9 Ways I Took A Huge Step Towards Reducing My Stress
Stress is something we all have to deal with from time to time, but it’s a fact that those who find ways to reduce their stress in ways other than the usual methods are able to live a happier and healthier life.
Is your life hectic?
My life has been hectic in the past with a lot of deadlines, and at times I would find that I was getting more and more stressed without knowing how to deal with it.
The best way for me to take a step towards reducing my stress is by easing into some of the techniques I’ve learned over the years. Some I’ve read about and incorporated into my life, some I watched other people practice and I took them on board, some simply came to me naturally.
I’ve always worked hard at living and life, but I’ve had moments of extreme anxiety over the years and learning to cope, deal and eventually live with it (until it completely disappeared) has been anything but easy.
Reducing my stress levels has been a matter of making daily small changes over a long period of time. But it has definitely worked!
I personally found these nine methods helpful for my life as I have finally learnt to take a step away from the source of stress and do many things that I enjoy. Take what works for you, use what you like and eliminate what you don’t.
The nine ways I took a huge step towards reducing my stress.
1) Cultivating a positive self-image
The best thing about having an optimistic personality is that it can really help reduce stress in your life because you’re constantly reminding yourself how wonderful you are, which in turn reduces stress levels on other people around you. I used to loathe myself for many wrong beliefs I was holding, not understanding what a wonderful being I Am (we all are). Just find that inner Self that is at the Source of your happiness. See yourself as a being of light and you will become lighter yourself.
Read this over and over again until you feel it in your gut: “I do not need to earn my worth, I am my own gift.!
2) Notice your body and energy…
I have spent a lot of time listening to my body in the last few years and I’ve learnt to trust it wholeheartedly. If I don’t feel like eating something, I’ll just skip it. If I feel like eating something, I do it.
When you notice how your body feels and what is going on around it, you can usually find ways to use that information to help with stress. I practice meditation every day and take time out to relax my mind and body. Even 1 minute makes a difference, I swear.
3) Positivity
Always keep the mindset that things are working out for the best, no matter what is going on. This helps teach me to not let things upset me. Today I was talking to someone who is young and still believes life is not fair but I showed him the many gifts he is receiving on a daily basis. He just couldn’t see them as he only focuses on the negative side of things.
I love the saying: “Everything is working out for good.” When things are not going well, we’re just not seeing it. We need to remind ourselves that what we’re going through isn’t personal and is not our fault. Life is an experience. The good, the bad and the ugly.
4) Breathe!
Breathing is a great tool to help you shift your focus when times get tough. It will allow you to centre yourself and always know where reality is at. Learning to take small breaks and breathe throughout your day can be a great way to help ease the stress in your life.
Do it with me right now. Breathe. In, out. In, out. Feel the air go through your nose, down your throat and into your chest. Focus on how it makes you feel.
NOTE: Always remember to take a moment to just breathe. It will bring you back to the present and keep you in the right mindset and perspective at all times.
5) Nurture friendships
This may sound cliche, but the best thing I did to help me cope with stress was to build my circle of friends. I sell my own cosmetics at the market every Saturday and I consider this my social life as every week I get to see everyone I know but also I am meeting new people.
It’s so much fun but it’s also a means of contributing to my local community. I am able to meet so many great friends at the markets and of course, this has brought me even more personal value. Be social and get to know your local community. Join meet-ups, start a club or even join a church group, whatever works for you.
Being of service, adding your bit, being useful, being helpful and making your life count so others can be happy is the best way to be happy yourself. And remember to breathe!
6) Have fun
Of course, you can’t have fun all the time. But when you do, that’s when you need to take advantage of it by enjoying the moment. When I first started my spiritual life someone who had been at it for many years told me: “Patri, you’re forgetting to have fun… Just have fun!”. That sort of gave me “permission” to have fun and since then I’ve learnt that every now and then I just need to have fun.
So I do.
You can do exactly that and so much more. Just have fun. And if you have fun it will take your mind off the stress, for sure!
REMEMBER: Enjoy yourself, let go of the negative thoughts and just have some fun.
7) Stop worrying… can you?
If something is bothering me or I’m worried about something, I try and stop worrying and obsessing over it so much… You’re right, it is not easy. Removing myself from “merry-go-round thinking” is not easy, but over time it does get easier. Here’s how I do it:
1) Spot the “merry-go-round thinking”
2) Try to disengage from it by thinking about ANYTHING else
3) If it doesn’t work at first, don’t beat yourself about it. It does take practice. But it will eventually work. Just be patient.
8) Be kind (to others but also to yourself)
I try to be as kind as I can to everyone I meet. Even if someone is being rude or mean, treat them with the same kindness and compassion you would give to a stranger or someone who is ill. Not everyone is healthy, the mind is a complicated machine and many people are still attached to it. Understand it is not their fault. This is not easy but you can at least try to be kind to everyone. If you are kind to others, it will be easier for you. We are truly all one and our purpose is the same: to be happy. We are all here for each other’s good so be kind and loving to others as well. When you find that you can’t, don’t worry. When you wake up to your real self and understand you’re at the heart of this dream you will also see how others are a projection of yourself and it’ll be natural then to be kind to everyone. Til then… you can fake it til you make it!
This will help build your confidence and will reflect in other areas of your life too.
9) Learn from your mistakes
Because we are going through the human experience, after all, there are going to be times when mistakes are made. But how you deal with those mistakes will speak volumes about how you handle your life. I’ve been through so many mistakes over the years and have learnt that I don’t need to beat myself up over them. They can be a learning opportunity instead. Sometimes I need the mistake to happen several times. That’s ok. Mistakes are just thoughts. In reality, everything is just an experience.
By understanding that the human being is a body-mind mechanism that lives in a dual world (the good and the bad) we can also forgive it and this will cause the body-mind to have less stress.
TIP: Forgiveness is at the core of a stressless life.
B0NUS:
10) Have a plan
Life is chaotic and it’s important to have a set plan for how you want your life to look, work and feel by the time you reach an age you feel comfortable with. How to get started? You can do what I do: plan your day every morning. It’s refreshing and it helps me remember what needs doing. It makes me feel useful. If by the end of the day I didn’t do everything it doesn’t matter. There’s always the day after to get it done.
How stress affects our lives
Stress can have a huge impact on our lives and it’s something everyone in modern society experiences. According to WebMD stress can seriously affect your body and mind. Some studies have shown that stress has been linked to:
- Increased risk of heart disease. Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death among people. Stress is associated with an increased risk of both heart attacks and strokes according to heart.org
- Cardiovascular diseases. According to some studies, high levels of cortisol from long-term stress can increase blood cholesterol, triglycerides, blood sugar, and blood pressure. These are common risk factors for heart disease. This stress can also cause changes that promote the buildup of plaque deposits in the arteries
Stress can lead to emotional instability
Emotional instability is an issue that affects both men and women alike and it’s one of the biggest health problems in the world, causing depression, anxiety, eating disorders and suicide rates to skyrocket. The reason for this is that the body and mind are connected. When these emotions cause symptoms such as stress, anger or anxiety it can have major effects on the body and can create a stressful environment which causes even more of a stress response or adrenaline rush.
How to identify stressors in our lives
While some people can identify their stressors by their symptoms, most people cannot. This is because we’ve been taught that pain, irritation and discomfort are normal and they have become part of our “background”. Try to be aware of them. Pain, irritation and discomfort should be warning signs of something wrong in the body-mind mechanism but they shouldn’t be triggered by fear (fear of not being able to pay the rent, of what people think about us, of losing our jobs, etc). This is irrational and stress caused by these types of factors can be eliminated from your life. I’m saying this from personal experience.
NOTE: Fears, concerns, worries and negative thought patterns are sources of stress. Many of us have become so used to having our worries “flood” us that we don’t even recognize them as our own thoughts. They seem normal because they have become a part of life. When we become more aware of where these thoughts come from and how they are affecting our body-mind mechanism we can start to eliminate them and learn to live more freely again.
How to manage stress through healthy habits
After moving to a quiet place in Tenerife I realised that the big city, pollution, financial stress and overthinking my life had had a huge impact on my body. I was tired, anxious and stressed all the time without even realising it. I actually thought that this kind of state of mind was just normal and a part of me, and I was so used to it I couldn’t really see it any longer.
How did this happen? Well, after trying various alternatives to get rid of the stress I got to a point where nothing seemed to be working. They weren’t healthy options. Only when I started a spiritual lifestyle everything also started to change. This led to healthier habits which, over the years, have taken me to places and have allowed me to do things I never thought possible.
I’ve been able to learn about myself, my true nature and, most importantly, how to change by creating a space for higher mindsets in my life.
Here are some of the things I do nowadays:
- Spending more time with myself to ensure that I have time to exercise, eat well and keep updated with the latest news.
- Making an effort to feed my brain with different kinds of reading material (mostly spiritual), avoiding controversial input from the external world (movies, videos, articles, whatever) and watching spiritual Youtube videos
- Spending time in nature. Nature is the best healer of our modern technological world. Just going for a walk in nature or a swim in the ocean as often as possible can have a huge impact on our lives, no matter our age.
How to use self-care techniques to reduce stress
Self-care is getting more and more popular these days. There are many ways to practice self-care and, first of all, it’s important to know what self-care really is.
Self-care is a term that describes the process of meeting your emotional, psychological and spiritual needs by yourself.
To put it simply: self-care is an individual act of nurturing yourself in order to help you maintain healthy emotional balance, optimal physical health and attain a higher understanding of life.
Self-care consists of different techniques that differ according to the person and its unique needs or circumstances. When practising self-care, you should have the goal in mind.
I might write an entry on self-care in the future, for now, I advise that you read about it constantly because self-care is not a technique or a set of principles that you can master overnight. It’s something that you have to work at for the rest of your life. Eventually, it becomes second nature!
How to create a relaxation routine
Relaxation is a key to learning about yourself and living a more conscious life.
There are many ways to achieve relaxation. For example, next time you have a spare 30 minutes or so, climb up the ladder of self-care and start listening to guided meditations on Youtube.
When you want to achieve relaxation through breathing, you’ll need to focus on your breathing and find a comfortable breathing rhythm. You can count, if you like. Start by taking a slow deep breath in through your nose and counting up to five. While doing so, imagine yourself having a clean and clear mind. Then slowly breathe out through your mouth and again count up to five. Repeat this about ten times or for as long as you’d like until you feel completely relaxed.
You can do this with your eyes open or closed. The important thing is to relax the entire body.
Relaxing helps to improve concentration, reduce stress and to achieve peace of mind.
Love,
Patri ❤️💕
