Is stress a problem for you? If you feel that life is becoming increasingly stressful, then you are not alone! Daily living seems to involve more and more stress. Maybe now is a good time to take a look at how you can make some adjustments to your routine in order to improve your wellbeing. Introducing some small changes could make a big difference to how you feel and give you a new lease of life.
Have a look at the ideas below and take a little time to think about how you could reduce stress and improve your wellbeing and so make life happier and more productive. Putting some good habits in place will help. Here are some suggestions:
Obvious perhaps, but still the most important – Increase your physical activity. Ideally outdoors. Many people swear by walking, swimming or running for stress relief but any kind of heavy exercise will help you to free your mind and will also increase your fitness level at the same time. Go out and about in the fresh air whenever you can. Just increase the time you spend outdoors.
Actually speak to people whenever possible rather than using emails, social media, texts, etc. Even short phone calls or a few words with a neighbour will help. A great tip that can combat stress is not to let yourself engage in gossip. Everyone knows that if they gossip, it’ll eventually come back to haunt them. Unless you want to deal with a difficult situation in the future, you should steer clear of gossiping at all times.
Contact old friends or acquaintances. They will be pleased to hear from you.
Take up a new, creative interest or re-kindle an old one. If you are lacking in time or motivation, make sure it is something which you can fit easily into your usual routine and decide which days, and times of day, you will do it. It could be something simple, such as growing plants or learning to cook or trying new recipes. For the more adventurous, try arts, crafts or music.
Read a book. When you read, your mind wanders into a fantasy land, where you are not troubled by the different pressures that will cause you tension. Purchase a mystery or science fiction novel to help how you feel.
To more effectively manage stress, learn to let go of things you have no control over. Try to discern which things you do have control over and separate them, mentally, from those you don’t have control over. By separating the issues, you will find it easier to worry less about things.
Take on a new challenge. Start at a small, achievable level and see if it leads to greater things.
But be realistic, avoid taking on too many responsibilities at once. By taking on too many things all at once you can become stressed out. Chances are, if it seems like too much for you to handle it probably is, and you should avoid the extra responsibility if you are able to.
If you need more help with reducing stress and increasing well being, have a look at my website www.indublincounselling.com