The Stress Factor: What You Need for Better Health
By Genevieve Cunningham
How much stress do you experience on a daily basis? For some people, daily stress is absolutely overwhelming. In fact, more and more people are suffering from an overabundance of stress in their lives. Why does this matter? Because stress can seriously deteriorate your health -- physical, mental, and emotional. It can make you feel tired, sore, and even sick. It can keep you in a terrible mood. It can make you feel far less than your best. Isn't there anything we can do? Luckily, there is! If you need to lower the stress in your life, take a look at these tips for managing stress and staying healthy.
Go for the Obvious
The first thing you should do to lower your stress is to prioritize and make your life a little less busy. We spend so much time rushing from one place to another, creating boundaries and obligations for ourselves, and constantly feeling behind on everything. No wonder we're stressed! Cut back on your to-do list, prioritize your life, and make sure there's plenty of time for enjoyment and relaxation.
You Have to Stress Yourself Physically
Beyond rearranging your life, there are some other things you can do to manage stress. A very important tip is to simply stress yourself out physically. When the body is physically stressed, it has to let go of some of that mental anguish. You can do any sort of exercise that feels good -- run, walk, yoga, aerobics, swimming. Get your body moving and stress yourself out physically so that some of that mental and emotional stress can melt away.
You Have to Lower Stress Mentally
We spend a lot of time worrying about what other people think of our lives. But what if we didn't? How much stress could we alleviate if we were only concerned with our own opinions? Believe it or not, that's possible. The first step is to avoid social media. While social media can be useful, mindless scrolling is a trap. Giving yourself a little room for messing up, figuring things out, and rebuilding can go a long way in reducing stress. Get off your phone, spend time doing things that are important to you, and give yourself a little wiggle room. Do what makes you happy and forget everyone else. In doing so, you'll be amazed at the reduction in stress and increase in overall happiness.
Stress is necessary. We need it in certain situations, and it can even make us perform better sometimes. But too much is damaging and unnecessary. Use these tips to reduce stress and manage it throughout your life for better health and happiness starting today and lasting forever.
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Orange, Calif.