7 Smart Ways to Outrun Stress
By Sandy Schroeder
If you are feeling more stress in today's world, don't be surprised. Most of us are facing stress spikes and looking for solutions. Repeated stress causes wear and tear on the body and sabotages health over time. It can also undermine your balance and defeat the spirit. If you can relate, these stress-busters from Harvard Health may help you regain your balance.
Shutdown anger and irritation - When everything seems to be a big deal, it may be time to stop, breathe and pause to consider the situation. You may be jumping to conclusions, overreacting or choosing emotions over logic. Give yourself some leeway. Sleep on the issue and then start again when you feel calmer.
Feeling unsure - When everything seems to be going sideways, you may question your abilities and begin to lose confidence. Whatever the issue, review what you know and do a little research to get more information. Gradually, as you get into the subject you should feel like you are on solid ground.
Feeling really overloaded? - When you feel totally swamped as you deal with family, do your job, and handle a ton of other tasks, it may be time to get some help and delegate a few tasks. Bring in help or assign a few tasks to family members. Also put some of the less important projects on the back-burner.
Finding it hard to unwind? - When stress gets a grip, tension just continues to build. If you never really seem to relax, it may be time to take an afternoon or a weekend off. If that's impossible, try hot baths, short brisk walks, or a soothing massage.
Always running late? - When you find yourself bouncing back and forth from one demand to another, it's easy to run late. Take a good look at your schedule and build in some breaks to allow you to catch your breath and stay on target.
Always colliding with others? - Sometimes even the simplest situations can go awry if you are late, tense or angry. Think about recent clashes and pin down what went wrong. Then imagine things going better and create some good strategies to mellow things out.
Simply burned out? - We have all been there. When we reach that point, it's time to pause to take better care. Start eating better food. Find time for walking or biking and treat yourself to a day off to do whatever you wish. When you start to rally, take a good look at your work hours, overall schedule, and outside demands. Shift things around to create some breathing room and keep adjusting until you feel comfortable.
Whatever you do to ease stress will help, but don't make the mistake of ignoring it. Start lowering stress now and savor the difference.
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in League City, Tex.