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Minimize the effects of stress with these tips

Whether you are aware of the effects of stress or just suspect you may be exhibiting them we can examine how it impacts you and your life as well as ways to ease that load on your daily life.

Stress can be incredibly harmful. It’s been shown that stress is linked to serious health issues including cancer and heart disease.

This is why it’s important to make sure that if you are feeling overly stressed each day, that you are tackling this situation head-on.

There are a few steps that you can take to handle high levels of stress in your life. Let’s look at a few of the possibilities.

Nix the bad habits used to offset the effects of stress

You may feel that bad habits like smoking tobacco, overeating or drinking alcohol in excess are the best way for dealing with stress.

This is not the answer to managing day-to-day stressors in your life. More often than not, bad habits tend to cause more stress than they solve. Smoking for example is quite commonly seen as a stress reliever. However, because nicotine is addictive, you will be under more stress whenever you do not get your fix. The same can be true for alcohol.

Since alcohol is a depressant it will often impact your overall mood and mean that you struggle to stay in the right frame of mind.

If you are struggling with an addiction that you think is significantly impacting your mental health and your overall well-being, then you might want to think about exploring different options including rehab.

Rehab will always be useful if you feel as though your addictions have grown completely out of control and you won’t be able to stop them by yourself.

Not getting enough sleep

Another reason you could be struggling with stress is a lack of sleep. Sleep is how your body and your mind recharge. If you aren’t getting enough sleep each night, then you are going to end up struggling with stressful situations because your mind won’t be able to handle them. That’s why it’s important to make sure that you are taking as many steps as possible to improve your sleep habits. 

One of the best ways that you can do this is by improving your sleep environment. Sleep issues are, in most cases, going to have fairly standard causes. This could be a problem with your mattress or your bed. Many people tend to assume that mattresses are a one-size-fits-all all deal. However, this is not the case. In reality, your choice of mattress will typically depend on your physicality and whether you suffer from issues including chronic pain. If you do struggle with chronic pain, you are more likely to find it difficult to sleep on a soft mattress. It is also likely that you will wake up in more pain. 

Alternatively, you might find that you are finding it difficult to get a good night of sleep because of issues related to light or technology. Various research demonstrates that certain tech in your bedroom can prevent you from getting enough sleep each night. The best way to deal with this would be by removing some of the tech that’s connected to wifi. At the very least, you should avoid sleeping with your phone beneath your pillow. 

You may like this post the complete guide to better sleep.

In terms of light, light pollution can trick the mind into thinking that it’s daytime. This is another reason why you should switch off tech before it’s time to go to sleep. If you leave it running, it’s going to confuse your brain. This is also a major problem in built-up urban areas where light pollution can easily intrude into the bedroom. To avoid this, you should make sure that you are thinking about getting blackout blinds for your bedroom. Blackout blinds are exactly how they are described. They’ll stop light from entering the bedroom and ensure that your room is dark enough at night for a great evening of snoozes. 

You may like this post which crystals promote sleep in my bedroom?

Of course, you may be going to sleep at the right time and waking up at an appropriate hour but you still feel stressed and overwhelmed before the day has even begun. What’s happening here? Well, you may be suffering from a condition known as sleep apnea. Sleep apnea wakes you up at multiple times through the night and stops you from breathing. A common sign of this condition would be waking up each morning with a pounding headache. Sleep apnea is more common than most people realise and it’s not always caused by an unhealthy lifestyle. Although it is certainly attributed to issues such as obesity. 

Calming through a mindfulness practice

Finally, you might want to consider whether you are being mindful. Mindfulness can help ensure that you can manage stressful situations more effectively and ensure that you are doing everything that you can to remain calm. This can be particularly useful if you are struggling with a high-pressure job or if you are finding issues with anxiety problematic in your life. 

One of the best ways to be more mindful is to practice meditation. Through meditation, you can ensure that you remain completely calm in different situations. It can be difficult to start meditating for the first time.

You may like this post on how to meditate for beginners. Three foolproof ways that work.

At the very least, you might want to try some breathing exercises. Breathing exercises are fantastic because it means that you can ensure that your brain is getting more oxygen. This will make it easier to think about situations more clearly and find the right solution.

Lifestyle choices

Another option would be to consider making changes to your lifestyle so that you can reduce the amount of stress that you are experiencing in your life. This could include everything from your personal life including relationships to your job and all the other smaller things that make up your world.

For instance, you may be unknowingly in a toxic relationship. If that’s the case, then you should consider speaking to your partner and finding out how you can address the situation together. 

If you are struggling with high levels of stress in your career, then you should think about making a change including switching roles. People are often constantly worried about job security these days and this is understandable. However, it is never worth staying in a role where you are unhappy or struggling with high levels of stress daily.

Are you a worrywart

Another way to tackle stress is to think about the issues and concerns that tend to worry you and cause you to feel anxiety. This could include anything from trouble with money to worrying about your family. Financial issues are one of the key factors that cause people to lose sleep each and every night. 

The best way to handle this is to make sure that you are setting a budget that you can work within your personal life. If you set a budget, you’ll be able to eliminate the stress caused by struggles with money. You can manage your budget digitally online and this means that you won’t have to worry about issues related to overspending or similar concerns. 

You could also be worried about your family and this could be adding to your stress. Communication is key here. If you communicate regularly and you are honest with each other, you’ll find it easier to gain peace of mind that your family is happy and there aren’t any troubles bubbling underneath the surface. 

I have a guided goal journal that can help get your mindset shifted by bringing positive elements into your goal on a daily basis. It will get your shifting your mind to what IS WORKING and empower you to change what is giving you anxiety. Check it out here.

Additionally, I wrote a post on how to use gratitude to get your goals to help your mindset as well.

Therapy can help you manage your stressors

Next, you should think about exploring therapy as a way to deal with high levels of stress in your life. If tackling the overwhelm is more than just needed to meditate, set goals, and sleep better then a therapist may be just what you need.

Therapy could include weekly or monthly meetings depending on your needs. Problems with stress may be deeply rooted in your past. If that’s the case, then it could be worth speaking to a therapist as they will be able to help bring these causes to the surface and ensure that you are able to tackle them the right way.

Fitness is good for the body AND the mind

Finally, you may be struggling with stress because you are not getting enough exercise and you’re not staying active enough. People who don’t exercise at all are far more likely to struggle with their mental health, according to most recent research. To handle this, you just need to find an exercise that you are going to enjoy and that is going to keep your attention and interest. There are lots of different choices when it comes to exercise. For instance, cold water swimming is a great choice because it is highly beneficial for the body as well as the mind. 

Some forms of stress are carried in the body and fitness can help work some of that out.

Hobbies are important (not frivolous)

If you don’t have a hobby I encourage you to take one up. There is evidence they decompress the body and mind, provide cognitive health into senior years, and give you something to look forward to each day, especially for people who do not have fulfilling careers or jobs.

I have a post on 10 hobbies to help you recharge and relax and another post on the benefits of having a hobby (and making it a priority).

I hope this helps you understand some of the key steps that you should take if you are struggling with stress in your life and the reasons why this is an important topic to think about.