Are you feeling stressed? What a silly question, yet we hear it often. Are you ever NOT stressed is probably the better question. Life today seems to be constantly filled with stress. Now, we all know there is good stress and bad stress, but it seems like we have to dig a little to find the good stress. Self-Care 101…When you are feeling overwhelmed and feel like you don’t have time to relax, is exactly the time you need to relax and totally DE-STRESS. Between Covid, war, hurricanes, global warming, the world is definitely more stressed.
Not that that is okay, because it is definitely not, but because of increased stress we need to pay closer attention to HOW we are acting and/or reacting to it. If we are reacting to the stress that is all around us, including our daily life stressors with family, kids/grandkids, jobs, retirement, financial stressors, it can get pretty scary. Every which way we turn, there is stress.
The world isn’t changing, so we need to. We need to look deep into ourselves and see how we react to this stress. Are we holding it inside, thinking about it constantly, or are we taking it in and maybe making some life changes to ourselves and the situations that we can make changes to.
According to a poll taken by The American Institute of Stress, “The stress and mental health statistics of US are worsening, mostly due to a bundle reasons of COVID-19 pandemic, rising inflation, and the Russia-Ukraine crisis.” Just a few statistics here, “81% of Americans who participated in the poll were stressed out due to Supply Chain issues, 87% Americans are stressed due to rising inflation in the country, up from59% in August 2021 and 58% in June 2021, and 65% of Americans responded that they were stressed about money and the economy.”
People are going to alcohol and food to calm their stress. There are so many extra stressors these days. Some people feel we are doomed, that this is our life now…STRESS! Yes, we do have more stress, but why is it so important to learn to manage stress?
When we are stressed, our body goes into the “fight-or-flight” or stress response. When you are stressed, your body releases cortisol and adrenaline, amongst other hormones, which get your body ready to handle whatever danger is coming at you. Your heart starts pounding faster, your blood pressure raises, you tighten your muscles and quicken your breath, and then your senses become more intense, sharper. When you are constantly stressed, your body is also constantly in the fight-or-flight response. Being in this state for periods of time causes inflammation in your body, which causes illness. This is one very important reason to start managing your stress.
Next, comes, “I don’t have time to add something to my day!” I know. I definitely get it. However, when you start feeling like you don’t have any time to relax, that is THE time to start managing your stress and to take time out to RELAX! Feeling overwhelmed with everything you need to do is your body telling you it is time to take a break, a much-needed one for your health and well-being. Listen to your body. Just stop for 5 minutes and take 3-5 deep belly breaths, from your pelvis and exhale with a sigh, or even a scream to let out all that stressful energy. Just even doing that will make you feel a little better. It may take some of the heaviness out of your chest.
Try some of these steps to start managing your stress before it manages you!
- The first thing I like to do is to write down everything that comes to mind that is stressing me. Things will come up, probably more than you even realized. Look at this list. Right off, is there anything that can be deleted off the list that you don’t even need to do? Then, prioritize everything. What needs to be done first or most, down to what can be either delegated to someone else or can be checked on maybe once or twice a week, and forget about it?
- Get at least 7-8 hours of sleep. When we are sleeping our body (and mind) is repairing itself and healing.
- Eat healthier. Are your drinking 8 glasses of water per day? Is it healthy, filtered water? Are your eating your veggies, fruits and grains as much as you should be?
- Exercise. Take at least 15-30 minutes to take a brisk walk. It is amazing how that can make you feel so much better and it also can help with opening you up to creativity. Or, do at least 15-20 sit-to-stand exercises. To do these, stand about a foots-length away from a chair, cross your hands over your chest (you can even hold a weight if you want), and basically do a squat, just barely hitting your bottom on the chair and stand up. Do this and it can de-stress you.
- Breathe. Breathing exercises can instantly help relax you and allow you to see things in a more positive light, allowing ease in making better decisions/choices. To do this, sit in a comfortable position with both feet flat on the floor, back straight and shoulders relaxed and down. Close your eyes and you can place both hands over your heart and take 3-5 deep belly breaths all the way from your pelvis. To do this, imagine a balloon in your pelvis and when you inhale, the balloon inflates and when you exhale the balloon deflates. You can do this for as long as it takes for you to relax. Try to calm your mind while doing this.
- Prioritize the things that are stressing you. What can you take care of easily and what can you just forget about or delegate to someone to take care of, and learn how to say “NO.”
- Don’t sweat the small stuff. When we get in stress mode, it is all we think about, which then makes the stress even worse. What you resist, persists. Learn what things you need to just let go of, those small, annoying little stressors that just bug the crap out of you…let them go.
- Do something you really enjoy like hanging out with the family and do game night or hang out with friends and have a girls night out, maybe. Or, pick up a great book that allows your mind to go where you are reading. Or, do something else that relaxes you, like crochet, gardening, boxing, or scream into a pillow. That can be very fun!
Try these 8 ways to start managing stress. Just try one at a time. If it doesn’t work for you go on to the next. Whatever you do, don’t just keep focusing on the stress and not do anything about it. It is not good for you mentally or physically. You got this…one little step at a time.