Stress has become such an integral part of everyone’s life. It’s not even funny. A 7-year-old is stressed so is a 56-year-old. No Man left behind. Ever wonder why are we stressed? Why are we running/ and the biggest question of them all! What are we running after? That is causing us stress.
You must learn to let go. Release the stress. You were never in control anyway.
Steve Maraboli
The Much-dreaded “S” word
It’s important to know that Stress isn’t always bad. There is a good kind of stress too. The anticipation of meeting a friend after years. Appearing in exams even we are well prepared, is good stress, also known as Eustress. Still, we only talk about the negative aspects (read distress) and negative emotions related to stress.
Do you know why?
Because we go overboard with the work-eat-sleep cycle that we call our life. We start giving too much importance to the trivial.
According to statistics Job pressure, workplace issues, money, health are some of the topmost reasons for stress. which affect us physically and psychologically.
Some of the damaging effects of Distress
- Regular headaches;
- Cardiovascular diseases;
- Gastrointestinal problems;
- Depression;
- Anxiety;
- Ageing;
Is what we invite we do not handle stress well.
Did you know?
A study of heart attack survivors found that taking a stress management class slashed their risks of a second cardiac event by 74%. Evidence shows that stress management will improve immunity.
Help is always at hand. We have to reach out and be willing for it to help you.
How to bring Mindfulness into life?
Activities that can help you relax and focus
1. Breathing
The most underrated tool. It’s shocking how much we ignore the most vital function of life. Deep breathing is one of the best ways to lower stress in the body. This is because when you breathe deeply, it sends a message to your brain to calm down and relax. The brain then sends this message to your body.
You can begin with belly breathing. This is something we are born with but forget as we grow. Here’s a short demo of belly breathing. Practise belly breathing a least of 10 times. Notice the difference. Very soon it will become a habit and getting yourself out of a distressed state would be easy. Improves focus.
2. Intermittent Fasting
There are many variants of Intermittent Fasting. The most popular one is staying hungry for 16 hours and consume any food you wish in an 8-hour bracket. What that does is, during fasting period your mind and body focuses on the task and not on digesting the foods.
We have an in-depth blog on Intermittent Fasting on our website.
3. Lift-The-Weight-Off
World’s weight is not on your shoulders. You are not Hercules. Just take it off.
How?
Stop doing whatever it is that you’re doing. Readjust focus. Taking the mind off of the situation helps us get another perspective. And the undoable start looking easy.
For eg: If a work situation is overwhelming you and it feels like a lot on your plate. Take a mental health break from work. Do something relaxing activities( go to a spa or cooking – whatever relaxes your nerves). Focus on calming your mind. And then sit with yourself. Break the tasks down into small chunks. Short goals – start hour wise.
This will help you deal with bigger tasks without scaring you whilst in full focus.
4. Find Your Joy
What brings you Joy? Do you know? We immerse ourselves so deep into adulting. Worrying and stressing about responsibilities. that we forget about the things we love doing.
Was it the kite flying? Or watching a movie in your pyjamas eating popcorn? Is it cooking?
Find your joy and do it every day. This simple activity will rejuvenate you for any outer world issue you are dealing with.
Read this article on positive psychology for some innovative mindfulness practices.
Finances, the status of relationships, work situations, house etc. There is so much we deal with daily. And life may seem overwhelming and too much at times. It may feel like how on earth are we going to get through it. But there’s always one thing to remember. To eradicate it from your life is ENTIRELY in your hands. It’s our reaction/approach to that stress that matters the most.
Are you taking charge of eliminating stress from your life?
