Stress

Everyone suffers with stress and people who say that don’t are definitely lying. I suffer with stress a lot and almost everything stresses me… even writing this post! It’s not as easy as people think it is to cope with day-to-day stresses when you already have so much to deal with yourself. So to start off I am going to give some examples of things which cause me stress.

• Being late
• Waiting for a phone call
• Not feeling well and not knowing why
• Anniversary of a beloveds death
• Saying ‘yes’ to too many things
• Not being in control

These are just a few if I told you everything we would be here all day and the blog post would never end… I don’t want to bore you too much. Everyone has triggers which stress them out, if you are unsure of yours then there are things you can do to try to source the triggers. I can hear some of you now saying how can you not know what stresses you, well it’s very normally to feel stressed and not know why. I have it all the time! But one way to help with identifying the trigger is to start a Stress Journal. A stress journal can help you identify the regular stress triggers in your life and the way you deal with them. Each time you feel stressed, write it down. As you keep a daily log, you will begin to see patterns and may be very surprise at the triggers. I bet your asking me now well what do I put in this stress journal well below are the things I would recommend for you to write.

• What caused your stress (make a guess if you’re unsure)
• How you felt, both physically and emotionally
• How you acted in response
• What you did to make yourself feel better (you may not be able to answer this but don’t feel like you have to if you can’t)

If your wondering.. how do I know if I’m stressed them here are some of the signs..

• Interrupted sleep
• Back and neck pain
• Chest pains
• Worrying or feeling anxious
• Skin breakouts
• Headaches

These are just some of the signs and if you are concerned then speak to the doctor. I have to say the best thing to do is to try and use coping skills to get you through this.

Give your stress wings and let it fly away.

Coping skills are what determine how we can deal with these stresses… there are good and bad coping skills though. Bad coping skills consist of smoking more, drinking more, taking drugs, sleeping too much, withdrawing from friends and family etc. I am guilty of bad coping skills so I can’t say that this doesn’t help as everyone has their own ways of coping… just make sure it doesn’t affect your health more!

There are so many ways to help relieve stress in a good way and these are;

• Meditate
• Window Shop…. this one always leaves to actually shopping for me!
• Take a walk in the rain
• Light a candle
• Reflect on the positives of your life
• Blow bubbles
• Sit under a tree and become one with nature.
• Take some time for you… such as taking that bath you’ve always wanted but not had time too.
• Listen to music
• Speaking to friends and family about what is causing you stress

These are some of the things I do and trust me they can work but sometimes they don’t work the first time you use them, as they take practice. I’m inpatient so I like things to work like yesterday.  You never know what is going to work for you so always give things a try before ruling them out.

Stress is a huge impact on everyone’s mental health and we just have to make sure that we keep on top of it where possible. I know this is not always the case as sometimes things can be too much but never forget your are NOT alone, there are thousands of people suffering and if you ever need support or guideance there are lots of places you can source this!

Your mind is very powerful and it amazing how much you can come with just trying different coping strageries.

Speak soon