The health epidemic of the 21st century, as the World Health Organisation has called it, is stress. It seems like the more society ‘evolves’, the more stressed people become and the more they struggle to stay afloat of their everyday lives. Money is a concern, toxic relationships are a concern, sudden events are a concern, the pressure of not being ‘good enough, pretty enough, smart enough’ is a concern. The basic principle of dealing with stress is not avoiding it, but creating a plan to manage it.
Accept the unchangeable
Rejecting an experience or an event that you didn’t foresee causes stress. The solution to stress is not avoiding it or escaping it by going on numerous holidays or by drinking alcohol but accepting the dual nature of humanity. There is no gain without loss and there is no power without powerlessness. People reject feelings of disappointment or loss, which leads to feeling stressed instead. In contrast, if people were working towards accepting these feelings seen by society as ‘negative’ and realizing they are part of life, dealing with stress would be easier.
Eat right, exercise, and sleep
People are unaware that an improper lifestyle can create unrecognized stress. Health-related stress can usually be solved by introducing a balanced diet and daily exercises into your life. Exercising dissipates the stress hormones and creates total mental and physical relaxation, which allows the brain to activate its creative thinking mode. In addition, people need to be aware that sugary foods, caffeine, and alcohol disrupt the human’s body natural cycle and intensify stress.
An improper diet leads to several disorders, including heart attacks, high blood pressure, some types of cancer and depressed immune system, which ultimately turn into a major stressor. Avoid all this by eating right, exercising regularly and sleeping between 7 to 8 hours per night. Don’t ever overlook the importance of sleep as it is one of the most important techniques for stress management.
Have more ‘you time’
Give yourself the chance to grow and develop by doing activities that you actually enjoy! Remember that hobby that you’ve always wanted to pick up or that language you keep saying you will learn one day? What’s keeping you from doing it? Responsibilities are always going to be there, but your biggest responsibility should be yourself. As long as you make yourself a priority, you will be able to handle the ongoing challenges of life, as well as take pleasure in the joys that life brings.
Cultivate healthy practices
There are numerous practices that you could do to lower stress levels – meditation, prayer, reading, walking in nature and many more. The rule is, whenever you feel like stress is getting worse, take a break and do something that can make you feel good, be it for only 10 or 15 minutes. What is it that you really enjoy and could be able to practice every day? Is it making art or is it watching the sunset? Doing the things you enjoy is a natural way to relieve stress and find your way back to your happy place.
Developing your sixth sense or ‘gut feeling’ is also something worth considering. When the feelings of stress and anxiety take over, the brain becomes overloaded. Not only that, but people seem to carry with them the stress of past events as well, events they never managed to overcome. Having a psychic reading can be emotionally and psychologically rewarding – irrespective of the final outcome. Connecting yourself with the universal energy and understanding more about human nature can reduce everyday life stress and all the damage caused by it.
