Dealing with stress? Here are some ways to make you feel
better!
Stress affects everyone, nearly all of the time. Some of
the stress is good stress, like forcing yourself to work
harder to study for a test you need to pass. Some stress,
however, can control our lives. Do you worry consistently,
perhaps about things that you have no control over? Do you
find yourself snapping at friends and family? Here are some
reminders of what you can do to make yourself feel better,
giving yourself time to recover from the stress that can
take over our lives.
First off, it’s important to take time for yourself.
Sometimes we get so caught up trying to take care of other
people, we lose part of ourselves, forgetting that it’s
ourselves that we need to take care of more than anything.
Realizing that taking care of yourself is a good idea is the
very first step towards a stress-reduced life!
Tell yourself that you are going to do something nice for
yourself at least once a day. Here is a list of stress
reduction techniques that you can do:
* Tell yourself something nice. Examples of this include
things like "I'm doing a good job taking care of my family,"
or "I handled that situation well," etc. It’s good to let
yourself know that you are a great person and that you are
handling your life very well.
* Put something inspirational on your mirror. Whenever you
look into your mirror you will be able to read it and feel
inspired. Perhaps this thing could be just a quote, or maybe
a poem, or a list of things that remind you what make you
truly happy.
* When you wake up in the morning, shower, put on your make
up, get dressed, make your bed, and be sure to put your
shoes on! This may sound silly, but often just lounging
around the house in pajamas can make a person feel tired and
not inspired to do much of anything. Just taking the time
to get dressed and take care of yourself in the morning
helps you feel more confident and ready to begin your day
with flare!
* If you want to relax at night, try taking a nice warm
bubble bath. Burning candles and your favorite relaxing
music add a nice touch!
* Every once in awhile, treat yourself to your favorite
meal. Cook it yourself, or take yourself out to dinner and
enjoy!
* Relax and watch a movie that YOU want to watch.
Oftentimes, I find myself only watching things that everyone
else in my family watches, neglecting my own desires. For a
change, it’s good to just kick back and enjoy a good movie
that I want to see, whether or not someone else watches it
with me!
* Read a book. Taking time to read something that you enjoy,
even if it’s not reading that is educational, is a
fantastic way to relax. Find a comfortable quiet place in
your home, or even go to the park or library, curl up, and
read!
* Keep a journal. This can either be a paper journal or an
online one. Write down your feelings, and go back and read
it a little bit later. Sometimes it isn't until we put our
worries in to written word that we understand that we are
overreacting or that we are too upset about things that
really don't need worrying over!
* Take care of yourself. Eat healthy, with lots of fruits,
vegetables, and whole grains. Feeling healthy is a great
start to feeling less stressed!
* Drink a lot of water! It’s suggested that we drink around
eight glasses of water a day. Carry a water bottle with
you, or go out and choose a stylish water bottle for
yourself, and make sure to actually drink the water! It'll
be an adjustment at first, but once you get started, you'll
remember to always drink your water, and you will notice how
much better you feel!
* Exercise! Even if it’s just for a small walk a day. You
don't need to go to the gym and work out to feel better,
walking is free, and it’s fun! Take a friend, walk around
your neighborhood, and enjoy. Just two walks a day for
twenty minutes each will prevent you from gaining twenty
pounds in a year! Just something to think about! It also
reduces stress. Going for a short walk after work is a
great way to get the stress of work out of your system, and
get you ready to calm down for your evening at home with
your family.
* Just say no to caffeine! Drinking caffeine can cause your
nerves to feel just a bit more frayed. If you must drink
caffeine, then drink it only until noon, and for the rest of
the day, drink decaffeinated drinks only. You'll notice
that you'll sleep better, and feel a little bit less angst
during the day. Drinking water and exercising will give you
more energy to replace the lack of caffeine!
* Limit your sugar. When we are stressed, it’s tempting to
go for the chocolates or the ice cream in the freezer, but
it’s only going to make you feel worse in the long run.
Sugar causes you to feel "high" for a short period of time,
but after the sugar high passes, you are going to crash and
feel even worse than before. Not to mention that the
chocolate cake that goes straight to your hips will make you
even more stressed about yourself. If you feel that you
absolutely must have sugar, have one scoop of ice cream, not
three, or just one cookie instead of half the pack. Gorging
yourself is going to make you feel sick, not to mention make
you feel worse about yourself as well. Showing yourself
that you have the willpower to only stick to one treat (or
even better, none at all) will give you more confidence, and
you'll feel better physically, as well!
* Get rid of your clutter. Clutter around the house can
make everyone feel more stressed out. When it’s difficult
to find things you are looking for, or the kitchen is such a
mess that you don't even want to cook, it’s time to take
action! Even if you only clean up clutter for fifteen
minutes a day, that’s fifteen minutes towards your ultimate
goal, a clutter free home! Search the internet for Flylady
and Freecycle, two wonderful things that can help you get
your home in order!
* Do you like to shop? Go shopping, then! If you can't
afford to buy much, just walk around the mall and look at
things. Not only are you getting your exercise in, but you
are having fun doing it! There’s no harm in a little bit of
window shopping.
* Put together a garden! Grow whatever interests you!
Flowers, vegetables, herbs, etc. Gardening isn't just
something that produces flowers or food for you to eat, it’s
a great activity that keeps you interested and keeps you
moving! Taking time out of your day to garden is very
calming and enjoyable, and you get rewards for doing it! If
you live in an apartment, do some research on things that
will grow well in containers, and put together a container
garden for yourself! Plenty of herbs and flowers especially
do well in containers.
* Find yourself a hobby! Maybe you like collecting things
but never got to doing it, or maybe you enjoy painting, or
building furniture. Whatever it is that you always wish you
could have the time to do, take the time and do it! You
will feel more fulfilled as you work on your new hobby, and
certainly more relaxed, as well.
* Take a class. Perhaps you can take a class on dancing, if
that’s something that interests you. You can get your
exercise in and learn something new all at once! There are
classes available on nearly anything you'd ever want to know
about, including free classes online at various websites.
All you have to do is look for them! Your local community
college and parks and recreation center should also provide
different options for you.
These are just a few sample ideas of things to try when you
are feeling stressed out and overworked. You can take time
for yourself, because you deserve it! Its okay to say no to
extra work if you are feeling like you can't handle things.
Its okay to put yourself first every once in awhile, because
you are important! Making time for yourself and spoiling
yourself, even if it is only a little bit, will make you
feel so much better! Getting rid of the bad stress will
help make room for you to do things more productively and
more positively, which not only helps you, but everyone
around you, as well! Remembering that you aren't the only
one who benefits from stress relief may be the reminder you
need to keep on trying!
_________________________________________________________
Louise Hathway provides effective solutions to reduce stress
in your life. Learn the 5 essential keys to stress
reduction. To receive your free 5-part mini-course visit
http://www.stress-reduction-4u.com/free-report.html
Want to increase your self confidence? Then check this recommended course
out now:
-
sign
up for a FREE
self confidence course which thousands (including me personally) have found
extremely useful. I would
also advise you consider getting the CD Trainer which is promoted
throughout the course, the CD is not expensive and is wonderful, I listen to
it regularly, it helps me, it'll help you too.
See
you next month! Oh, do check out the list of articles on
my website
Karl
Perera
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