6 Steps to Transform Your Mindset About Stress

Stress is an inevitable part of life. Chances are you experience stress on a regular and consistent basis. Stress can show up in any and every area of your life. It can be extremely difficult to handle, and even lead to negative physical, mental, and emotional effects.

I haven’t discovered a way to completely erase stress from my life. And honestly, I don’t think it’s realistic to want to do that anyway. I believe resisting and ignoring stress will only make it come back stronger and more consistently.

Instead of aiming to erase our stress, I believe we need to reframe it in a way that makes it more approachable and easier to handle. So if you’re looking to discover a foolproof method to eliminate stress, I’m sorry but you won’t find it here. But if you’re ready to learn how to become more aware of the effects of stress in your life, how to get to the root cause of your stress, and how to shift your mindset about stress in transformative ways, then you’re in the right place!

In order to effectively take action to cope with your stress, it’s helpful to work on your mindset first. Read on for 6 steps to transform your mindset about stress!

1. Reflect on your overall beliefs about stress.

Stress is a common emotion, but we all have slightly different relationships with it and beliefs about it. In order to lay the groundwork for transforming your mindset about stress, it’s helpful to reflect on your overall beliefs about stress.

When you think about stress, what comes up for you? What are your mental, physical, and emotional reactions to the idea of stress? Is it something that you’ve gotten used to in your daily life? Is stress an emotion that completely overwhelms you and has negative effects on your well-being? What stories are you telling yourself about stress and the effect it has on your life?

Reflecting on your beliefs about stress may be difficult, especially if it’s an emotion that’s particularly painful for you. But this first step is crucial to becoming more aware of the role stress plays in your life and laying the groundwork for transforming your mindset about it. 

2. Write out everything that is currently stressing you out.

Writing is such a powerful tool when dealing with any difficult emotion. When you’re feeling stressed, write out everything that is currently causing you that stress. Think about everything in any area of your life that is causing you stress and write it out in whatever way is most useful to you. 

Writing down everything that is stressing you out will help you get it out of your head and get a little space from it. I know that when I’m stressed, my mind gets stuck in a constant loop of everything that I’m stressed about. This makes me feel even more stressed out and I start to feel overwhelmingly worse about everything. 

Writing out your stresses helps organize the jumbled mess in your mind. It’ll also help you take a step back and loosen the power grip stress can have over you. Never underestimate the power of writing things down, especially when it comes to dealing with your stress.  

Related Post: 8 Ways to Deal With Difficult Emotions

3. Become aware of the feelings and thoughts that come up.

Once you have everything that you’re stressed about written down, read it over and notice whatever feelings and thoughts come up for you.   

Are you worried, anxious, or scared? Did you notice your body getting tense or your palms start to sweat? Is your heart racing or do you feel a sinking feeling in your stomach? Let yourself feel whatever comes up, and simply observe it.

Becoming aware of your feelings and thoughts about the things that stress you out will help you eventually understand why you feel and think the way you do. It can be easy to neglect the feelings and thoughts that come with stress, but when you’re more aware of them, you’ll be more equipped to deal with them and cope with your stress. 

4. Normalize your stress.

One of the least helpful things you can do when you’re stressed is to feel ashamed or guilty about being stressed. This will only add another layer to your stress and make everything so much more difficult.

Once you’re aware of the feelings and thoughts that come up with your stress, normalize them. Don’t try to suppress them or ignore them. Your thoughts and feelings are valid. Hold space for them, and don’t be ashamed or guilty about them.

Everyone experiences stress. It’s a normal emotion and it’s nothing to be ashamed of. Do yourself a favour and normalize your stress. Resist the urge to suppress and ignore the thoughts and feelings that come with your stress. You are allowed to feel the way you do, and your thoughts are not a reflection of who you are. Once you’ve normalized your stress, it’ll be even easier to transform your mindset about it.  

Related Post: 10 Things to Remind Yourself on a Bad Mental Health Day

5. Think about why you’re feeling stressed.

When you’re stuck in your stress, it can be easy to stay stuck in that emotion without taking a moment to think about why you’re feeling stressed in the first place. But if you have everything that you’re stressed about written down, you’re aware of your thoughts and feelings about it all, and you’ve normalized it, it’ll be way easier to do the next step of discovering the reasons behind your stress.

Are you stressed because there is just too much to do? Maybe certain things on your to-do list conflict with each other. Are you putting too much pressure on yourself? Does everything on your list of stresses feel disconnected from how you really want to spend your time?

This step might take some extra reflection on your part, but thinking about why you’re feeling stressed will help you uncover the root cause of your stress, and knowing the root cause will make it so much easier to then take action to deal with your stress.    

6. Decide what kind of stress you’re feeling.

On the surface, stress just feels like a negative and difficult emotion. But stress is not always bad. Yes, stress can come up when you have to do a lot of things because you just need to get them done. But stress can also be proof that certain things in your life hold a lot of meaning for you. You might be stressed about school or work or creative pursuits, but chances are, that stress is coming up because those areas of your life mean something to you, and you want to make sure you’re doing a good job. 

Your stress comes up for a reason, and when you do the work to understand that reason, it’ll be easier to discover if that stress is healthy and aligned with how you want to live your life, or if it’s unhealthy and a reflection of some sort of imbalance in your life. Take your reasons about being stressed from the previous step and dig deeper into them to discover the type of stress you’re feeling.   

This final step will set you up to take action to cope with your stress. You’ll know what areas of your stress hold the most meaning for you and which ones are less important to you. This will help you decide where to put most of your time, energy, and attention, and take the necessary steps to effectively deal with your stress.

Related Post: 5 Steps to Stop Negative Thoughts

Stress is often unavoidable in life, and coping with it is no easy task. But if you take the time to do the inner work through processes like this one, you’ll be able to shift your mindset about your stress and gain a new and more in-depth perspective. Transforming your mindset about stress isn’t a quick and easy process, but I believe it is the best way to set you up to effectively deal with your stress.

If you have any other ideas about how to transform your mindset about stress, I’d love to know! Leave your ideas in the comments below!

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