5 ways to fight stress head-on
Have you had one of those days where you feel like every kind of stress in this world is on your shoulders! Do you have too much on your plate? And if things go wrong it seems like it's all your fault! Did you just hit “send” on a cheery email or type “LOL (smiley face)” in a text when deep down you just want to throw a massive tantrum or break into tears?!
We’ve all been there; we over commit and trick ourselves that we can deal with the stress, but it’s breaking us and breaking our spirit. Stress creeps up on all of us and soon it feels normal and so we don’t see how things could be different. But I’m here to tell you that if you let this stress continue over an extended period of time, then it will start damaging your health, your emotional state, your relationships, work, productivity and overall quality of life.
For a healthy happy life filled with vitality, we need to learn to recognise long‐standing stress and break its cycle.
So here’s what to know about stress and how to avoid it!
When stress kicks in, you instantly go into a “Fight or Flight or Freeze” mode.
- Fight – you’re moody, over‐emotional, anger consumes you.
- Flight – you pull away, shut off and avoid the task/challenge.
- Freeze – the feeling of being stuck or frozen under pressure.
So which one are you? And how much of the below will you do to overcome this?
Here are some strategies to help overcome that 'overwhelming' feeling and general stress.
1. Make it About You
Spend half an hour a day on you! Work on your goals, read, meditate, listen to inspiring podcasts or YouTube videos. You might think half hour is too much – try it for a few weeks, and I will bet you that you’re going to start getting more excited and passionate about your future!
2. Cut yourself some slack
You’re juggling work, cleaning, attending to your partner, running after your kids, making sure you meet your deadlines! You can only do your best! Studies show that people who show compassion towards themselves are happier, more optimistic, less anxious and depressed, and are even more successful!! So give yourself some slack. Show yourself you care.
3. Chiropractic Care
Adjustments help the nervous system calm down. It helps switch on the parasympathetic part of the system, which regulates blood flow, digestion, breathing, etc. and switches off the fight/flight/freeze mode.
4. Rely on Routine
Whenever I ask my practice members what's the primary cause of their stress; many times the answer is, "I have so much to get through in the week!" At the core of this statement is them having to make many decisions. Every new decision you have to make no matter how big or small is another one being added to the pile and the bigger the pile, the more load on your brain and the more stress it creates. Whether you have to make three massive decisions in a week or you have to make 300 smaller decisions, your brain is going to be overloaded.
What’s the solution? – Reduce the number of decisions you have to make by planning ahead. So how do you do that for big decisions? You need to break them down to little decisions, trim off the fat and delegate, this leaves the important parts of that decision for you to focus on and not the decision as a whole. If you’re doing a task every day, do it at the same time. Pre-plan and make your meals, do groceries on one day of the week, exercise the same time each day, schedule your free time. It might sound dull and robotic. And you probably want that spontaneous spark seven days a week. But you're adding chaos to your life which reduces that 'spark' in your life. I know from personal experience as well as talking to large business/corporate leaders that simple routines reduce the amount of stress you experience. Why do you think top people have personal assistants? So they don’t have to plan and do all the small things, their minds are free for the bigger tasks. Steve Jobs wore basically the same thing every day, blue jeans and a black turtleneck, why? Because it reduced his decision fatigue and he didn't have to think about the small things like what to wear. He just grabbed his clothes out of the closet and continued changing the world!
5. Good exercise and diet
When you exercise you release endorphins, those little hormones that make you feel over the moon, and who doesn't want those! In addition to this, when you exercise you’re focused on the activity which means you’re not constantly thinking of other stresses, this helps your mind to relax. You’re also increasing blood flow, oxygenation of your body, and of course, you get your body moving! Also, you are what you eat. Tea, coffee, cheese, sugar, alcohol can get you down. Get onto fruits, veggies and pure water for the vitamins and minerals your body needs to thrive. If you don’t fuel yourself properly, your body can’t cope, and your stress will increase tenfold!
So in the next week, I want you to start implementing these five things. The best time to do this is when you're not stressed, so you are thinking clear. Stop waiting until there is a problem to start making a change in your life.
Let us know how you're going in the comments below :)
