Find your “stress signature”

What Does Your Stress Web Look Like?

Sometimes it helps to see things on paper. 

Your stressors are no exception. 

We're sharing a free PDF called the Stress Web today. 

It's designed to help you see what areas of your life are most affected by stress. 

So instead of just thinking, 'I'm so stressed out,' or 'My whole life is a mess,' you can zero in on the specific sources of your stress. 

The benefit: This better enables you to problem-solve. 

Let's walk through it. 

Every person has a unique "stress signature." 

In other words, people can respond very differently to the same stressor. What affects one person tremendously may not bother another person at all. 

Enter the Stress Web, a worksheet we use with our clients here at Health Lounges

It helps you map stressors to the various areas of YOUR life—and gives you a visual depiction of their magnitude.

Here's What to Do

1. Color how strongly that particular stressor affects you in each wedge. The more stressful something feels, the more of the segment you'll color in. 

2. Take a Look at the colored-in areas, asking questions like, "What's adding to your stress level in that area?"

3. Use the "little bit better" mindset to brainstorm practical and productive ways to more effectively manage those stressors. 

This is to say: You don't have to eliminate a stressor. That'd no doubt be AWESOME, but it also might feel impossible. 

Instead, ask yourself:

What could I do to make this a little better?

That doesn't always mean decreasing the stressor. 

In some cases, the most effective approach could be increasing your recovery. 

Think about the balance of stress and recovery as a tank that can be simultaneously filled (recovery) and drained (stress).

To add more water to the tank, plug the leak by decreasing stress.

If that's not possible, you can also turn up the faucet by adding recovery.

Or, do both: Lower stress while increasing rest and recovery. 

And again…

It doesn't have to be all about the big things.

For example, our client Mrs. Deepti—who works from home—noticed that her stress web's environmental and mental segments were exceptionally high.

After some thought, Mrs. Deepti made a couple of changes. She: 

► bought noise-canceling headphones to drown out her cacophonous household

► installed apps on her computer to block certain websites during periods of the day

Those strategies might seem "too simple to work," but they allowed her to cut down on unproductive distractions and better focus on her tasks.

After a month, Mrs.Deepti became more clear-headed and started enjoying her workday more. 

Plus, she had way more energy. She hadn't realized how depleting all those competing distractions had been.

Want to try it yourself?

Download your copy of the Stress Web at no cost, courtesy of our Sleep, Stress Management, and Recovery education team. 

Oh, and just in case you’re interested…

If you want to gain a deeper understanding of how stress impacts everything from eating behaviors to emotional health to work productivity—along with highly-effective strategies for coping better—check out our RSS Program. (The next session opens soon.) 

Until next time,

Dt. Mohit Mittal

(BFND, B.TECH, DDHN, NSQF-4, YCB-3, SSY-1, PT- REPS INDIA)