to say NO to things and people that stress you out."
- Thelma Davis
There isn't anything wrong with having some stress in our lives. But if we have too much for a longer period of time, stress can affect us in a negative way. Balance is key.
If you have been dealing with a lot of stress lately and for an extended period of time, it might be a good thing to slow down and take it a little easy for a while.
This way, stress won't overwhelm you and it won't have a negative effect on your health and your wellbeing.
Stress isn't just a negative thing. To have a lot to do isn't always a bad thing. Quite the opposite.
We need a little stress to get us going. It will help us focus and to prioritize and it will a lot of times make us more creative.
We actually need the good stress to get us off the couch and get us going. Without it, we wouldn't dare to take chances, we wouldn't start over again after a setback or crisis and we would constantly procrastinate.
The perfect thing would be to have a little stress on a regular base. It will make us healthier and it will make us feel more alive.
Stress that is negative for our wellbeing is the one that will last for a long time. And if we are bad at handling the stress it can lead to undesirable consequences for our bodies and our wellbeing.
We all need to make sure that we get enough time to relax and enough time to re-charge our batteries. If we don't it will often lead to feeling stressed, overwhelmed and eventually burnout.
To completely avoid stress isn't good either. Our brain needs to stay active and it gets better with learning new things. In other words our brain needs to be stimulated and it needs to practice handling stress. So if your brain never gets to experience stress at all, it will eventually get very bad at handling just a little bit of stress.
The brain is like a muscle. You have to work it on a regular base for it to get better. The key is not to overwork it for a longer period of time without any rest, relaxation and some fun.
A Few Tips How to Handle Stress
Balance is key. Try not to get overstimulated at the same time as you don't want to get understimulated either. Work hard for a few hours and then make sure you take a break. Then you can work hard again and then relax.
If you have worked very hard for a longer period of time then try to take it a little easy for a while.
If you have had a tough time at work or in your private life, learn to take a step back and enjoy some down time. Same thing if you have been doing too little for a while make sure you step up the pace.
Variety is a great. If you have been in meetings all day make sure that you have some alone time at night. Or if you have been alone during the day you might need to get out of the house in the evening and enjoy some kind of activity with family or friends.
Down time doesn't mean that you do absolutely nothing. If you have been using your brain all day you might enjoy a slow walk in the woods with your dog in the evening. Or start a new hobby.
Avoid worrying and overthinking. Easier said than done. I know!!!
Remember that your brain will get better at what it is practicing.
So if you are worrying a lot, guess what??? Your brain will get better at worrying.
Worrying is just a bad habit and you do have control over your own thoughts and what you focus on.
Learn to focus on what you do want, instead of what you don't want.
If you are stressed about not having enough time you might want to take a closer look at where you are spending your time. Write it down for a couple of days and your will quickly see where you are wasting time.
In the end it comes down to learning to prioritize.
Laugh and have some fun. Laughing is a great stress relief. Watching a funny movie on TV or DVD after a tough day at work is a fantastic way to relax and feel good.
Reward yourself often. Create a few small weekly rewards for yourself for being able to relax and taking some steps back. It can be inviting a friend for a cup of coffee. A wonderful bubble-bath or buy yourself a small gift.
Create meaningful and low stress relationships with family and friends.
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