Whether in our personal or career lives we all would function better with less stress.
Family life, in today's society, can be very stressful. living in lockdown while home schooling children has become the norm which we were not equipped for, mentally or physically. Much respect and praise to everyone that has had to juggle this new way of life and indeed it has come with added stress to what we were already experiencing.
Let's identify what stress is- Stress is a feeling of being under abnormal pressure. This pressure can come from different aspects of daily life. Maybe your workload has increased, moving home or job, a row you have had with family or money worries. It can feel like life snowballs out of control as different forms of stress take place.
During such times we feel mentally upset and that manifests in sadness, frustration and physically our bodies produce a hormone called cortisol, which if in the blood stream more regularly becames very unhealthy for our physical well being.
How can you identify the signs of stress?
Below are some indicators;
feelings of constant worry or anxiety
feelings of being overwhelmed
difficulty concentrating
mood swings or changes in your mood
irritability or having a short temper
difficulty relaxing
depression
low self-esteem
eating more or less than usual
changes in your sleeping habits
using alcohol, tobacco or illegal drugs to relax
aches and pains, particularly muscle tension
diarrhoea and constipation
feelings of nausea or dizziness
loss of sex drive.
We all experience some of these symptons of stress from time to time and in the short term it is usually fine. as long as we have periods of calm time and happy time. If you are experiencing these symptoms for a prolonged period, and feel they are affecting your everyday life or are making you feel unwell, you should speak to your GP. You can ask for information about the support services and treatments available to you.
Seven steps to help better performance and lessen stress
1. Eat healthily
Eating healthily can reduce the risks of diet-related diseases
There is a growing amount of evidence showing how food affects our mood and how eating healthily can improve this
You can protect your feelings of wellbeing by ensuring that your diet provides adequate amounts of brain nutrients such as essential vitamins and minerals, as well as water
2. Be aware of smoking and drinking alcohol
Try not to, or reduce the amount you smoke and drink alcohol
Even though they may seem to reduce tension initially, this is misleading as they often make problems worse
3. Exercise
Try and integrate physical exercise into your lifestyle as it can be very effective in relieving stress
Even just going out and getting some fresh air, and taking some light physical exercise, like going for a walk to the shops can really help
4.Take time out
Take time to relax
Strike the balance between responsibility to others and responsibility to yourself, this can really reduce stress levels
Tell yourself that it is okay to prioritise self-care · Are you needing time out but saying 'I just can't take the time off', if so read more about how taking a break is important for good mental health
5. Be mindful
Mindfulness is a mind-body approach to life that helps us to relate differently to experiences. It involves paying attention to our thoughts and feelings in a way that increases our ability to manage difficult situations and make wise choices
Try to practice mindfulness regularly
Mindfulness meditation can be practiced anywhere at any time
Research has suggested that it can reduce the effects of stress, anxiety and related problems such as insomnia, poor concentration and low moods, in some people
Our Be Mindful website features a specially developed online course in mindfulness, as well as details of local courses in your area
6. Get some restful sleep
Are you finding you are struggling to sleep? This is a common problem when you’re stressed
Could your physical or mental health be impacting your ability to sleep?
Could you amend your environment to help improve your sleep?
Could you get up instead of staying in bed when your mind is worrying at night?
Could you make small changes to your lifestyle to help your get a restful sleep?
7. Don’t be too hard on yourself
Try to keep things in perspective.
Remember that having a bad day is a universal human experience
When your inner critic or an outer critic finds faults, try and find truth and exception to what is being said
If you stumble or feel you have failed, don’t beat yourself up
Act as if you were your own best friend: be kind and supportive
Take a few minutes each day to appreciate yourself
Once we are consciously aware of reducing stress and acting towards it our perfomance at home, our relationships ,our work life will improve. we feel more lighter and not so bogged down with emotions and ailments as a result of stress. We and those around us will get the better us, the calm us, the happy us the us that is at ease and when we are in this state life flows effortlessly and our health and immune system improves.