It seems obvious yet we all need help figuring out how to relieve stress and anxiety, especially during a pandemic and/or a stressful time of the year like the holiday season. 

As we mentioned in the previous post, everyday practices for holistic health, things like exercise, proper nutrition, drinking water, and sleep are not habits that work independently but are all interconnected, playing a part in your mind body connection. 

Perhaps the biggest stress management tip is simply taking care of yourself. A lot of stress comes from when you’re tired or when you’re overwhelmed, causing your blood pressure to rise. Taking time for you to ensure you get 7-8 hours of sleep, exercise, and consume energy-boosting foods like strawberries and green foods will help reduce stress. Adding vitamins and supplements can not only help infuse your body with the nutrients it may not be getting from your diet but also promote stress and anxiety reduction. 

Working on your mindset will also help. If you feel like you are operating in a reactive mode, consider the mantra, “Pause. Think. Act.” Even if you have to write this down in a daily journal or feel funny saying it out loud during a morning meditation or yoga session, it can help you better manage your emotions and stress throughout the day. Plus, “pausing” will help you increase your emotional intelligence, using your emotions to work for you instead of against you, helping you manage stress at work. 

Set the mood. Sometimes just lighting an aromatic candle, or adding a few drops of lavender essential oil to an essential oils diffuser can help make you feel more balanced and deescalate your anxiousness. Also, be mindful that high does of caffeine, a stimulant, can increase anxiety.  To relieve tension and promote relaxation, pour a cup of Stress Ease (caffeine free) Tea. 

There are many unhealthy means of dealing with stress, such as drinking too much alcohol, or other ways to “numb out” with food, social media, or endless hours of watching TV. Poor time management along with bad eating and drinking habits can lead you to feeling overwhelmed and make your body function at a less-than optimal level. 

One way to address this is to look at your routine, consider your schedule, and see where you can reasonably fit something positive and healthy in. For instance, do you spend three hours watching TV each night and then head to bed to scroll through your phone for another hour? Now if you want to watch a show, go for it! You could try adjusting habits that don’t serve you as well by decreasing to maybe one hour of TV and one hour of exercise.  

Don’t be afraid to ask for help. This is one of the best stress management tips! We are not an island and we are not meant to do things alone. If you look at our ancestors, their activities of daily life revolved around community. If you’re running your own business maybe you hire someone to come in once a week to come in and clean your house for you. Or if you find yourself scrambling to figure out dinner every night, get a grocery delivery service. Maybe there is a family member or friend who you can call on once a week for help with childcare or carpooling. 

Outsource the things you dislike. Think of the areas of your life where you need help. Athletes have coaches to guide them in all aspects of their performance. Just as the pros have coaches for their sport, you can absolutely hire people to help you for different aspects of your life. To get started, think of the things you absolutely hate doing and outsource them! If you dread looking at your finances, outsource this task to a financial advisor! If you don’t have a clue how to ensure you get proper nutrition, hire a certified nutritionist to help you, you don’t have to figure it out all for yourself. 

Put your own “mask” on first. Before takeoff, flight attendants are required by law to guide passengers to put on their own (oxygen) mask first, before assisting others, because you can’t help anyone else if you are not well yourself. 

This is perhaps the most important tip, especially for Moms. As Kelly Ryan, Certified Holistic Nutritional Consultant™ said, “I was a martyr mom. I did everything for everyone else. That doesn’t work! If your diet consists of your kids’ leftover scraps, or if you aren’t making time to exercise or drink enough water, look at your day and see where you can fit in a 15 minute walk, even with your child. Or perhaps your partner takes your child while you go for a walk? It normalizes fairly quickly. Once you get in a positive routine, incorporate the healthy habits.”

In Summary 

By looking at current behaviors and routines that are not serving you, you can make adjustments in your daily life to decrease stress levels and increase your personal wellbeing. 

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