In the world we are living in there is no such a thing as life without stress. Financial crisis, economical collapse, recession, traffic jams, tough boss at work, rude people on the street, bills to pay and the list could go on and on. All these things and many more others add on to our daily routine and, by the end of the day, we feel powerless and overwhelmed and we carry a baggage much too heavy for us.
But since we cannot live in a bubble and not be affected by everything that goes on around us, we all need to take control over our stress and manage it the best way possible for the long and happy journey ahead of us.
Stress affects us on several levels (mental, physical and social) and among the most common symptoms we can name exhaustion, migraines, eating disorders, crying for apparently no reason, oversleeping or the lack of sleep. Also the feeling of panic, frustration or lack of interest may accompany the stress.
But first of all, in order to control something you need to be aware of its existence. So the first thing to do is to acknowledge the stress in our lives.
Stress management is based on the idea that we can actually take control over the situations in our lives and turn them into our favor. So stress management is basically taking control over our emotions and thoughts, over our program, over the way we cope with new situations that occur every day.
The main goal is not to let stress take control over us, but to learn how to embrace everything in order to have a balanced life that includes family, friends, work and, why not, some time just for ourselves.
Among the first steps in stress management, after acknowledging the existence of the stress, is identifying its sources. The real sources are not always easy to find, but a sincere introspection can get you there. After you have done that you can start identifying the ways in which you can best manage your stress.
There are many ways of fighting against the effects of stress and of maintaining your mental, physical and emotional health. The following suggestions will help you reduce the stress that you feel on a regular basis. So write them down, post them somewhere where you can see them and follow them as they will lead you towards the new you!
1. Make time for yourself everyday.
Every 2 – 3 hours take a 10 minutes break and do something for you. It can be anything that you like and you know it helps you relax like listening to your favorite song, taking a walk, reading few pages from a great book.
2. Learn how to say “NO” from time to time
You don’t have to feel guilty if you don’t want to or you don’t have time to do something. Saying “NO” from time to time does not turn you into a bad person. It turns you into a mature responsible person who is able to make wise decisions.
3. Manage your time wisely and try to avoid un-necessary tasks that might keep you trapped in routine situations.
4. Stop procrastinating
If you do everything on time things will seem easier and you will get more time for yourself and the ones you care about.
5. Try to be organized
You can save a lot of time if you know exactly where to look for the things you need. Plus this will help you feel more relaxed.
6. Social interaction must become a habit
Interacting with other people can help you relax, put a smile on your face and make you feel you belong. Plus you realize that you are not alone even when things might seem to get off track.
7. Exercise regularly
This will help you feel better about yourself, it will strengthen your immune system and it will give you a great tonus for the whole day.
8. Eat healthy food
If you didn’t have time before for cooking and grocery shopping and you were happy with whatever the restaurant around the corner was serving, now that you have taken control over the stress things have changed. Make sure your meals are healthy. Don’t overlook fruits, fresh vegetables, fish or low fat dairies.
9. Take care of your aspect
There is no secret that when you look good, you feel even better, you have more confidence in you and you feel more energetic.
10. Create and respect a sleeping schedule
Apart from that, when possible, you can also allow yourself a nap in the afternoon. Sometimes it only takes a good sleep to get back on track with fresh strength.
Remember no one is perfect. In this high speed world that we live in we all feel overwhelmed sometimes. But giving up it’s not an option. We need to take control over the situations in our lives that have the potential to ruin our mood. We need to acknowledge the stress, identify its sources, if possible modify the stressful situations by think about them as opportunities to learn new things, accept the things that you cannot change, change the things you can, make time for fun and relaxation and try to embrace a healthy lifestyle, being over weight can be a reason to get stressful and its simple management is to know how to lose weight . I believe that by following the above mentioned stress management tips, you will feel the difference in no time!
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