S.O PIENS, MD

Wednesday, May 13, 2026

Easy Way to Manage Psychological Stress

What do you do when you are always stressed? The answer seems simple: remove the stressor. But is that always easy? If a person is dealing with stress at work or financial stress, how do they simply remove the stressor?

Of course, someone may say, “Change your job” or “Find ways to make money.” But is that always easy? The answer is more nuanced.

In the case of a stressful job, what if there is no other job available, or you cannot easily find another one? How do you deal with that kind of stress?

In general, the main idea is to know what you can control and what you cannot control. Life is always about those two things.

You can never control everything, so you can never determine the outcome of everything. Then, what do you do? You focus only on what you can control.

When managing psychological stress, which mostly affects your mind, the key is to focus on what you can control and let go of what you cannot control.

If it is about your job, ask yourself questions like: Can I adapt? Can I learn new ways of dealing with people? Can I improve my communication skills? And if not, you can still ask questions like: Can I be more optimistic about finding a new job? Can I start my own business? And so on. These are things you can control.

But guess what you cannot control? You cannot control people’s behaviour or attitude toward you. You cannot control your company’s policies or work culture. That is why it is always better to focus on what you can control.

Oftentimes, stress comes from your mind focusing on what it cannot control. So, resist that temptation and always focus on what you can control. With time, your mind will get used to it, and you will see the stress gradually fizzle out.

Friday, May 8, 2026

How to Deal with Stress

I know stress is something we experience all the time. There is no one who does not face stress. But stress is simply the body’s response to a group of agents called stressors. These stressors are the culprits.

To deal with stress, you must identify the stressor. There are four major groups of stressors: physical, physiological, psychological, and pathological. Most stressors are pathological, which is why they often lead to chronic stress.

Stress is supposed to be the body’s prompt response to an emergency situation. But the problem begins when the stressor does not go away. Then the body remains in survival mode for too long. It keeps releasing stress hormones continuously, and over time, this begins to damage the body itself.

That is why chronic stress can affect almost every part of the body. It can disturb sleep, weaken immunity, increase blood pressure, affect digestion, trigger emotional eating, reduce concentration, drain motivation, and even speed up aging.

What do you do when your body stays in a constant state of stress? We’ll discuss that next.

Wednesday, May 6, 2026

The 20-Minute Eating Rule: How to Lose Weight While You Still Enjoy Your Favorite Meal

Just in case you are on a weight-loss journey and thinking of reducing your portion sizes, that is one strategy that works. There is a simple trick you can apply to make it even more effective.

What many people don’t know is that when you are hungry and begin to eat, your brain needs about 20 minutes to send signals that your stomach is full. This means the first 5 to 10 minutes of eating is when you are most tempted to rush your food and gulp everything down. That is exactly what you want to avoid.

Instead, don’t rush your food. Take your time and enjoy it. Feel the taste in your mouth. Let the food mix well with your taste buds, and allow your saliva to draw out all the goodness in it as your mouth fully enjoys the experience. Then, chew well. Let your teeth also engage with the food and do their proper work.

All that time will save you hours, if not months, in the gym. By the time you are done chewing, the food is already well prepared for easy digestion in your stomach and intestines, and your body begins to feel satisfied. This gives your brain enough time to respond properly before you take in too many calories.

So, when you eat, always set a target of 20 to 30 minutes for your meals... and if you don’t have the time, you can just grab a cup of coffee or lemon tea.