Take A Break

‘Person Holding and Reading a Book’ by  Negative Space under CC0 Creative Commons License

When I feel particularly overwhelmed I like to make a checklist of what I have to do. I go one by one feeling a little better with each item I get to cross off of my to-do list. However some days it feels like you just can’t win, and even though you’re accomplishing your goals the list just keeps getting longer. Instead of giving into the urge to just give up I like to do bit by bit with short breaks in between. Personally, I like to take fifteen-twenty minutes tops to read a good book. It calms me down and generally gives me some perspective. Remember slow and steady wins the race so don’t be too hard on yourself.

Exercising to Reduce Stress

 

“Running, Running Long-Distance”  by Skeeze  under CC0 Creative Commons

Exercise is extremely beneficial. It has been proven to increase not only physical but mental health. When struggling with your mood exercise can reduce symptoms of both anxiety and depression. It also helps your brain to function more clearly helping prevent you being overwhelmed. Sometimes the reason you’re stressed is that you didn’t get enough sleep. People who exercise regularly report getting a better night’s sleep than those who don’t. It is recommended you exercise at least 1 hour a day minimum. So the next time you know you’re going to have a stressful week try to schedule an exercise regime to help you through it. The recommended time to get the most out of exercise is first thing in the morning. They say this because you can begin rested and start your day productively. I hope this was helpful to you!

Yoga & Finding Some Inner Peace

“Yoga” by Stux under CC0 License

It’s hard to feel truly relaxed or get anything done when you can’t stop feeling like everything is out of whack. I think yoga is a great way to get in touch with yourself by starting and/or ending your day on the right foot. Using stretching techniques in yoga is normally done with calming music or no sound at all giving the mind much needed time to wander. Without ever having time to reflect with all of the new distractions we encounter every day it becomes a struggle to not be overwhelmed. Each day that we choose to shove aside the importance of our mental health the stress gets harder to fight off. You may feel as if you’re losing control of your emotions. However, to me, yoga is a way to get around that negative energy building up. It allows some pressure to be lifted so that I can handle my responsibilities. I find yoga to be most helpful at the very beginning or very end of the day. Probably due to that’s when all the things I need to do start to nag at me and I can’t stop the flow. I now realize I don’t need to stop the flow, only to redirect the energy into something productive that is both physically and mentally engaging. I hope this post is of use to you and I strongly encourage you to sign up for a local class or even to just buy a yoga matt and some DVDs. If money is of consequence stretching is free. Try finding a soft rug and following along to some step by step youtube tutorials. I end today’s thoughts with this; Put your mental health first. It is a priority.

Stress & Deep Breathing

I constantly feel like I’m under too much pressure. Sometimes it feels almost literal as if I’m having trouble breathing.When I have a lot of things I need to get done I just stress out. I don’t know why. I think it’s just human nature or fear of not being good enough. But if you feel this way too don’t give up just yet, because I have some methods I’d like to share with you that I use to calm down so I can actually do my work. My hope is to help appease that hopelessness you may sometimes feel when things are piling up, and there is only one of you. My number one method is deep breathing. It may seem stereotypical, but people use it to calm down for a reason. It works. When you’re caught up in your day to day life and are reaching the point of wanting to rip your hair out just take a moment to take some deep breaths. First, clear your head. Then inhale for a few seconds, hold it, and let it out. Slow controlled deep breaths. Do a few repetitions. Maybe even count to ten. This for me always provides temporary relief in my mess of thoughts. Hopefully, it can do the same for you.