How you cope with stress is often different for all of us, one thing for sure is that we could all benefit from a daily stress management technique. People to see, places to go, meetings to attend, deadlines to nail, quality time with loved ones can all accumulate into a busy life. Some thrive on an active lifestyle, but others find it stressful. Every so often stress is a good thing as it can drive your motivation and inspire your creativity, but once stress escalates and starts affecting your relationships, your home life as well as your work, then you need to start balancing your life and finding some effective stress release techniques. Long-term stress, although prevalent in our society today is dangerous and can affect your physical health, mental health and your skin. If you want to avoid this and make your life less stressful, then here are some things that you can do to help cope with stress.
Lifestyle Tips To Cope With Stress
Nourishing whole foods, fitness, yoga, mindfulness and meditation are all effective practices to help you balance your fast and busy lifestyles. Above all, managing your stress will enhance the beauty of your skin especially if you suffer from skin issues such as acne, eczema, rosacea, psoriasis, dermatitis and fungal rashes.Identify Stressors
Create a journal or keep a diary for a few weeks. Notice how you react to situations and record any undesirable reactions and stressful feelings. When you do this, you should also write down any events that led up to these stressful feelings, anyone or anything that was involved and describe the environment around you. Also, mention how you reacted and responded to this stress.Eliminate Unhealthy Responses
We all have them, but begin to notice any unhealthy responses by recording them in your diary. If you tend to eat junk food or snap at people when you're stressed, instead try to remove yourself from the situation, practice a few rounds of diaphragm breathing or if possible find somewhere quiet to meditate.Create Balance
If you're bringing business issues back into your home, you have to establish some work-life boundaries, or your work stress may begin to affect your home life. Of course, you won't always be able to do this but setting some simple ground rules, such as not checking your emails or work phone when at home, will be an excellent place to start. Instead, indulge in some quality time with your loved ones.Nourishing Sleep
Although you should aim for eight hours a night, there isn't a set amount of hours that works for everyone, so it makes more sense to do things to improve the quality of your sleep, rather than the quantity. For example, staying away from caffeine, stressful situations, and your mobile phone just before bed will ensure that you get to sleep quicker and will make it less likely that you'll have a restless night. Ensuring that your bedroom remains dark, quiet, and calm will also improve your sleep quality, as will going to bed at about the same time every night.Create A Plan
Feeling out of control can cause you to stress, it makes sense to create a plan for your day, week or even month to help your day run smoothly. Ensure that you have a balance between your work, stress release, fitness, other responsibilities, family time, and of course fun time.Remove Unrealistic Goals
Setting unrealistic goals for yourself is an immediate stressor. Sure, they may drive you to achieve success, more significant and higher things, but unrealistic goals need evaluating. Working and trying harder is an inevitable part of your successful path, but maybe try to manage your expectations appropriately.Try To Relax
There are plenty of ways to relax, find a relaxation technique that you love. Meditation, yoga, deep breathing techniques, jogging and other forms of exercise are fabulous for managing stress as they trigger the release of endorphins. The trick is to find a style of relaxation that you love. Above all, create some 'down time' for reading a book, spending time with your family or taking a long soothing bath as they are also great for managing stress.Know When To Stop
If you're feeling run down or suffer from any other effects of chronic stress, it's probably holiday time for you. It doesn't have to be a two-week luxurious holiday which costs a fortune, and a relaxing staycation can be just as nurturing and recharging for your mind, body and soul. Staycations are so the 'in thing' at the moment. Try turning your phone off and not going near your inbox during your entire break. Your mind and body need recharging.Diaphragm Breathing To Cope With Stress
Diaphragm breathing, or slow breathing, costs you nothing and as studies suggest is enormously beneficial for calming your entire nervous system.- Place your hands on your stomach.
- Inhale and focus on expanding your belly not your shoulders and chest.
- While inhaling activate your large diaphragm muscle, which is the crucial part of this exercise as it is this muscle which taps right into your calming your nervous system.
- Exhale slowly as you allow your stomach to deflate.
- Repeat for about ten long slow breaths while becoming calmer and more centred within yourself.
Meditation To Cope With Stress
Meditation claims to have many health benefits, especially for stress release. Other benefits of meditation may include;- Increased Longevity, Attention, Focus, Contentment & Compassion
- Lowers Inflammation & Blood Pressure
- Strengthened Immune System
- Deeper Social Connection
- Pain Relief
- Improved Sleep
Yoga To Cope With Stress
Yoga is often thought of as a multi-dimensional therapy as it covers movement, breath awareness, breathing exercises, relaxation, concentration, self-inquiry and meditation. The benefits of yoga are endless. Sleeping better is often at the top of most yogis list of benefits. Other health benefits of yoga may include:- Boosting Immunity
- Improving Flexibility
- Building Muscle Strength
- Easing Negative Thoughts and Depression
- Protecting Your Spine
- Improving Bone Health
- Increasing Blood Flow and Heart Rate
- Nourishing Your Adrenals and Nervous System