The “4 As”: this method recommended by an American doctor to suffer less from stress

A never-ending

, an agonizing deadline at work, the vagaries of private life... Stress is never far away.

If the phenomenon is natural and ensures the proper functioning of the body, when it is too high and especially repeated, it can be difficult to manage and have deleterious effects on health.

A method would be effective to avoid being overwhelmed and better live it on a daily basis, says American doctor Louis Kenneth Zweig, in an article published in

November 22.

Learn to say no, review your organization

His method is known as the "4 A's".

In English, this includes four verbs beginning with the letter A: “avoid, alter, adapt, or accept”.

Literally, we translate “avoid, modify, adapt, or accept”.

The first step is to learn to say no when you are drowned in your schedule.

To sort out to see more clearly, to make life easier, in short.

“Try to prioritize what

be done.

If you feel overwhelmed, cancel that scheduled drink [...].

Close your office door.

Shift your laundry to another day.

Order (healthy) food, instead of shopping to cook,” the doctor recommends.

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The practitioner then advises to “modify” the situation.

Clearly, to organize your time differently, to optimize it and thus regain control.

For this, he proposes for example to “make a professional call on the way to the supermarket”, or even to define in advance the duration of his appointments.

In video, how to evacuate your stress quickly at the office?

Adapt and accept your situation

Louis Kenneth Zweig also invites people to show their ability to adapt, “by changing their expectations and their attitude”.

According to him, it would be appropriate for example to revise its “definition of success” downwards, and to be satisfied sometimes with what one has already achieved.

“Ask yourself: will earning more money really make me happy if I am constantly tense?”, illustrates the doctor.

Finally, the doctor recognizes that in certain cases it is necessary to “accept the situation as it is”.

It encourages kindness and self-forgiveness.

"Talk to a friend or a therapist to successfully digest things as they are," he advocates.

Reduce your alcohol consumption

Apart from this four-step technique, Dr. Louis Kenneth Zweig emphasizes certain essential conditions for successfully managing stress correctly and having good mental health.

He encourages people to reduce their alcohol consumption, which will only increase the feeling of stress, to follow a healthy diet, to exercise (and practice meditation) and to sleep well.

"The healthier you are, the more equipped you are to handle chronic stress."