Stress management tips for When Stress Makes You Cranky

There are days where the circumstances just try your patience. With demands placed upon you, everything is brewing up to a bigger storm. Stressful situations increase cortisol levels and cause a dip in the feel-good hormones.

And since many of you are conditioned not to express your anger in an aggressive and direct way, you deal with the hormonal changes in what seems like a more subtle manner, and that’s by getting in a bad mood. In the interest of not totally losing your cool, you need to come up with helpful strategies that may be better for you than you think.

First, it helps to schedule tasks that are making you anxious. If you have to buy something at the mall after you do your work, you need to know when you can squeeze everything in.

Do this early on. If you leave things for later, you’ll spend more time worrying and end up snapping at people. Don’t forget to take a break as well.

Have a cup of coffee with friends or workers rather than going solo. A caffeine fix with a group greatly lowers stress. If you do this alone, you tend to sulk over the sorry situation and get even more depressed.

Also, learn when to say no. Being a social creature that you are, you may feel obligated to show up for everything you’re invited to.

But saying yes to something when you really don’t want to go makes you annoyed and leaves you bitter. Tell people you’re prepping for a presentation then just go and enjoy the free time that you have.

Go and read something funny or watch your favorite comedy. As they say, laughter is the best medicine. Likewise, this may be your best weapon to fight stress.

After work, do short, high-intensity workouts. These have a greater effect on stress rather than slower-paced exercise. So instead of an hour of yoga, hit the treadmill and run until you’re sweating it out.

Or, if you’re feeling to beat to work out, skip the treadmill and relax in the sauna.

Pampering yourself, even if it’s just for a few minutes, has a calming effect on your nerves.

Have a massage when you can and just let your mind drift as you feel the knots in your muscles loosen.

If you’re ready to snap at anyone, try to talk slower as well. When you’re tense, you speak more rapidly, which changes your body’s chemistry and turns you into someone with a sailor’s mouth.

Talking at a calmer pace will chill you out, and you’ll also be more likely to get what you want. Then, skip all the promises you’ve made for yourself, at least for now.

While you might think that giving yourself a set of goals is a positive thing, they can also make you feel inadequate and pressured rather than hopeful and happy. Instead, make some great plans and then deal with your goals when you’re in a happier mood.

Sometimes, it’s good to not just think and worry.