Nobody knows stress more than the engineers. In any sense of the term – from the body’s response to exhaustion to the engineering application of force over area – stress is always entangled with engineers. But how should we deal with stress as a mental or emotional strain as a result of our work?
While each one of us have different ways to cope with stress, more often than not we do not know if they are healthy for us in the long run, or if we are just getting by.
However, we unconsciously develop our own simple habits that actually help us and relieve our stress. That includes getting some fresh air, relying on healthy rituals, immersing into creative activities, connecting to our spiritual sides, finding serenity within, expressing our gratitude, and exercising.
But there are coping mechanisms that are bound to make us more stressful or, in one way or another, harm us in other aspects. They are the following:
Drinking, smoking, and other vices
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Remember during college that after grueling exams, the habit is usually to go on a night out? This doesn’t have to be carried over later in life. Turning to unhealthy vices like drinking, drugs, and smoking is always a temporary solution, giving you a high feeling for a while. This does not take the stress away, it only makes you forget it. It is a vicious cycle.
Hibernating
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Research shows that the more you sleep, the more tired you actually feel. So the next time that you are faced with a stressful scenario, face it head on instead of hibernating.
Ignoring the problem
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Once you recognize that you are stressed, do not just sit it through. It won’t go away that way, guaranteed. While it’s acceptable to have some distractions, completely ignoring the stress or the cause of it does not solve the problem. In fact, by doing so, the more you ignore something, the greater it’s going to get.
Being pessimistic
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It’s understandable that when we’re feeling stressed it’s very easy to view ourselves in a negative light. But there’s something that can be done about this before pessimism swallows us whole: view things from a different perspective. And you cannot do this alone, but with the help of a friend or a family member. All it takes is to reach out.
Stress eating
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When we are stressed, perhaps the most common runaway is to eat, eat, and eat. This is the type of coping mechanism that affects our health directly, as it can cause mild to serious sicknesses apart from becoming overweight.
Source: Health
