How to Deal with Stress at Home

Stress is a fact of life. You deal with it at work, at home, at the streets – it can be just about anywhere. There’s really no way to avoid it. The best way to get around stress is just to learn how to deal with it or how to manage it. Stress caused at home can cause a huge emotional toll on our well-beings especially as we consider our homes to be our sanctuary. That means this should be the only place in the world where you can feel relaxed, happy, and loved. Unfortunately, reality bites. Here are some ways on how Singaporeans can deal with stress at home:

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Recognize stress for what it is

It’s almost impossible to determine when a stress is slowly building up. This is considered to be an abstract or an invisible emotion since you only know you’re already stressed out when you’re already expressing yourself in negative emotions. Some people become easily irritated or hot tempered when under stress, some feel depressed, while others resort to crying. It’s important to recognize how one copes with stress as well as the situations that trigger it.

Recognize stress from children

Stress is not something that’s experienced only by adults. Kids can feel it, too, but they just express it differently. Kids may be stressed due to school demands, conflicts with friends, etc. What you should do is to teach your kids understand what stress is and their behavior when under stress. It’s also good to make the kids understand that this is just an ordinary emotion that can be controlled.

Recognize stress from spouse

As a spouse, it is important that you recognize when your partner is dealing with stress. Rather than leaving your spouse alone to deal with stress, you can help lessen the burden by sharing it. Engage your spouse in a positive relaxed conversation where your spouse can vent out tensed emotions. Try to exert understanding by avoiding blame on your spouse and listen with patience instead. You may also add sooth the tension by providing words of comfort.

Engage in stress-buster activities for the family

When you know that the whole family is undergoing a lot of stress, it’s best to engage in stress-free activities to relieve negative emotions. You can have a delicious relaxing dinner at your favorite restaurant, go on a convenient stress-free vacation, or play outdoor games as a family.