Anyone who says they don’t feel stressed out is either mad or lying. Some people are better equipped with handling stress than the rest of us, but they too have their encounters with stress daily.
Unfortunately, a majority of us do not know how to handle stress. And perhaps, the better way to phrase it would be to handle stress than to get rid of it.
You see, stress comes from frustrating situations. Either when you’re stuck in the traffic or running late on your submissions. Stress is a natural response, and it can be suppressed, but it doesn’t come that easy either.
If you’re looking for a magic pill to get rid of stress, then you’re at the wrong place. And a word of caution, the pills give you a lot more to stress about. However, treating stress naturally is found to be more effective with short-term and long-term benefits.
You only need to make a few lifestyle changes to be better equipped at handling stress. Because chances are, the most significant contributor to your stress is your lifestyle. So, without further ado, let’s get on with the lifestyle changes that will naturally help you get rid of stress.
Label Your Thoughts
Labeling my thoughts have brought about the most significant change in my life. Most of the time, we’re overthinking a particular situation and figuring out all outcomes. And to the irony of it, we always tend to latch on to the worst that could happen and panic.
To label your thoughts is to simply notice yourself in moments of stress. And after that, start taking a few steps back until you figure out what started the idea. Kind of like finding out the pebble that set off the avalanche.
It takes an effort to get used to it, but it will come naturally to you once you do. And once you start doing this more often, you’ll be able to name your thoughts with relative ease.
For a rule of thumb, if you’re thinking about missing work deadlines, you’re “afraid,” you will get called out. Whether it is fear, envy, jealousy, comparison, or fantasizing, you’ll know it right away.
But the best part about labeling your thoughts is that you get a starting point. You know what the problem is, and then you can start looking for better solutions.
Work Situations Out
Every stressful situation goes both ways, it either makes you panic, or it makes you act. And how you end up for the rest of the day is up to what you choose to do. I know it sounds way too simple to be true, but that’s how it is.
And to simplify it even more, two types of situations that put you in stress. The problems for which you can control the outcome and problems for which you cannot. Suppose you’re routinely running late for work submission. In that case, you can change the outcome by starting your work before you usually do. But situations like being stuck in a traffic jam are not in your control.
So, for the situations for which you can control the outcome, try changing a few things here and there, and it will go away. And if you need someone’s help, then ask for it. On the contrary, if there is nothing you can do to change the outcome of a situation, just accept it.
Instead of drowning yourself in negative thoughts, try working things out, and make a few changes. Because the only difference you will see is the one that you make.
Balance Your Work And Social Life
Managing your time and energy is the most valuable skill to develop. It makes you work much more efficiently and makes your days feel less like a drag.
You must have come across various places over the internet and at the office where there is a discussion on burnout. Burnout from work is a severe issue that causes stress and can even lead to depression and anxiety.
But addressing the problem is the easy part. You can take an online questionnaire that will tell you your level of burnout. It is making the right changes in your routine that take effort and will power.
The essence of a perfect work-life balance is efficiency. Make yourself more efficient by having a present mind at work and your social commitments. Answering work emails over the dinner table or spending your working hours socializing shouldn’t be the case.
When you find the sweet spot between your work and social life, you will notice most of your stress fading away. That is because you wouldn’t have to worry about anything from work, and all your social commitments are met.
Change Your Diet
Changing what you eat and how much you eat affects the levels of Cortisol in your body. Cortisol is the stress hormone, which is produced much rapidly when you’re consuming too many sweets, junk food, and fried food.
Making breakfast the most important meal of your day is the best place to start. Get rid of the habit of skipping breakfast in the morning. Wake up a little early if you have to. But missing your breakfast will deplete you of energy very soon, and you’ll calm your cravings with sweets and coffee. Neither of these affects your stress positively.
Other than your breakfast, adding leafy greens, lean protein, and whole grains to your diet over fried food and processed food will take away a significant chunk of your stress.
But if you want to take it a notch higher, CBD vape juice and CBD flower are the most recommended remedies to treat stress. It is the non-psychoactive group of hemp or cannabis plants and has therapeutic properties.Â
If you have no idea what CBN oil is, you can find a bunch of information on it online on CBD genesis selling websites. The use of hemp products for mental health issues is booming as new research brings forward many health benefits.Â
Exert Regularly
Exercise and working out goes a long way in making your life better. And specifically when it comes to stress and other mental health issues.
Moderate amounts of daily physical activity is recommended for many reasons. It improves your body look, boosts metabolism, builds immunity, helps you live longer, and, most of all, uses up Cortisol in your body.
Now, as we talked earlier about, Cortisol induces stress. What could then make your stress go away better than get rid of the stress hormone?
And that’s not it. Exercise makes you use up the stress hormones and secretes endorphins that elevate mood and make you feel great.
Another major contributor to your daily stress is your sleep. Getting insufficient or poor sleep quality doesn’t let your body recover completely, and you’re bound to be more stressed out. And working out helps a lot in improving your sleep quality.
But you can also try other methods of improving your sleep like limiting your screen time before going to bed or setting up fixed times for sleeping and waking up.
However, always be careful when starting exercising. Start slow; don’t jump right into high-intensity workouts. You’ll scare yourself off and won’t get to enjoy the benefits. Your workouts’ frequency matters more than the intensity, so always make sure to pick up a little lower than where you left off.
