压力不是什么好事。但是妙佑医疗国际心理医生 Craig N. Sawchuk（博士、执业心理学家）表示，压力并不总是带有负面含义。
“压力有助于激励我们。”他说。“它帮助我们完成任务。它有助于我们在各种事情中获得力量。”
例如，工作中迫在眉睫的最后期限可以给您所需的挑战，让您集中注意力。一些运动员甚至发现赛前的紧张情绪可以提供他们所需的能量，以发挥出最好的水平。
但就像生活中的所有事物一样，过犹不及、物极必反。压力积聚可能对健康、人际关系和生活质量造成损害。
如何知道自己何时达到极限？每个人体内都有报警机制，会在压力过大时发出警报。根据 Sawchuk 医生的说法，有 4 种类型的警报共同构成了人体的“压力计”。了解自己的警报类型，可缩小适合自己的压力管理策略的范围。
身体
如果您的身体有一个压力计——您猜对了——您会在自己体内感觉到它。头痛、胃部问题、肌肉紧张和睡眠受扰是常见的体征和症状。
您的运动、饮食和睡眠方式可以帮助身体感觉更轻松，即使生活紧张忙碌。试试下列建议：
- 用自己喜欢的方式运动，无论是广场舞还是简单的瑜伽姿势。
- 食用各种颜色的水果、蔬菜和全谷物食品。
- 充分饮水。
- 避免可能干扰睡眠的物质，比如尼古丁、咖啡因和酒精。
- 每天晚上同一时间上床睡觉，每天早上同一时间起床。
Emotional
Does chaos make you edgy and irritable? If you snap at your partner for forgetting to start the dishwasher, ask yourself whether stress is affecting your mood.
Relaxation strategies can be helpful for calming an emotional stressometer. Yoga, massage and calming music can all take the edge off when emotions run hot.
Dr. Sawchuk also suggests focused breathing exercises. Try this:
- Put 1 hand on your belly and the other hand on your chest.
- Inhale deeply through your nose, allowing your abdomen to fill with air.
- Exhale through your nose.
- As you breathe in and out, focus on shifting your breath so you can feel it in your belly rather than in your chest.
- Take 3 more slow, deep breaths, noticing the rise and fall of your abdomen.
认知
思绪奔涌、担忧和难以集中注意力都是压力的标志性表现，会反映在您的思维方式上。
以更灵活的方式重新看待压力源是改变思维方式的一种策略。意料之外的道路施工让您上班迟到？提醒自己，老板很可能会理解的。另外，您还有机会收听您最喜爱的播客节目。
您还可以将担忧快速写到日记本里。“用日志记录担忧，把它写下来，挑战自己用更灵活的方式去看待事物，有时可能会有所帮助。”Sawchuk 医生说。
Behavioral
Sometimes when stress picks up, so do bad habits. Having a little too much to drink, skipping breakfast and even withdrawing from others are red flags for people with a stressometer that impacts their behavior.
Asking for support from loved ones can pull you out of a slump. Having an accountability buddy to share meal plans, exercise with or even just check in with can be a strong motivator to stay on the right track.
And if stress has you canceling plans and turning off your phone? Dr. Sawchuk says, "If we find that we're withdrawing more, then it's important for us to pay attention to that and to set goals of reaching out to others in our lives."
The bottom line
"Stress is part of being alive," says Dr. Sawchuk. "But if you find that your mood or stress levels are getting to the point where they get in the way of being able to take care of normal things…those are good times to reach out."
He recommends talking to a primary care provider, who can help connect you with local resources or a therapist.