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Hello hello, so today I wanted to write a blog post all about my top ways to deal with and combat stress. I am a very stressy person and in 2017, I made a vow to start doing things a little differently in order to curb that stress and calm myself down. Stress can be really damaging for our minds and health and that’s why I made a decision to make sure I remove myself from stressful situations this year and really focus on my well-being. Let’s talk about some things I’ve been doing to de-stress.
Stop Sweating The Small Stuff - First step, easier said than done, but trust me, it works. Stop stressing the small stuff. I often find myself saying: is it really end of the world? Is this going to matter in a months time, or even a year? If the answer is no, then it’s definitely not worth stressing over. Here’s an example: you’re having a stressy day because you’re in a rush somewhere and someone’s driving slow in front of you. It’s human nature to be annoyed (I used to be the world’s most impatient person) but ask yourself, is it really the end of the world if I’m 5 minutes late? It really doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. Sometimes it’s about putting life into perspective and realising that these little problems and stresses aren’t worth wasting your time over. You may remember my recent blog post about issues in my life right now, it really has helped to put my life into perspective seeing my brother go from a normal 25-year old to chronically ill and unable to do anything normal.
Take You Time - Your time is so important. I’ve been making time to have baths, at least every other week, something I probably didn’t do once in 2016. I make sure I give myself proper time to get ready in the morning and eat breakfast so I’m not rushing, all my beauty essentials are organised and constantly on me when I need one, for example lipivir®. Stress is one of the causes of cold sores so I make sure I always have this on me, because it helps to prevent cold sores before they occur, no matter how stressed you are! You may remember me saying at the start of the year that I’ve fallen in love with this product, because it keeps my lips smooth. It’s funny, even just taking ten minutes out to apply lip products, spritz the skin with a hydrating mist and breathe, really does make you feel great.
Eliminate People - If there’s someone in your life who is negative or makes you feel on edge and stressed, ask yourself if that’s making you feel worse? I recently got myself out of an awful and really stressful living situation. Every single day I felt threatened and uncomfortable (due to no fault of my own) and sometimes, it’s best to be the bigger person and walk away. I can't explain how anxious these people made me feel, particularly when I had very serious issues going on at home. When truly awful things happen in life, it really helps to put things into perspective and you realise things like the above, only say more about the person than you. Remember: what Susie says about Sally says more about Susie than it says about Sally. If someone is adding to your stress, it’s often easier to eliminate that person, or at least keep them at arm’s length until they’ve dealt with their own issues. Let’s be honest, most of the time, people are nasty, negative and put their stresses onto you when they have something going on in their life. Read my post about things I've learnt in 23 years.
Prioritise - Something my Mum taught me a long time ago is to prioritise. We simply cannot fit everything into our lives and I often find myself wishing for more hours in the day. Sometimes though, you’ve got to prioritise. If you were up late working for example, don’t be so hard on yourself and allow yourself to sleep in for an extra hour. After all, sleep is so important for our well-being and you’re only going to be more stressed if you don’t get enough of it. It’s all about making a list of your priorities and seeing what you really need to get done by the end of your day or week. Read my post about how to time manage efficiently and juggle everything.
Make Lists - This takes me onto list making. Making lists is one of my favourite things and if you read my blog post about how to juggle everything, you’ll know just how much I recommend making lists. I’ll put the day at the top in bold and then write down the tasks I need to get done that day, in order of importance. I’ll colour co-ordinate urgent things versus ‘I’d just like to get these done things’. It’s all about being effective in as little time as possible.
Planning - The three P’s to eliminate stress: Plan, Pre-pack and Pre-book! I’m a last minute kinda girl but recently I’ve been pre-packing, this means the night before I go somewhere, or putting my outfit out, rather than rushing around and doing it all in the morning. Next, pre-book, comfort. Figure out what stresses you out and find out how to eliminate it, for me, I get really stressed when I don’t have a seat on a packed train, I now make sure I always book my train far enough in advance to always have a seat, so I can avoid the mad rugby scrum dash or stand up two hour train journey.
Organisation - Organising your life really does help to minimise stress. I took a few days out this week to seriously spring clean and I instantly feel so much happier now my space is cleaner and decluttered. This doesn’t just mean organising your home, but your desk, office, handbag too. I make sure all my handbag essentials such as my lipivir® are always in there, meaning I’m not fumbling around and getting myself stressed when I need to grab something. The same way I feel about my bedroom now, it’s perfectly organised and a tidy space definitely equals a tidy mind. I felt so stressed for so long about how disorganised my bedroom had become, it made me feel disorganised in my head too.
Exercise - Exercise is such a good stress buster. It massively helps to beat the stress and is so great for endorphins. When I’m stressed, I put my headphones in, take the world out and just enjoy hammering the treadmill. The stress melts away when I'm on a treadmill. Even just going on a walk makes me feel incredible and clears my mind.
Don’t Dwell On The Past - Dwelling on the past is only bound to make you feel stressed, what’s done is done. Don’t worry about the things you can’t change and focus on the positive things you can do.
Remember: Don’t be so hard on yourself - Last but not least, don’t be so hard on yourself. You may feel like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders, but I promise, life could be worse and you can get through anything it throws at you. If there's anything life has taught me at the moment, it's that it throws curveballs at us but it's how we deal with it that matters.
Enjoy life, it’s a wonderful thing!
How do you beat stress? Do you use any of my tactics? Do you agree with the above?
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Lots of love, Em x
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