Stress can feel heavy, persistent and even exhausting at times. If you have this feeling on a regular basis, you’re not alone. Whether you’re facing financial concerns, relationship anxiety or work challenges, stress can come up in many different ways. In fact, one study found that 35.1% of respondents across the world experience stress. While this feeling is common, the way you handle it can make a big impact on your health. When left unmanaged, tension can increase blood pressure, heart rate and sleep disruption. Over time, it can also contribute to anxiety or depression. That’s why learning how to alleviate these feelings is so important. 

Fortunately, sublimation offers a healthy way to release stress. This coping mechanism can channel negative emotions into socially acceptable behavior rather than let them build up or come out in unhealthy ways. For instance, instead of getting into a heated conversation, you may choose to take a walk, journal your feelings or channel your energy into a creative project. Sublimation is a helpful way to take negative energy and turn it into something positive or productive. Over time, you can learn to use this coping mechanism to respond to stressful situations in healthy ways. 

Discover how sublimation may help you relieve stress and improve your well-being.

5 ways sublimation can help adults cope with stress

Stress affects everyone differently, and people respond in different ways. Sublimation provides an effective strategy to manage stress-related emotional responses, ease tension and process your emotions in a healthy way. By redirecting negative emotions into constructive activities, you can feel more in control of your feelings and improve your well-being.

These strategies do more than help you find relief during a stressful situation. They can help you develop coping skills that you can use long-term to help improve your mental and physical health. 

Here are five ways sublimation can help adults cope with stress:

• Exercise can channel stress into healthy activities.

Physical activity eases tension and releases endorphins, chemicals that help improve your mood. It also releases the energy your body builds up when you feel stressed. Running, yoga or kickboxing are great exercises to try to become more calm while also improving your health. 

• Creative outlets offer a way to express feelings.

Art, music, dance and writing are safe ways to process and relieve stress. You can try painting a relaxing scene, writing a song or journaling your feelings. These are great ways to work through complex emotions constructively.

• Sports can redirect competitive energy.

Whether you play on a team or compete on your own, participating in a sport can turn your energy from stressful to competitive. It also shifts your focus from your worries to scoring a goal, catching a fly ball or striving for a new personal record.

• Personal projects can convert emotions into productivity.

When you’re stressed, you can channel your energy into a project, learning a new skill or doing that home improvement task you’ve been meaning to get to. Completing a project, whether big or small, can help give you a sense of accomplishment, helping you feel more at ease and in control. 

• Volunteering can turn stress into positive action.

Helping others is a meaningful way of boosting your mood while making a difference for someone else. Donating time to a charity can strengthen your sense of purpose and confidence. In the process, volunteering can relieve stress while making a positive impact.

Lightfully can help you manage stress

Stress is a part of life. Whether stress is related to family, finances, health or other circumstances, sublimation can help you redirect your energy in a healthy, productive way. Activities like exercise, creative outlets, sports, personal projects and/or volunteering can help you manage stress, feel more in control over your emotions and improve your well-being. In the process, you can also accomplish something great like enhancing your physical health or helping someone in need. If trying to alleviate stress on your own feels overwhelming, it’s OK to reach out for expert support.

At Lightfully, our licensed clinical therapists are deeply compassionate and can provide you with evidence-based, whole-person-centered care. We can help you identify the root causes of your stress and show you healthy coping mechanisms that may provide relief. You can explore our different levels of care to find the option that fits you best, and we will personalize your treatment plan to help you ease stress effectively.

Change is possible. When you’re ready to take the first step, reach out to our Admissions Concierge Team. We’ll take the next steps together, toward the fullest, brightest version of you.