5 Simple Rules to Overcome a Stressful Day

Coming home after a stressful day at the office can seem overwhelming. Not only is it the hardest part of your day, but it feels impossible not to carry that stress over into your home life. Leaving at the end of the day is a temporary fix, but what happens when you come home and must deal with the same issues or people that next morning?

It does not mean that you should spend every waking moment of your free time thinking about it. Many of us have a hard time separating work and personal life so the next step is going home and sharing our thoughts, struggles, and frustrations with the family which may also mean taking out aggression in other ways.

It is unhealthy and can cause further medical issues in the long run.

Benefits of taking a break from stress

Stress build-up can be the leading cause of mainstream health problems that our world is facing. Not only does stress carry throughout the day in our work lives, but it follows us all through the night. Unfortunately, a constant state of stress will cause other areas of the body to go nutzo. Not only can stress cause insomnia, but it is also the fault of weight gain and food cravings. Which are two main common symptoms found in someone with a high state of stress.

When we are stressed our body craves carbohydrates – specifically processed foods like sweets, snacks, and salty packaged foods. After that, we sit awake at night and find ourselves recapping the entire day. Eventually, sleep-deprivation catches up and is the sole cause of other environmental factors.

Stress in excess for long periods of time are known to lead to heart disease, high-blood pressure, diabetes, heart attacks, and strokes. What about the short-term effects? There is a variety of health effects that follow such as gastrointestinal distress. Think about it, when you’re anxious or nervous, super happy & excited you get that butterfly feeling in your stomach. Well, the same thing happens when you’re stressed. This can cause inflammation and pain during the night.

The simplicity of giving yourself a break is the benefit it has on your physical body. When you wake up in the morning it is difficult for the body to adjust from a long night of fasting. It puts a lot of pressure on your liver and distress on the kidneys. When you are mentally in a state of stress it taxes the body and makes it much more difficult to recover.

The magic in taking a break from stress is not in the technique as it is in the thought. If you are mindlessly telling yourself one thing and not practicing the process behind it then you’ll find yourself resistant. BUT, if you are consciously aware of the process that follows, you will find serenity.

How to stress less

We do our best in promising to wipe our feet at the door when we get home and keep those stress days wiped on the mat. There is one way of doing that and it is by practicing mindfulness. When you are in the middle of a task being in the moment with that task such as cooking dinner, think about what you need to do to have a successful dinner for the family. Same goes for other aspects of your life and that means being in the moment. Be in the moment of whatever you do, when you talk to someone be in the moment of that conversation.

Having mindfulness will help with feeling rushed and stressed out. Do your best to resist the urge to raise frustration if you’re late or on time. I know it’s much easier said than done, but when you notice these key events try to imagine that there is no time limit and you deserve to that time to yourself. Now, when you’re eating remember that you can take your time, often we’re rushing around with nowhere to go. Savor your time and that ravishing meal that you spent your valuable time preparing.

You deserve to enjoy every taste of it. Counting the amount of times you chew your food can help you to be time conscientious (the recommended amount of time to chew your foods is around 30 – this ensures mindfulness, awareness, and allow time for your food to digest). Now, you have your focus set in the present, to be in the moment.

Being in the moments fills me with gratitude and appreciation for the blessings in my life. I take my mind away from the day-to-day tasks that can become overwhelming. I find it easier to re-center all that is going on and remember what it is that makes me happy and appreciative for. (Check-out my Gratitude sidekick journal for ways to incorporate this)

Aside from being mindful in everything that you do there are plenty of other ways to reduce the amount of stress in your life and the way that you react to it.

When you feel like your might need an extra boost throughout the day try this ~

Know yourself:

There are many reasons that we stress too much and some of them are for not understanding our strengths & weaknesses. Once you find yours it will help you to find an easier way to identify a trigger of stress. Knowing your mind and heart will help you in being aware so that if you run into a stressful situation you will know how to cope. For instance, when I first wake up in the morning, I spend the first hour to myself and do all of my meditations and prepare for the day, when I do not do this I find myself overwhelmed throughout the day. I set the expectations and start my day out right.

Minimize multi-tasking:

Thinking of all the dozens of to-dos on the list is easily spun out of control which can cause a stressful situation. Ways to reduce multi-tasking is to prioritize and plan. Build a weekly and monthly routine into your life so that you be genuinely happy and keep things in order. There is no way you can put 100% into one focus when you have 2 or 3 other things going on the side. A way of minimizing these tasks is by getting all the grocery shopping done by preparing a list so that you don’t have to make separate stops throughout the week.

Aroma therapy:

During stressful situations it is important to engage your physical senses with some aroma therapy. There are certain scents such as Lavender, lemon, jasmine, cypress, & eucalyptus that are known to be great for calming people down. Creating that moment of piece for yourself is important. You can do this by relaxing in the tub with a splash of lavender and a nice scented candle – I love my pumpkin spice no matter what time of the year 😊. Remember, life is not about working it is about having fun and enjoyment.

Zone out, close your eyes and float… imagine being on a bundle of clouds.

Lower your expectations:

Expecting the most out of certain people or situations is the reason we are set up for disappointment and sometimes even failure. It is not possible to be perfect every moment of everyday and once you set those expectations there are many variables that are simply out of our hands. One thing that we can do to counterbalance that is communicate our expectations under those circumstances. Set realistic expectations and walk-away. It’s that simple. If you find it difficult to set different expectations, then do some deep breathing exercises and maybe sip on a glass of wine. I promise you’ll be more relaxed than before.

Flexibility:

Engaging in a flexible schedule means adjusting to change whether it is expected or not. Change is also something that can be the cause of unexpected stress. It is easy to be happy when things go as planned, but if not then coping with flexibility can be difficult. Trusting the process of change is one way of learning how to deal with it. Also, having an open mind that things happen in synchronicity versus happening in coincidence. I have been able to adjust my lifestyle to seeing the positive of a negative situation. Each experience may be different to work around, but I learned how to understand myself more by not fighting against it.

Unfortunately, there is no magic pill that takes away all your stress, but there is awareness and wisdom. Of course, there are other ways the you can incorporate a de-compressive and stress-free lifestyle. I hope the strategies that I shared with you are helpful in reducing your levels of stress daily.

At the end of it all the importance is not just about reducing stress, but also about how we can improve our lives and live it to the fullest in the healthiest way 😊  

If you find these tips helpful share with your friends, family, co-workers, or anyone that you think would benefit!