I don’t know about anyone else, but the first few weeks of 2021 have been/were stressful. So I thought I’d write a post to cover ‘handling stress’ incase there ever becomes a time you may need some help for yourself no matter what you’re going through.
Since March 2020, I personally have found myself struggling HARD with my mental health, my thoughts, and how I felt about myself. For 2021 I promised myself that things are going to change. I am sure this is also the case for many of you reading this post right now. Some of the feelings that I had, and you may have are;
- Not feeling good enough.
- Can’t be bothered for anything, just wanting to sleep.
- Feeling erratically emotional.
- Anxious about everything.
- And a few more but I won’t dwell into it!
Anyway, here is the post. Stemmed from me feeling like I have no idea what is going on with life and feeling stressed 24/7 and deciding to do something about it.
Handling Stress
What Is Causing It?
The first thing you will want to do is recognise what is causing your stress and anxiety. This is a hard task, I know…
However, grab a pen and pencil and jot down even the smallest things that make you feel any kind of way.
For example; you may feel anger towards someone or something even if it is small. You might hate your journey to work (or working from home) OR you may still be working and feeling unsafe. Write down anything that comes to mind, then take a moment to breathe.
You may see a whole page full of things that make you feel upset. Now, all of these things are floating around your mind every single day. No wonder you feel the way you do! Its now time to think about the following;
- Can I personally change this?
- Am I able to receive help for this?
- Is this thing completely out of my control?
- What can I do to make this situation better for me?
Taking Action Upon Feeling Stressed
You should now have your list of things that you believe are causing you stress. Now take one thing at a time and think about the ways you can change this to make you feel better. Is it something you can make a difference to? Is there someone you can talk to in order to resolve the situation? Or, is this thing of no fault of your own or anyone else? If this is the case, sometimes you have to just ride things out, not let them get to you, and know you are strong enough to live through however long this thing may take to pass.
Some of the things you can do to take action upon your feelings and make difference to the things that are causing stress are:
- If it is about a person/people
– If you are feeling brave, or like there is any point, talk to them! They may not know how you are feeling, or that they have caused you to feel such a way. On the other hand, if you have tried this to no avail, then cut it off. I know it seems drastic, but just push it away. People causing you stress is not worth it when there is no real solution or when you can still live your life to the fullest without them.
- Feelings towards yourself
– If you are feeling as though you don’t like how you look, then how could you change this? Don’t just think going on a diet or exercising will improve this, because a lot of the time, unless you really WANT to start working out, eating healthier and all that stuff, in the long run, it’s just going to make you more miserable. You need to learn how to love and accept yourself for the way you are. By all means, do your hair, have a pamper, buy some new clothes! At the end of the day, you are who you are, everyone is different. Only you can change how you feel within your mind about yourself.
Here are some self-love posts that may help:
– How To Unselfishly Practice Self-Care
– Practising Self-Care After Work
– Importance of Reflection Time & Taking a Break
– Hello Relish – Practicing Self Love
- Handling stress caused by a situation you cannot control
– This is probably one of the most difficult things to do when it comes to handling stress. when you cannot control the outcome or what is currently happening, it can be hard to come to terms with it, or feel okay with it. The only real things you can do is; seek the positives from the situation, even if they are super small. Remind yourself that it is out of your power and that you are strong enough to make it through. Also, remember that nothing goes on forever, it will get better eventually.
Ways You Can Unwind
Handling stress for whatever reason may have caused it can always be helped by giving herself time to relax, and wind down. Sometimes even ‘sleeping’ on the matter will help. Here are a few ways you can blur your mind for a while, forget what’s going on, and give yourself time to unwind. When handling stress, it is important to remember to put yourself first, when things get too much, time out!
- Have a slow morning. Spend some time creating a nice breakfast, have some coffee or tea in your favourite mug, then watch or listen to something to take your mind off the world.
- When getting ready, choose to put on something that makes you feel good, and empowered. Spend a little more time loving yourself and how you look and feel.
- Communicate with people who will make you laugh, or talk about something different!
- Go for a walk and practice breathing.
- Have something extra nice for dinner, or go out for dinner!
- Take a long bath, listen to a podcast or start reading.
- Create something, or start creating something you have always wanted to.
- Organise or tidy your space (even decorate that room you’ve been waiting to finish!)
Basically, do something that will make you feel great. Everyone will have something that they’ve been wanting to do for so long but have been putting it off because they feel stressed. Paint the picture, finish the drawing, write the blog post! Do things for you, and unwind.
The Finishing Point.
I have included this section because one of the main things that ended up helping with my own personal stress management was to finally understand that some things are purely out of my control. sometimes there is no going back, no changing the past or even the future. You may not always know 100% what is going on and how things are going to play out. Your only choice is to take each day, each hour even, a step and a breath at a time.
So that is the finishing point. It all boils down to what you can do. You can manage you feelings and your stress but sometimes it is just going to be hard for a little while, but it will ALWAYS get better.
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Thank you for reading this post, I really hope it has helped!
Let me know what you think in the comments below!
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