It is important to remember that it is largely your perceptions of events which determine how stressful they will be for you, and that your unconscious thoughts and beliefs often play a major role in those perceptions. Your stress, therefore, is often made worse by your automatic ways of reacting to potentially threatening situations. It is important, then, to move from mindless reaction to mindful recognition of what pushes your stress buttons, and if possible, to develop an awareness of why this happens.
This heightened awareness has the potential to drastically change whatever stressful situation you may find yourself in, just by your being aware of what is actually happening to you. The more rapidly you get in touch with your stress reaction, as it is happening, the more effectively you will be able to utilize mindfulness to short-circuit that reaction, or recover from it more quickly. This is what mindfulness training enables you to do, to develop a reliable calmness and awareness which you may call upon whenever you become stressed.
The following are suggestions for how you might utilize mindfulness to deal with your stress reactions. Over time, you might develop your own unique and creative methods of bringing mindfulness to bear in stressful situations.
Try not to suppress your thoughts and feelings, but allow yourself to have them, cradling them in mindfulness. This is staying centered in the moment (just as you do in the sitting meditation).
Tune in to your body (remember the body scan!), scanning for tension in your face, neck, shoulders, etc., perhaps allowing the breath to flow into and out of any tense areas. Are your hands clenched? Try mindfully opening them.
Most importantly, anchor yourself in your breathing. This is what you have been training yourself to do. It can take only a moment, just a few mindful breaths can do it, and it doesn't matter if you by yourself or surrounded by people. Remember, beneath the agitation of the surface there can be a stillness, a reliable calmness which can always be a resource for you.
As you become more calm, check in with your thoughts and feelings to see how reactive you are being in the moment. Try to become aware of the larger picture and to more creative ways of responding to whatever is happening in the moment. (Remember the nine-dot puzzle! What would happen if you tried going outside of the boundaries, coloring outside the lines?)
Even with the use of mindfulness, it is inevitable that you will become stressed. Eventually, however, mindfulness can allow you to perceive stressors as challenges and opportunities for personal growth. And i one thing is for certain, life will provide you with plenty of suc opportunities.
Remember, you can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf!