The 4 A’s Of Stress Management
How do you deal with stress?
A framework you might find useful is the 4As of Stress Management:
→ Avoid
→ Alter
→ Adapt
→ Accept
Let’s see how you can give it a try.
1. To start, grab your journal.
Write down the things that are stressing you out.
Just jot them down.
2. Now you just have to categorize each stressor into the 4As.
Let’s see each category.
AVOID
These are the stressors you can avoid altogether.
They could be:
→ Some habits
→ Some people
→ Some activities
For example, imagine that scrolling through social media is stressing you out.
What you can do is:
→ limit your time on those platforms.
→ or unfollow people that make you feel stressed or anxious.
ALTER
These are the stressors you have some control over.
So you can change in some way — you can make adjustments.
For example, imagine your workload is overwhelming.
What you can do is:
→ break tasks into smaller chunks
→ or delegate some tasks
→ or renegotiate deadlines with your supervisor
ADAPT
These are stressors you can’t change but can adapt to.
Ask yourself:
→ How can I shift my mindset to make them more manageable?
For example, imagine you’ve got a long commute to work.
And you can’t change it.
What you can do is:
→ Listen to a podcast
→ Listen to an audiobook
→ Listen to relaxing music
This way you’re gonna make the commute more enjoyable.
ACCEPT
Some things we can’t change, right?
These are stressors we can’t change or control.
And guess what we need to do here?
“Uhm, accept them?”
Exactly! We just need to accept them and find ways to cope with them.
For example, imagine someone facing an ongoing health problem.
What they can do is:
→ Eating healthy
→ Exercise regularly
→ Prioritize their sleep
3. Alright! Now that we’ve categorized all those stressors do this:
→ For each category, brainstorm one small action you can take to manage the stress.
For example:
→ Setting boundaries
→ Trying a new breathing technique
→ Talking about it with your friends