’ve never really been much of a stress head but as I’m getting older, I’m finding it more difficult to get through the day with my sunny disposition in tact. Regular readers here will know that I think a positive attitude is the best accessory a person can have but sometimes life gets so overwhelming and you’ll try any quick fix you stumble across. There are a few ‘stress busters’ I’ve tried in the past that just haven’t worked for me and I suspect they won’t work out for plenty of other people too. Here are the 5 worst ways to deal with stress.
Engaging in stress busting activities that don’t suit you
If you publicly declare that you’re stressed someone, somewhere will suggest a nice 90 minute yoga session followed by a 1 hour long guided meditation. This may work for some people, but for me spending 2 and half hours doing anything that’s not one of the things that’s making me stressed, is going to make me even more stressed. When I’m at breaking point, I smash a 20 minute jog on the treadmill.
Spending time with high-maintenance friends
Most friendships are uneven and there’s usually one of us that is less maintenance than the other. This can certainly change as friendships develop but there’s usually one friend that requires more of the other friend at any given time. If you’re the low-maintenance friend, avoid your friends that bring their emotional baggage to the table every time you catch up. It doesn’t have to be forever but if you’re stressed out, you don’t need to be dealing with other people’s stress on top of it.
Barreling through and pretending like it’s not happening
Don’t just keep going about your business, pretending like nothing is happening. I am the MASTER at this and it always ends with me lying on my couch for a full 24 hours, in a comatose state trying to figure out how three months passed without me noticing. Acknowledge it, and start working on it immediately.
Making major lifestyle changes
I believe that effective work life balance, healthy eating and a good fitness routine can be excellent for minimising stress. However when you’re up to your eyeballs in work, your house is a mess and you haven’t eaten anything green for a week, it’s not really the time to start a grain-free eating plan or training for a marathon. By all means make some healthy changes but don’t try juice cleansing in the middle of the busiest part of your year.
Self-medicating
Just don’t. It can be so tempting to slam a few bevvies at the end of a tough day but it will only make you feel worse. Early nights and healthy dinners will help you much more than four pints of lager and a dirty pub burger.
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Are you a touch stressed out at the moment? How do you deal when you’re stressed out?
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