Beating Stress With Self-Care
By Donna Stark
You don't need a big, traumatic event like divorce or illness to occur for stress and anxiety to show up in your life. In fact, you can be happily married and totally healthy and still find yourself entangled in the cobweb of day-to-day stress from things like your career, saving for your children's college tuition, and maybe even your children themselves. It isn't difficult to see how easily stress and anxiety can impact your days, but what you might be missing is how they affect your overall health and wellness too.
The Impact of Stress and Anxiety
If you have reached for your migraine medication this morning, or massaged your neck at work, or had an awful night of sleep yet again, you may be dealing with some of the reddest red flags of stress. And unfortunately, those aren't the only ones. Take a look at a few more signs that your body is being relentlessly attacked by the amount of stress you deal with on a daily basis.
- General aches and pains
- Digestive issues
- Weight gain, weight loss
- Racing heart, chest pain
- Cold and sweaty palms
- Tiredness, exhaustion, low energy
- Frequent illness
Beating Stress With Self-Care
Stress can certainly make its mark on your overall health and wellness, but with a few simple self-care habits, you can actually get out of its sticky web. Here are some ideas on how you can reduce a fair amount of that stress in your life.
- Consume a healthy diet and drink plenty of water
- Exercise daily
- Spend some time in nature
- Take breaks at work, even if they are only for 10 minutes at a time
- Schedule vacations
- Learn to say no to extra commitments
- Practice meditation or join a yoga class
- Get quality sleep every night
- Detox from technology throughout your days
The Month of Love
What better month is there than the month of love to start showering yourself with some self-care so that you can reduce your stress? And as you can see, doing so doesn't require a lot. Whether it's a simple act in the morning like a cup of coffee or a grand gesture every year with a trip to the islands, the good thing is that it doesn't matter what you do. As long as you are treating yourself to some extra care and attention you should be able to lower your stress levels and improve your overall health and wellness!
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Woodbury, Minn.