Stress can creep into many parts of everyday life. Whether it’s work or personal matters, most people may not recognize the signs or know how to handle stress symptoms. April is National Stress Awareness Month, and Kristina Sowar, MD, a University of New Mexico Health psychiatrist, said there is no better time than now for New Mexicans to stop stress in its tracks.
The first step in managing stress is acknowledging it, she said. “We may be very much in the day-to-day life like, ‘I'm getting through it, and I’m doing the things I need to,’ or, ‘I’m staying busy,’ but we don't always have that space to pause and say, ‘Okay, this is how it's really impacting me,’” she said.
Sowar said one of the best coping mechanisms for stress is to feel it, instead of keeping a lid on uncomfortable feelings.“As we're experiencing stress, we tend to hold it,” she said. “Moving through stress is something that can be helpful for us,” she said.
It's been really very meaningful to see the evolution of how these topics are more in the open and things that we bring attention to and discuss.
- Kristina Sowar, MD, Associate Professor, UNM School of Medicine Dept. of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
“It's been really very meaningful to see the evolution of how these topics are more in the open and things that we bring attention to and discuss,” she said. There’s no one-size-fits-all remedy. Sowar said it can look like writing in your journal, meditating, and possibly one of the most powerful and fast-acting techniques that doesn’t require any tools—breathing.
Sowar demonstrated deep breathing for stress relief, by closing her eyes and inhaling for four seconds, then slowly exhaling for six. She said to repeat those simple steps as many times as necessary until you feel calm, and this is something that can be done at a desk, in the car or at home.
For others, like some physical therapy students at the UNM School of Medicine who have a long-standing tradition of playing spike ball between classes, they like to physically work out their stress.
“I started playing a bit more, and it’s a fun thing to do at lunch to take away from school a bit,” said Greta Koehler, a first-year physical therapy student. “I don't spend any time over lunch studying or doing homework because I feel like it's a nice break.”
Koehler’s friend and fellow first-year student Lizzy Latimer said just touching grass during the day helps keep the two grounded during the semester.
“We're both pretty active in general, so that's a big thing,” Latimer said. “Greta’s a big runner. I like weightlifting, and sometimes we intersperse with each other.”
Possibly one of the most important parts of managing stress is knowing it’s OK to talk about it, Sowar said.
“It's been very meaningful to see the evolution of how these topics are more in the open, and things that we bring attention to and discuss,” she said.
