Feeling stressed can be detrimental to your mental and physical health. It’s important to find ways to de-stress and maintain a more balanced lifestyle. Here are some effective strategies to help you de-stress your life:
Identify Stressors
When you’re feeling stressed, it can be hard to see what’s causing the problem. Some people get so caught up in their day-to-day activities that they don’t realize how much stress is actually affecting them.
Stressors include anything from work-related issues to relationships to health problems or finances. If you haven’t figured out the source of the stress in your life, it’s time to identify some potential stressors and figure out how to deal with them.
Practice Mindfulness
If you’re feeling stressed out, you can use mindfulness to help you manage your stress, says Dr Michael Vivian. Mindfulness is a practice that involves paying attention to what’s going on inside of you and outside of you in the present moment. You can do this by breathing deeply, focusing on your thoughts and feelings, and noticing what your body is experiencing.
When you practice mindfulness, it can be hard to stop worrying about the future or dwelling on the past (which is why we have this handy guide!). But once you get better at being present in the moment, you’ll find that stress starts to melt away—and maybe even some of those worries will start to dissolve too!
Prioritize Sleep
According to Dr Michael Vivian the best way to de-stress your life is Sleeping!
But unfortunately, too many of us don’t prioritize sleep. We don’t get enough, or we go to bed stressed out and anxious about everything that needs to be done the next day.
Maybe it’s because you feel like you don’t have enough time in your day or that there are too many things on your plate. Maybe it’s because you can’t seem to find the time for yourself anymore, and you’re feeling overwhelmed by all the responsibilities you have. Whatever it is, it’s important that you take steps toward making sure that your sleep doesn’t suffer while you’re working hard at de-stressing your life.
Stay Organized
Staying organized can help you feel more relaxed and in control of your life. When you’re organized, it’s easier to stay on top of things, so you can stop worrying about what’s coming up and start enjoying the present moment.
Here are some tips for staying organized:
- Keep a list of goals.
- Keep lists in different places.
- Keep one place for important papers/documents and another place for random papers/documents.
- Use color-coding with different items on each list: red = large task, blue = small task, green = urgent task (e.g., put out the trash).
Maintain Social Connections
Social connections are a great way to decompress, because they can be a source of support and connection. But they can also be very stressful, because they require you to spend time with other people. This can be good if it’s done right—but if you like being alone and want to keep it that way, it’s best not to make any decisions that require you to spend time with other people.
