Questions answered on how to beat stress!

Interview by Vivien von Drehnen, ReachOut Reporter

I spent ten minutes chatting to Megan Varlow, a clinical psychologist at the University of Technology, Sydney, to get the lowdown on how to combat stress.  She let us in on some of her top tips! Here’s how it went…

Firstly, what exactly is STRESS? 

Stress is the body’s response to threat. These threats can be physical, like a bus bearing down on you, or psychological, such as having an argument with a loved one or worrying about an impending deadline. The stress response is also called the fight-or-flight response, so physical sensations and experiences such as sweaty hands, headaches, butterflies or stomach upset, increased heart and breathing rate, feeling wobbly in the legs and difficulty concentrating can all be effects of stress.

What are the top 5 issues that cause young adults to stress today?

Most young adults in Australia report mostly psychological stressors. So things like difficulties in relationships, problems with study or work, feeling directionless and mental health problems are common stressors for young adults.

Has what young adults stress about changed over the years?

It’s likely that young adults have been getting stressed about relationships, study and work for many years. However it is now more acceptable to talk about stress, admit that you might be struggling and seek help than it has been in the past.

How can we combat stress we face in everyday life?

The first step is to recognise the cause of your stress. If you don’t know what is making you feel stressed it can be difficult to do something about it. Once you’ve determined the source (or sources) of stress, it’s a good idea to tackle them in a systematic way. Firstly, some slow breathing can help to calm the fight-or-flight response and clear your head a little. Five minutes of slow breathing two or three times a day can make a big difference.

Secondly, stop procrastinating! Take an action on the thing that’s making you feel stressed. You may need to do some problem solving, get some help from a friend or family member, set some realistic goals, prioritise everything you have to do or work out a gradual plan of action, but doing nothing will really only lead to you feeling more stressed. Chip away at the problem and see how you can make progress over time.

Finally, challenge those unhelpful thoughts (like “I can’t deal with this, it’s too much for me”) as they can make it difficult to keep to your action plan. You may like to challenge the thoughts by asking yourself “What advice would I give to a good friend?” and then take that advice – we all have good advice in us we just tend to save it for our friends. Challenging unhelpful thoughts can get you from “I can’t deal with this, it’s too much for me” to “This is hard but if I keep working at it things will improve”. And then keep on challenging those unhelpful thoughts and find more helpful ways to think about the problem.

What’s the best advice you can give to young adults who are feeling a little stressed at the moment?

Take some time out, do some slow breathing and ask yourself, how can I think about this situation differently? Often, changing your thinking is the first step toward changing your situation.

What are the benefits of young adults being able to handle stress better?

Good stress management has lots of benefits. It is good for your physical and mental health, can make it easier to deal with difficult relationships and situations, and improve your overall wellbeing.