Okay, so you’re stressed out. That’s totally normal. Just take a breath. You’re already one step there by deciding to read this post. That means you want to work on it and feel better. I am totally there with you! Sometimes you need to step back and do something good for your soul. Let’s get into the 5 ways I believe can help reduce the overwhelm and get you back to your beautiful self!
1) Breathe
First things first, if you’re already feeling overwhelmed and stressed, that is resonating throughout your entire body. Your heart rate may be higher than normal, you may feel more edgy or jumpy, and you might even be having body pains from all the tension.
In order to relieve some of that tension and send relaxing messages to your brain and body, you have to breathe. I don’t mean sitting there and taking three deep breaths and then being like, “Okay, I’ve mastered meditating, moving on…” No. I mean actually taking the time to find a breathing practice that helps you. Keyword here, “you.” This is not one size fits all. There are so many techniques and ways to go about that sweet inhale and exhale practice. I personally love guided body scans. They’re basically a guided meditation that takes your awareness through different parts of your body until your whole being is relaxed. This works great for me because I tend to carry a lot of tension and anxiety in my body. If you’re interested in these, or any meditation, YouTube is a great resource to find helpful videos. There are also a lot of apps out there for this type of thing.
So find what suits you, and then actually do it. Everyone is busy. Everyone “doesn’t have enough time.” You have to make the time for yourself. If you can’t section off 10 minutes of your day to breathe, there’s a problem. Make sure you take the time, put in the effort, and the result will be well worth it.
If you’re new to this sort of thing, I also recommend doing your research on the physiological and psychological benefits of meditation and breathing. Knowing the science behind how this sort of thing can help your mind and body can be just the push you need to start doing it.
2) Talk it Out
Another problem for a lot of people is that there is too much bouncing around in their heads. I definitely have this problem. I’m always thinking about 100 different things at any given time. This becomes difficult to deal with because in the course of even a single day we are typically thrown into many different situations. These situations require decisions and those decisions are much harder to make if you have so much other thoughts in your head running around and screaming like a bunch of little toddlers.
So shut them up. How? Talk about them. Whether it’s to a friend, a coworker, a significant other, a parent, or a neighbor, actually verbalizing what is running through your mind can help you move on from it. You need to get the thoughts out in order for the craziness in your brain to die down. You can’t deal with the thoughts just by thinking about them; that’s the exact thing we’re trying to avoid here! And you definitely can’t think about all of them at once. Talking through your thoughts can allow you to focus on one thing at a time and then let it go. You physically can’t talk about all of your thoughts at once, so talking helps slow down the process of trying to deal with everything in your head at one time.
And if you don’t have someone to talk to, or that’s just not your thing, then write it down. Grab a notebook and a pen and write down everything that is going on in that pretty little head of yours. Journaling or even just making lists can be a great way to get your thoughts out of your head and make it easier to organize and deal with them. Trust me, after you talk it out or write it down, you will feel so much better.
3) Take a “To do” and make it a “Have done”
A lot of the times I find myself overwhelmed are when I feel like I have a lot to do. But when I actually list everything out and am able to start making progress on that list, I end up feeling a lot better. Sometimes even the act of listing out everything you have to do can make a difference. Getting it from your head onto paper allows you to organize and prioritize tasks, which can also help if you don’t know where to start.
Making the list is the easy part, actually getting up and doing something on your list is the hard part. Believe me, I understand that sometimes the motivation is just simply not there, but once you take that first step, it gets easier. Just getting off the couch or getting dressed can be the bridge to knocking out a task (or several) and feeling a weight lifted off your shoulders. I mean who doesn’t love crossing off tasks on their to-do list? More times than not, once a couple of tasks are complete, you’ll realize you didn’t have that much to worry about in the first place.
4) Get Moving
I mentioned how a lot of stress and tension can resonate in our bodies. Getting physical exercise can help release this tension and allow you to feel more refreshed. There has been so much research done about the benefits of physical exercise. Not only is it fantastic for your body, it is imperative for your mind.
Think about moving your body as a cleaning of your mind. Everything needs to be cleaned every so often, including our brains. Exercise allows you to release thoughts and worries. Just like that crumpled up receipt that’s been on the floor of your car for 4 months, there’s junk in your brain that needs to be cleaned out.
Physical movement can also affect your mood and attitude. Feeling uplifted after a workout can help you to get that bit of motivation you need to figure out what is stressing you and deal with it. Once it’s done, you can go to sleep at night feeling calm and fulfilled.
5) Eliminate Stressors
There can be a lot of factors that affect your stress level. One thing that you should consider is your schedule. Take a look at it. Is it just simply too full? Think about what things you may be able to remove so you can take something off of your plate. It’s okay to say “No” once and awhile.
Consider the content you’re consuming, what you spend most of your time on, who you surround yourself with, and how you spend your down time (if you even have any). What music and podcasts are you listening to, TV shows are you watching, books are you reading, news are you consuming? These all can have an affect on your mood and how you feel on a daily basis. Take these into account and figure out if you need to make a change.
In terms of free time, be honest with yourself. Do you have time for yourself? If you do, how are you spending that time? You need to make sure you have time to do things you love in order to boost your mood and give yourself something stress free to focus on. Spending time on hobbies or pastimes can seem ridiculous when you have so much on your plate already. But spending the time on something you enjoy will leave you feeling refreshed and better able to deal with the other tasks in front of you.
So breathe, talk it out, cross something off your to-do list, get moving, and eliminate stressors. These are things that have helped me when I’m feeling stressed. Try them because you love yourself and deserve to feel calm.
Wishing you calm…
∼nora