How to get out of your head when stressed

Focusing on fostering connections, completing something difficult and helping others can make us more resilient to everyday stress, says Dr Samantha Boardman.

The day started badly: you spilt coffee on your favorite shirt, you missed your train, and when you finally arrived at the office you opened your inbox to find a rude email from a colleague. By the time you finish work, you are so worn down by the unrelenting barrage of daily hassles that all you want to do is curl up on the couch and watch Netflix with a glass of wine. 

Sound familiar? Often when faced with stress, our kneejerk reaction is to retreat into our own cocoon and to seek out passive activities.  

While this energy-saving behavior might make us feel better in the short-term, withdrawing from active participation with the world can be counterproductive if we want to learn to better cope with stress. Instead, we should be seeking out activities that can boost our emotional stamina and actively engaging…