April is Stress Awareness Month and is a reminder to focus on yourself and your wellness. Sometimes we don’t realize we are experiencing stress in our lives, so it’s important to learn some better stress management techniques.
We often don’t realize that putting high levels of stress on our bodies affects our entire well-being and puts us at risk. Stress creates an emotional imbalance in your physical and mental health. It narrows your ability to think clearly and function most effectively in everyday life decisions. Sometimes it feels like there’s nothing you can do about stress in your life, especially when things pile up like bills, work hours, and family responsibilities. Believe it or not, there are solutions to stressors and managing your stress.
By using effective ways to manage your stress, you can be happier, healthier, and more productive. Balance is key to making your life more stress-free by creating time for work, relationships, fun, and relaxation. Stress management is different for everyone, and it’s important to try lots of other things and experiment with stress relievers. Here are some of our best tips to help you with your stress management.
Identify the stress in your life
Stress management starts by identifying the sources of stress in your life. Identifying stressors isn’t that easy. There are the main stress factors like changing careers, moving, or going through some sort of life-altering event, but pinpointing chronic stress factors can be a little more complicated.
We tend to overlook our own thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that contribute to stress. To get to the bottom of your stress management, starting a stress journal might help.
- A stress journal could help identify your daily life stressors and how you react or deal with them. Every time you feel stressed, write it down in a journal or notepad on your phone. Keeping a daily log can help you see common patterns you find that overwhelm you.
Get your body moving
Physical activity is always an answer to health and wellness issues. It’s well known that working out has many benefits and relieving stress is a big one. Exercise releases endorphins that make you feel good, which serve as a great way to relieve stress and worries and are a great distraction from anxiety-ridden thoughts.
You don’t need a workout routine to get your body moving. Getting up and daily activity is essential to incorporate into your everyday schedule.
To enhance your movement throughout the day try;
- Taking your dog for a walk
- Using the stairs when you can
- Walking to a local store instead of your usual drive
- Parking far from the grocery store entrance
Connect with others
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, connecting with others has shown more substantial than ever. After experiencing quarantine and not being able to go places with friends and family, we have realized how important it is that we have genuine relationships with others.
- Even though we can’t always see each other in person, keep in touch by phone, video calls, or message platforms.
Time Management
By managing your time better, you can relieve a lot of the stress in your life. When you have too much going on, and it’s hard for you to concentrate, it’s hard to avoid losing time and not being able to keep up.
- Don’t over-commit yourself to things and overschedule when you know you don’t have the time to accomplish the task. By prioritizing your tasks and tackling them in step by step order, you will immediately start decreasing your stress.
- Don’t forget to delegate tasks. You can’t do everything yourself even though sometimes we think we can. By delegating more things responsibility, you can relieve more unwanted stress in your life.
- Take your day one step at a time. Your work should be done correctly and not rushed. Take pride in the things you do throughout your day. You will see yourself accomplishing more.
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle
Eating healthy and adding regular exercise to your daily routine can reduce the amount of stress in your life and solve many stress-related problems. By choosing healthier options you can increase stress resistance in your body.
- Keeping a healthy diet will nourish your body with the proper nutrients it needs. This will help you cope better with stress factors. Being mindful of what you eat by eating a suitable breakfast and balancing the right nutrients throughout the day.
- Caffeine and sugar reduction can help reduce stress as well. The temporary rush that caffeine and sugar provide will cause you to crash. By reducing sugary foods and drinks with high caffeine content, you will sleep better and feel more relaxed within your day.
If you are experiencing stress and need more help managing your stress, Cheshire Wellness Center can help. To learn more about how we help with stress and pain go HERE, and book a consultation today.
