Hi loves!! I hope you all are having a wonderful week, so far. Obviously things are a totally different with most places being closed countrywide. As promised, I’m going to keep things fairy normal around here! Last week I launched a six part Work From Home series, and this week I’ll be talking about home organization and managing stress and anxiety.
If you’ve followed me for a while, I’ve briefly opened up about my own struggles with stress and anxiety. Over the past few years, I’ve learned how to manage it and today I’m sharing several tips to managing stress and anxiety.
Follow These Tips to Manage Stress & Anxiety
Before diving into the tips for managing stress and anxiety, I suggest taking note (whether in a journal or mental note) on what causes your stress and anxiety. My stress and anxiety triggers are typically travel, social events where I do not know many people (and have to do small talk), and work. Once you identify those triggers, it’ll help you work through it and learn how to calm yourself in those situations!
Below are my tips to curbing everyday stress and anxiety!
*Disclaimer: I am NOT a medical professional. These are simply tips that have helped me personally that I suggest trying. Seek a medical professional for anything outside of my personal opinions.
Exercise
In my work from home series, tip 4 is to be active while working from home. I touched briefly on how it helps manage stress and anxiety. When you exercise, your brain releases endorphins. This physically and mentally benefits you! You’ll think more clearly, feel good, and it will overall boost your mood!
Whether you do an intense HIIT work out or go for a leisurely walk, be sure to get some sort of exercise in every week. I recommend getting outside for fresh air every single day. It’s an easy excuse to get out of the house, and it will significantly help decrease your stress and anxiety.
I tend to feel depressed and more stressed when I don’t work out. When I’m feeling lazy or like I do not want to workout, I throw a 15 minute walk on my calendar everyday. Have a goal to work out every other day when you first get started! Keep a digital note or journal to track your mental state, and see how you feel after a week!
Get Enough Sleep
Getting enough sleep is vital to feeling less stressed and anxious. Despite having worked from home and for myself for the past 16 months, I’ve set a general bed time and wake up time.
True story, I used to toss and turn in bed for hours before finally being able to fall asleep! My head would hit the pillow and my mind would spin with thoughts for hours. By making small changes such as eating well (next topic), exercising regularly, and setting a sleep schedule I was able to finally get the 7 to 8 hours nightly I needed to recharge! Now I fall asleep easily and wake up feeling rested, and ready for the next day.
TIP: Turn off the TV and quit screen time (phone, computer, iPad, etc) an hour before your designated bed time.
Eat Well
Take a step back and re-evaluate your diet! I read an article once about a “food-mood” connection. It really resonated with me! I noticed when I was eating healthier my mood tended to be positive, and when I ate more sugars and carbs I would honestly feel terrible. My body image tends to be negative I’m eating poorly, and my overall mood is unhappy.
Since I typically eat clean and don’t drink any soda, when I choose to have one unhealthy meal (like Pizza or Pasta), it doesn’t impact me nearly as much as it used to! Overall eating healthy reduced my stress and anxiety.
CBD
Personally, I checked off every single box above prior to adding CBD into my daily routine. I was eating healthy, sleeping plenty, and exercising four to five days a week. I realized no matter what, I was still feeling stressed with work, major social gatherings and travel. And I get extremely anxious and it makes me feel sick and like I can’t eat.
I finally scheduled a call with Equilibria, after hearing good things about the brand. After learning about how they own their own farms and everything is natural, in addition to the benefits I’d read about in reviews, I decided to jump on board the CBD bandwagon.
Let’s just say, THANK GOODNESS I did! I take one gel capsule in the morning with breakfast, and one dropper before bed/after dinner. When I travel, I up the dropper to morning and evening. It’s significantly helped me be more calm and collected. My anxiety has definitely been curbed from it!
If you want to give it a try, you can use code ALWAYSMELISS for 15% off Equilibria.
Talk It Out
Sometimes all we need to do is talk through things. Personally, I like to talk to my friends or husband (depending on what’s causing me to feel anxious). If you don’t feel comfortable to talk it out with friends, family or your significant other, I suggest finding a therapist! It’s amazing what talking to someone can positively do for you. Don’t harbor feelings inside, it’s important to talk to talk it out!
Breathing
About two years ago, Jesse got me an Apple Watch for my birthday. There’s a Breathing app that’s pre-installed in the watch that every hour reminds you to breath. Prior to using the app, I had read that breathing helps improve the ability to handle stress.
At the time, I was working a full time job, traveling across the country bi-weekly, and blogging on the side (details on my story HERE). Needless to say I was not getting enough sleep, my eating patterns were abnormal, and the stress and anxiety I was working through was sky high.
I took advantage of the breathing app, and every single hour I would take one full minute to breath. My heart rate went down and my brain would clear. I swear by this natural technique! I’ve heard meditation is also very helpful, although I don’t have personal experience meditating. I recommend trying it out if breathing for one minute very hour isn’t enough!
Positive Thinking
When you’re feeling stressed and anxious, positive thinking can be the most difficult thing to do. Think of ONE thing at a time that can help you be positive.
Stress and anxiety is real, and can be a difficult factor in life to work through. Follow these tips and tricks to help curb your everyday stress and anxiety! Stay positive, and remember there’s always light at the end of the tunnel.
I hope these tips help you curb your everyday stress and anxiety! These tips have significantly helped me! XOXO
