Staying Calm in Stressful Situations

If you imagine your stress level on a thermometer, with 10 being high stress and 0 being no stress, where do you typically land on that "Stress Thermometer"? 

If you are someone who experiences frequent stress, or perhaps you live or work with someone who is often stressed, keep reading. Today you will learn three tips to help you cultivate more peace of mind.

British writer James Allen said “Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom." Cultivating calmness of mind - especially in stressful situations - will help you to tap into your creative power and intuition, and improve your focus and productivity.

This is important because in today’s fast paced world, with constant deadlines and distractions, a lot of people are complaining about stress. Stress can be a motivator; however, it's problematic when it becomes chronic. When stress becomes chronic, it creates a toxic environment in your body. Learning to stay calm in stressful situations is absolutely essential for your health, vitality and productivity. 

When you are experiencing stress, you are in high beta brain waves which is tantamount to being in "high alert." This makes it impossible to tap into the brilliance, creativity, and intuition inside of you because basically, you're in survival mode.

What exactly is stress? According to the World Health Organization, “Stress can be defined as a state of worry or mental tension caused by a difficult situation. Stress is a natural human response that causes us to address challenges and threats in our lives." (1) Everyone experiences stress to some degree but the way that you respond to stress makes a big difference in your overall experience. 

In nature, when an animal senses that a predator is nearby, its survival hormones kick in as it tries to flee from the danger. But once the threat is gone, the animal goes back to normal behavior. Similarly, back in the days of early humans, this response helped our ancestors in survival. But today, humans react to stressors like deadlines as if we're being hunted by a predator. And rather than restoring balance once the perceived threat is diminished, we stay in stress. This is a maladaptive pattern and it's hurting you.

Here are three tips to help you manage your stress:

Tip 1: Take a strategic pause. Interrupt your high stress pattern. This can be as simple as taking a few minutes to quiet your mind. One of my favorite "strategic pauses" is to go outside for a short walk.

Tip 2: Tap into your breath. When you are in high stress, you are in fight or flight mode and your breathing becomes shallow. Take a few minutes to focus your mind on your breath. This takes your mind away from the stressful situation and calms your nervous system.

Tip 3: Change your point of view. There is good and bad in every situation. Therefore, you can consciously switch how you look at things. For example, this morning, I was overthinking my upcoming schedule and all the tasks I had scheduled. I found myself feeling tense and my stress levels starting to rise. Then I changed my perspective, including that it would be okay if I took some imperfect action.

"Nothing is good or bad, thinking makes it so" is a famous line from William Shakespeare's play, Hamlet. What this means is: your perception and interpretation of events determine whether you consider them good or bad.

Essentially, your thoughts shape your reality. And how you experience stress starts in your mind, with your thinking.

This year, give yourself the gift of more calmness and peace of mind. Apply these tips and help yourself achieve below 5 on the "Stress Thermometer," making it through your day with higher focus and productivity!

(1) World Health Organization - Stress, What is Stress?, February 21, 2023. Accessed on January 13, 2025: https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/stress