Here is some advice when it comes to dealing with life’s problems. I hope that this article will help to smooth those problematic areas for you and help you to live a less stressed life.

Table of Contents

Dealing With Life’s Problems

Take Life With A Pinch Of Salt

Not letting things get to you and taking life with a pinch of salt is the answer to living a happy stress-free life.

Sometimes though it is easier said than done when it comes to dealing with life’s problems. When we hold things back, it is amazing how much stress can build up. Worrying about things and harboring grudges just causes more long term problems.

When things build up we can get overwhelmed, but fear not because there are many techniques that we can use to take a breath, slow down, relax and take life a bit easier when those feelings get too much.

If we don’t learn to take things with a pinch of salt and worry about every little thing, stress becomes habitual and it can eventually take a huge toll on your health.

“Burnout” is the term that is commonly used and you can burnout through problems caused by work, your lifestyle or individual personality characteristics. The symptoms of burnout can be varied but all have an adverse effect on your health and happiness over the long term if you don’t change the situation or situations that cause it. It’s all about learning about dealing with life’s problems.

If you get burnout, you will have the following symptoms:

No Energy

If you are continually faced with stress then it can have a draining effect on your body and mind.

This will make you feel as though you have no energy. You will feel lethargic and no longer have an interest in anything that you once enjoyed. It can even affect your social life.

When even the thought of getting out of bed seems like too much trouble, it is time to seek help.

Frustration

Stress leads to frustration because you may feel sad for no particular reason, impatient or even have mood swings.

This will eventually lead to you feeling as though you are losing control over your life or that you no longer have the ability to control it.

Problems In Relationships

You may find that you are letting relationships slide, this could be because you find yourself losing patience with people around you, you have less interest in things you used to do with others or you feel you can’t mix with people you used to like being with.

A Pessimistic Outlook

When you are feeling burnout it gets increasingly harder to become excited about life and the things you used to do and enjoy,

You will find your thoughts turn ever increasingly to negative ones rather than positive and you find it harder to look on the bright side in any situation.

It becomes almost impossible to take life with a grain of salt and let even the smallest of things roll off your back and you gradually get deeper into a rut.

Here are some tips to avoid burning out:

Learn a relaxation technique such as meditation;
Get plenty of exercises every week;
Make sure you eat a sensible and healthy diet;
Take time out for yourself every day;
Do something that you enjoy doing every day;
In a particularly stressful time, relax as best as you can, take slow deep breaths and count to 10;
Learn to shrug your shoulders and cast aside anything that you cannot possibly change.

Problem Solving

We all come across problems that affect our lives and we have to learn about dealing with life’s problems in our own way.

However, it’s how we deal with them that can make all the difference.

Problems can occur in life through mistakes that we make ourselves or through unforeseen circumstances beyond our control, whichever way they cross our path we should deal with them in the same levelheaded way.

Stay In Control

There are basic ways in which we can help ourselves overcome problems easier when life throws them our way but the most important of them is to remain in control of our thoughts and feelings.

Remember that worrying and getting upset about any situation won’t change the situation in any way, and it won’t make it go away.

Learn to think of dealing with life’s problems as challenges that arise or tests that are put in our path to see how we deal with them and overcome them.

It is all about how we deal with problems emotionally that matter. Our emotional state can take us through our problems if we allow it to. If you are prone to worrying when problems arise and allow depression to set in, then your problems will seem much bigger.

The first thing you have to understand is that you don’t have to understand the cause of the problem in order to solve it and get past it. If only I knew why? Is the first question that many of us ask when faced with difficulty.

Knowing why doesn’t change anything or help us in dealing with life’s problems. The solution to the problem lies ahead and not behind and this is the way you should be looking. Don’t spend energy trying to figure out why, rather spend it focusing on looking for the solution.

Don’t spend any more than 20% of your time focusing on the problem at hand and wondering why; do spend 80% on figuring out a solution to the problem.

The only question you need to ask yourself is “what am I going to do about it?”

When Problems Are Getting You Down

If dealing with life’s problems are getting you down, remember that every day is a new day, while life seems to be throwing many problems your way right now it doesn’t mean it will tomorrow.

Leave the past where it belongs and only concentrate on the future and it getting brighter day-by-day.

To lift yourself up out of the blues ask yourself “what is happening in my life right now that I have to be grateful for?”

If you sit down and think deeply about this, no matter how many problems you seem to have right now there is always something which you will find to be grateful and thankful for.

So dealing with life’s problems is all about how you look at them, face them head on and not shrinking from them.

Focus on obtaining a solution for solving the problem and then go for it full steam ahead until you have dealt with it and got through it.

How To Beat Those Blue Days

Whenever you have a bad day for whatever reason, what you need to do is think.

Since negative thoughts and emotions will tend to overwhelm you on a bad day, you must think of strategies that will rid you of them. Try a vigorous physical work out, take a long walk or go swimming. Or, just get out into the open and sit somewhere and observe the plants and trees and flowers or the sunset, if it is sunset time.

Read a pleasurable book, watch a funny movie or do something that distances you from the bad day situation, preferably both physically and, more importantly, mentally.

Remember the good ol’ days that enriched your life in the past, all the happy experiences that elevated your spirits and all those special friends and relatives who brought cheer and laughter into your life.

Think of the good things in your life and be grateful for the blessings bestowed on you. Put against the bright light of your appreciation of all those better days, this single bad day or a small bunch of bad days will pale into insignificance.

Remember that a bad day will not become a good day by stewing over it. Remember that a bad day is just one passing day. It might have left a few scars on your mind and body but is important to remember that the pain is temporary.

Time is a great healer. Today, just ignore the negative aspects of the day. Instead, look at the positive side of the bad event or happening that spoiled your day. Are there any lessons in it for your future? How can you avoid getting into the same or similar situation?

One simple formula that will help you on your bad day lies in the fact that your sorrows get divided and your pleasures get multiplied when you share them with your close friends or confidantes. You can try to overcome your bad day by discussing your problems with your close friends.

Any or all of these easy-to-adopt measures will be helpful in providing relief to you on a bad day.

Dealing With Disappointment

Even though we plan and set goals in order to succeed in life, invariably, even though we give it our best shot, things don’t always turn out as expected and disappointment can set in.

Disappointment in itself is not particularly a bad thing; it’s how we choose to deal with it that can make a difference.

If we simply choose to accept the failure and allow the disappointment to wash over us and quickly go away we don’t suffer adverse consequences, it is only when we allow the disappointment to linger and we dote on it that negativity and bad feelings can stay with us.

Some disappointment in life can be good for us because it allows us to grow and develop and practice thinking positively, going through disappointment and coming out the other side still wearing a smile makes us realize that no matter what life throws at us we can overcome it.

Here are some tips to help you deal with and overcome disappointment:

Realize that grief, stress, anxiety, fear, pain, and suffering are just a natural part of life that we have to go through, it’s how we deal with it and come out the other side that matters.
If family members or loved ones are causing you disappointment remember that no one is invulnerable, you cannot always live up to your expectations for yourself so how can you expect others to be perfect.
When faced with disappointment instead of looking at it as though it is a bad thing, welcome it and think of it as a test or challenge.
When things go wrong analyze the situation, see what you can learn from it and then let it go.
If you are constantly running into a brick wall when trying to reach long term goals, remember there cannot be failure unless you give up, so keep trying until you get there.
If you run into a dead end turn around and go another way, by staying flexible you are able to obtain your goal any way you can.
Don’t expect anything more from life than what you are willing to put in, if you don’t expect anything more, you won’t be disappointed.
If you are having a particularly bad time overcoming disappointment it can help to talk about it, by talking about it and letting it out you realize that you are not alone when it comes to suffering disappointment.
Patience can really be a blessing when it comes to dealing with disappointment and dealing with life’s problems. Simply let the feelings pass over you, disappear and get back on the right track.
Don’t be conned by foolish and unreasonable expectations about life, if you are constantly looking for perfection then you will be disappointed for sure.

Dealing With Jealousy

Jealousy is an emotion that can have devastating effects on a relationship.

Jealousy is a negative emotion that many of us suffer from to some extent. It can involve emotions such as hurt, dependency, anger, and self-doubt.

Self-doubt stems from a fear of losing something, when in fact we ourselves often make this reality by our behavior and actions through our own jealousy.

So how do we take steps to deal with the green-eyed monster when it rears its ugly head?

Become independent – you should only truly rely on yourself and never develop a dependency on one person, focus on developing independence for yourself.
Give yourself a confidence boost – treat yourself to a new hair-do, a day at the spa or a new outfit, do something to give yourself a boost in confidence. If your confidence is very low then attend a course on how to assert yourself.
List what makes you feel jealous – sit down and admit to yourself what makes you feel jealous, list them down and be open in your thinking, are they silly little things that make you jealous and do they really matter?
Talk your fears over with the person involved and let them know how you feel. Are they doing something intentionally to make you jealous or without realizing it? If the person truly cares for you then they are usually more than willing to make changes, especially if they didn’t realize they were causing you to worry and feel this way.
Take a good and honest evaluation of yourself – being honest about yourself and admitting you might have problems with low self-esteem or self-worth can be an eye-opener and is the first steps to changing your feelings.
Study the person you are jealous about openly and honestly. Figure out what you dislike about the person and what do you like if anything, about them? Ask yourself if you are being unrealistic in your thinking?
Don’t magnify your feelings – unless the jealousy is severe or it has been with you for a long time then chances are it is only fleeting and can have occurred for many reasons, with any luck these feelings will pass over and your relationship will calm down. Until this happens, try to keep your feelings in check.

There are many self-help methods that can be used to help those who suffer from severe jealousy, these vary from hypnotherapy courses, audio CDS, books and magazines, any technique which can be used to help relax and calm you down can also be helpful, particularly at those times when jealousy first strikes.

Signals That Could Mean That You Are Stressed

When it comes to dealing with life’s problems, stress affects people in different ways, but it is usually only the severity of the symptoms that differ while the actual symptoms remain basically the same.

Some people stress much easier than others. While some lose their cool for the slightest reasons, others can seemingly take a lot before the give into stress and begin to show the common signals related to stress.

Stress can also be divided into two categories, short-term stress, and long-term stress.

Stress is generally regarded as short term if a situation comes up that you aren’t used to in everyday life such as an interview, an exam or going to the dentist. While the signals of short term stress and long term stress are the same, if you are only stressed in the short term these feelings are only with you on the day of the event or just before and quickly disappear once the event has passed. Once this has passed your body settles down and you think no more about the feelings of stress and anxiety and it passes with no trouble.

However, long term stress differs because it has the same signals as short term stress only they are with you almost every day, constantly affecting your body and mind and developing into deep-seated anxiety and maybe even panic attacks.

The common signals listed below could be warning signs that you are suffering from stress, either in the short term or long term and can vary from person to person in severity:

The feeling of butterflies or knots in your stomach;
Feeling either flushed, hot or having cold sweats;
Your mouth feels as dry as a desert or that it is full of cotton wool;
Your heart seems to pound or beat much more quickly than it should;
Your hands may feel cold and they may tremble;
You lose the ability to concentrate and even think properly;
You feel a terrible feeling that you can’t describe;
Your head feels as though a tight band of steel is encircling it and is pulling tighter and tighter;
Your skin feels itchy or as some people put it as though something is crawling beneath your skin;
You find it hard to settle down and often your sleeping patterns change with you lying awake for hours while feeling exhausted;
You sleep but wake up feeling more tired than when you went to bed;
Your energy levels drop and you begin to feel lethargic and have no interest in the things you once enjoyed.

All the above are the most common signals that you are stressed and that you should take steps towards eliminating some of the stress from your life or finding adequate ways to be able to release the stress from your body and mind. If your level of stress is particularly high or if you have long-term stress then you should take advice from your doctor as you may need medication to get you back on track while you develop ways to beat your stress.

Signs That You Are Suffering From Burnout

Burnout is a term that is closely related to stress, but burnout occurs when your body and mind are continually stressed to the point when you begin to develop emotional and physical fatigue.

If you have been continually subjected to high levels of stress over an extended period it can bring feelings that eventually have an effect on every aspect of your life, you are then said to have “burnout”.

While burnout is related to severe stress, it is different from just being excessively stressed. Many people live for years with long-term stress without “burning out.”

While signs and symptoms of burnout can be very similar to those felt when stressed when you “burnout”, you have the symptoms of stress but along with this also feelings of emotional exhaustion and negativity.

The signs that you may be heading for “burnout” include the following symptoms, lower down the scale indicates symptoms you may feel the closer to “burnout” you become.

You begin to have problems with your digestive system;
Your blood pressure starts to rise;
You begin to suffer severe headaches;
You start grinding your teeth consistently;
You begin to feel extremely fatigued;
You may suffer from heart problems or even heart attack;
You may suffer from a stroke;
You begin to feel increasingly hopeless and powerless;
Satisfaction from work and life in general deteriorates;
Feelings of deep resentment build up;
You feel in a rut and there is no way out;
You become withdrawn and totally isolated;
You feel incompetent and a total failure.

The end result of these symptoms show one as suffering from “burnout” due to continual and unrelenting long periods of stress, they are nothing more than the result of an extremely tired body and mind.

At the time of actual “burnout”, you will be experiencing problems not only at work but also with relationships and almost every aspect of what you used to know as “normal” life.

In order to prevent burnout, it is important that you recognize the symptoms and try to eliminate as much stress as possible from your life.

Stress management is essential to prevent burnout and using stress management techniques can prevent many of the symptoms. To reduce burnout or prevent it you can take the following precautions by making changes to your physical, mental and social well-being.

Have a complete physical with your doctor;
Make sure you eat a healthy diet;
Make sure you are getting enough daily exercise;
Make sure you get enough sleep;
Learn relaxation techniques to deal with stress and stressful situations.

I trust that reading this has helped you in dealing with life’s problems a whole lot better.

Please feel free to comment below if you have anything else to add.

Dealing With Life’s Problems And Coping Strategies

Dealing With Life’s Problems