Why is stress so... stressful?

Do you struggle with finding healthy ways to cope with stress? Is stress affecting your life? Did you know that April is National Stress Awareness Month? I would love to give you some healthy stress relief tips!

I have struggled with stress in the past and it has negatively affected my life. Due to this, I have become more intrigued by researching and utilizing healthy stress relief techniques.

These days we regularly hear about self-care, but this does not always look like buying yourself a gift, sleeping in, or letting yourself have that dessert. Self-care can look like healthy stress relief techniques.

“Stress responses help your body adjust to new situations. Stress can be positive, keeping us alert, motivated and ready to avoid danger. For example, if you have an important test coming up, a stress response might help your body work harder and stay awake longer. But stress becomes a problem when stressors continue without relief or periods of relaxation.” (Cleveland Clinic, 2021).

Here are some examples of healthy stress relief techniques that you can easily do on your own:

1. Journaling

2. Taking a bath with Epsom salt and essential oils

3. Practicing mindfulness

4. Connect with nature

5. Go for a walk

Here are some examples of healthy stress relief techniques that you can easily do with few available resources:

1. Guided meditation/Body Scan (utilize YouTube or a phone app)

2. Yoga (utilize YouTube or a local class)

3. Reading a book for pleasure

4. Listening to music you enjoy

5. Listening to your favorite podcast

Here are some things that can affect our stress levels and we may not even realize it:

1. Not getting enough sleep

2. Eating unhealthily

3. Not getting exercise or body movement

4. Having too much coffee

5. Negative thoughts

Check out this infographic from the National Institute of Mental Health to learn more... https://www.nimh.nih.gov/sites/default/files/documents/health/publications/so-stressed-out-fact-sheet/20-mh-8125-imsostressedout_1.pdf

Learn more about April Stress Awareness Month...

https://www.stress.org/april-is-stress-awareness-month

Try this Guided Body Scan Meditation to notice stress relief...

References

Cleveland Clinic (2021). Stress. Retrieved from

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/11874-stress