It’s normal to experience fluctuating moods in everyday life. We all face challenges and situations in our work and relationships that have the potential to weigh down on our sense of happiness and well-being.
Having a sick family member, tax season, challenges or shortages at work cause stress that we all have to deal with. Sometimes the stress can persist to chronic levels where it starts interfering with our ability to make smart decisions, handle our daily activities and enjoy our relationships.
Many have convinced themselves that stressful living is normal and that it really doesn’t affect them. I am here to say it does, you just don’t recognize it anymore but I bet if you ask any family member or close friend they will tell you they see a difference in you.
Chronic stress is an exacerbating element for most if not all medical and psychological disorders. You begin to experience sleeping problems, headaches, fatigue, appetite changes, self-destructive feelings of hopelessness and unworthiness, negative self talk, chest tightness or pain and the inability to concentrate or make decisions- among several other symptoms.
We can even alienate ourselves, become dull, moody, irritable and totally miserable and discontented with our lives. Acute levels of stress only pull us from everyone and from reality and drench us in the depths of anxiety and fear of the future, or the dread of the reoccurrence of the past. Unmanaged, uncontrolled chronic everyday stress left unaddressed will affect your health and well-being.
Is all stress bad? No, the other type of stress that is manageable is stressful moments, they come and go and are not constant within you. Stressful moments can motivate you to achieve goals, beat deadlines, and make certain fundamental decisions are made that can transform your life for the better.
Dealing with what causes you stress, can be easier than you think.
Learning to identify stress, the symptoms and feeling you have when you are stressed is the first step. The next step is to quickly remove the feeling of stress so you can better handle whatever it is that you are stressed about.
5 Minute De-Stressors:
Connect with nature – either go outside or look out a window for 5 minutes, stop thinking (this is important), let all thoughts go and just breathe. Once you have done this for at least 5 minutes go back to what you where dealing with, with fresh eyes
Stretch – go in a private room and stretch, stop thinking and breath deep. Once you have done this for 5 minutes, go back to what you where dealing with, with fresh eyes
Positive solution – walk away from the stressful situation, close our eyes for 5 minutes and only think of positive solutions to the situation. Don’t allow any negative thoughts in. Once 5 minutes is complete, go back to situation with a more positive outlook and see what shows up.
Stay Present – When you are present in the moment you deal with what is in front of you. You are not bringing in past stories or situations which are stressful. Don’t have criticizing thoughts of others, just stay present and see how the moment shifts.
Now that you have some 5 minutes de-stressing tools to work with, the next step is to:
Set your day up right and set limits: Have a daily routine that gives you the moments you need to prioritize your day. When you wake up meditate or just do some deep breathing, stretch, drink water. Once you are awake write down the 3 most important tasks you must do today in order for you to feel you have had a successful day. Schedule in your 3 tasks with time frames. Delegate other tasks where possible.
Build a strong support system: Reach out to your work colleagues, close family and friends and share your burden. They are there to support you when you ask for the support.
Stay healthy: Cut down on caffeine, drink water, have breathing moments and exercise regularly. Physical activity can be highly therapeutic. When you feel you have some control over this you will feel less stressed.
Enhance your sleep quality: Quality sleep is imperative. It relaxes your body and recharges your energy. Work on getting at least 7 hours of sleep a day. It is also really important to go to sleep with positive thoughts, not a to do list or stress list or what ever list or thoughts you may have that are not positive. If you have difficulty falling asleep, listen to some guided meditation recordings, they will relax you, open your thoughts and encourage your to breath deeply. You can find a great assortment on you tube.
Strive for optimism: Let go of negativism, it is stressing you out! Learn to see problems as opportunities; once you open your thoughts and look for a better way, your life will be less stressful. Don’t criticize others, it creates negativity within you and never feels good.
Seek help: If you continue to feel overwhelmed, seek a complimentary discovery session with me. I can help you to develop strategies to manage your stress effectively and make behavioural changes to help improve your overall health.
Also, don’t keep these tips to yourself – share them! Forward this blog to them! On top of that, use the Social Media icons below to automatically tweet it to your Twitter account or post it to your Facebook wall. If you can think of a friend or colleague that could benefit from our life expanding tips, please share them. The more happier people in the world the happier we will all be, or something like that but not that.I would love to hear from you, Please connect with me at Susan@susandelanoswim.com.
Susan