Psychological support
2. Stress management
Reduce the load where you can, raise recovery where you cannot, and stop the stress response from running continuously.
PatientCaregiverFamily
Load and recovery
Stress damage comes from load without recovery, not load alone. In illness the load is often fixed, so most of the gains come from deliberately engineering recovery.
Recovery means anything that switches the system out of alert: sleep, slow breathing, gentle movement, warmth, laughter, being with people who ask nothing of you, and doing something absorbing.
Sort your stressors
- 1List this week's stressors on paper.
- 2Mark each: can change / can influence / cannot change.
- 3For 'can change', write one concrete action and a time.
- 4For 'can influence', write who you would need to speak to.
- 5For 'cannot change', the task is acceptance and support — not problem solving. Choose a coping activity for each instead.
Daily minimum practice
- Three minutes of slow breathing, twice a day, at fixed times.
- Ten minutes outdoors or by a window in daylight.
- One movement session appropriate to your condition — even seated.
- One planned pause with no screen, no talk, no task.
- A consistent wake time.
Try this
The stress thermometer
About 2 minutes
- 1Rate your stress 0–10 right now.
- 2Name the single biggest contributor in one word.
- 3Choose one action from your 'can change' list, or one recovery activity.
- 4Do it for ten minutes.
- 5Re-rate. Record both numbers so you learn what works for you.
Where to go next
Afya Companion offers education and self-help support. It does not diagnose, treat or replace care from your doctor, nurse, psychologist or dietitian. If something in your health changes, speak to your care team.