Stress comes to us from many directions:
• Financial – Do I have enough money until my next paycheck? Will I have enough money to retire?
• Career – Will I meet that deadline? Am I happy doing what I am doing?
• Relationships – Does my significant other support me? Do I communicate with my family members enough?
• Health – Will I be healthy when I get older? Am I doing enough for my health?
• Expectations – Am I perfectionist? Do I expect too much of those in my life?
Regardless what causes our stress all of us have some level of stress to deal with. We cannot eliminate stress from our lives. We do, however, have the ability to reduce stress through choices we make and to manage it with our lifestyle.
Stress has an impact on our health, especially the chronic stress we have come accustomed to in today’s society. Just as we need to take control of our health, we need to take control of our stress.
What each of us does to help manage our stress is different. You need to find what works for you. Stress management doesn’t have to take a lot of time. And, fortunately, there is likely going to be some overlap between your self-care and your stress management techniques. If you don’t know what works for you, try some different things until you figure it out.
Some ideas include:
• Read
• Prayer/Spiritual time
• Watch a funny television show/movie
• Talk with a friend
• Stop drinking soda
• Go for a walk or do some other form of exercise
• Get a massage
• Journal
• Create a budget
• Play a game with someone
• Get a 2nd job
• Meet new people
• Have your annual physical and blood tests done
• Take a couple minutes to breathe and relax throughout your day
Hmm. Did some of those look familiar? (look at 2/7’s self-care post)
What works best for you to manage your stress?
