stress
Fighting stress is all about finding techniques that resonate with who you are as an individual.
- Are you a a dip-your-toe-in-the-water kind of person?
- Would you rather start small than take big risks?
- Do you prefer slow evolution vs. massive shifts?
If so, you’ll probably benefit from taking some of these smaller steps on the path to beating chronic stress.
The great part of this is, you’re focusing on improving your life right where you are. This can be more effective than waiting for massive changes, like a new job or city, to fix everything. But you’ll just want to keep in mind that deep, meaningful changes in life are rarely felt from just a few quick hacks.
Use your penchant for adopting small changes to start on a bigger path to deeper evolution. With the right intention and patience, a few good “quick fixes” can be valuable first steps on your path to a less stressful life.
Next: Does beating stress require massive action?
