Get to know yourself and relieve stress

Stress is unfortunately on the cards for so many of us but it varies as do our personality types. Here’s how you can relieve yours by knowing yourself.

Working out how to relieve your own stress can become a complicated and stressful issue in itself, so to focus on how to wind down we need to begin with a look inside. We are all individuals with unique personalities but we do seem to have and follow particular traits; some people are logistical and enjoy order, some thrive on being busy and active, some need quiet and calm, etc. According to Christine Lusita, Nutritionist, Mindfulness Educator and Behaviour Change Specialist, there are four personality ‘types’ that people fall under. Similar to Ayurvedic ‘doshas’ we can be inclined towards more than one, sometimes even all, but typically one will dominate. Each type has a certain energy and rhythm which helps us to determine how to treat ourselves in order to optimise our health and happiness.

Knowing yourself and your personality type and also realising that you don’t need to change, just to self-acknowledge, will not only help you care for yourself physically, but will also allow you to find ways in which to recover from stressful situations, restore your balance and find harmony on a day-to-day basis.

The Four Personality Types

Leaders

These are decisive people who look at the big picture. They are the more alpha types with plenty of energy and confidence to direct others and be the centre of attention.

Planners

These are intellectual types who pay attention to detail. Their focus is unrivalled; they research, collect facts, and contemplate all the angles before making a decision.

Socialisers

Those who thrive in a crowd, display an extroverted character, and charm their audience. They are gatherers; creating sociable situations and being the life and soul of the party is their forte. They’re the ones with the successful social media accounts.

Supporters

These are the reliable types who keep a steady rhythm in life. They’re around for their friends and family, and put others first. They can be traditional and display empathy to others.

Which one are you?

You may find that some of the traits from each type are part of your personality however try to select the one which most applies to you. Once you have done this you can work out how to relieve your stress.

Ways to relieve stress for Leaders

Due to the constant driving and pushing you can suffer from overdoing it, and find yourself in stressful situations; when one such situation arises that clouds your judgement you are likely to overreact. Leaders are often subject to impatience and so need to find fast and functional ways to alleviate the build up of stress. Destress by taking action – competitive sports, going to the driving range and smashing a few balls, take a drive and turn the music up loud. Other ways leaders can bring reactions down is to ground themselves: meditate and bring yourself out of your thoughts and concentrate on the physical you; hone in on your breathing and just being present. A good method for this is STAT; a body-scan meditation – you sit comfortably, inhale, exhale, and focus your attention on and soften each part of your body for a few seconds working upwards from your feet to the tip of your head. In total this should only take around four minutes but you don’t have to put a time on it. Once you have competed the ‘scan’ you should feel as though you hit reset and will find clarity to continue with your day.

Ways to relieve stress for Planners

If you thrive on perfection then when things are in disarray or not going the way you had planned you can suffer deep despair. To relieve this, a planner would do well to take part in a focus-required activity such as taking a long walk in nature, going for a substantial swim or a leisurely game of golf. Your struggle is being able to let go, to release the disappointment or anxiety about things going wrong. Simple meditation methods such as squeezing your own hand and creating a tension, then focussing your attention on this feeling for a few seconds before you release the pressure…reenacting the idea of ‘letting go’ can actually help you to do so.

Ways to relieve stress for Socialisers

Due to your innate sociable nature the socialiser is prone to overdoing it and self-imploding. Never wanting to refuse a get together they can often wear themselves out and the result is anxiety overload. How to relieve such feelings comes in the form of rebalancing. A sociable form of exercise can help with this as it suits your group mentality but also provides a formidable relief from stress. Take an exercise class, join a singing or musical group, go dancing with a group of friends…anything that will release that pent up tension. Meditation can also help a socialiser to find their balance; sit and mentally take on the form of a mountain, feel how strong you are, breathe in the elements that cannot penetrate you and release them. Permit that resilience you own to flow back in.

Ways to relieve stress for Supporters

You don’t get frustrated too easily but if you are halted or obstacles get in your path you can lose your rhythm and therefore feel stressed. For a supporter small social alterations to the moment can help to regroup and regain your regular energy. Try walking in a local area, taking a class with friends, starting a new hobby, and focus on realigning your heart and mind. Walking meditation can be beneficial for supporters; find a secluded spot and just walk up and down (around 30-50 paces each way) and absorb all the light and colours that you encounter whilst taking deep, meaningful breaths, exhaling all the negativity and allowing your goodness to flow again.

The eventuality of stress can be a serious negative when it comes to our health and mental balance, so it is imperative that we recognise it when it appears and counteract it with methods that suit our personality, why not give yours a try when you happen to feel out of sorts and see if you manage to press your refresh button?