Yesterday I wrote about stress and what it does to our
brains--nothing good! In all reality there is no way we are going to be able to
rid all the stress from our lives; however, we do have control over how we DEAL
will our stress.
I found an article posted by Mental Health America that gave me some statistics on how people deal with stress. According to their
study 82% of people cope with their stress by watching TV, reading or listening
to music. 71 % of people talk to family or friends. 62% participate in prayer
or meditation. 55%deal with their stress by exercising and 37% deal with their
stress by eating. (Ref 1)
From my personal experience I know the feeling of wanting to
“vegg” after a long, stressful day at work. While I was working as a recruiter
there were many days when I got home, put on my “comfy’s” and laid in my bed
watching TV online or Netflix and eating until I went to bed. However, I don’t
think this was the best way to deal with my stress, and I’m still working on
losing weight that I again during that time.
Before I started going to the gym before work I would go after
work. I would pack my stuff and go straight there because I knew once my butt
hit the couch there was no turning back. Even though I had to drag myself to
the gym during “gym rush hour,” I always found myself feeling so much better
after a workout—both because of the exercise and the excellent people watching.
With that being said--if you’re extremely tired and fatigued, exhausting yourself
at the gym may not be the best idea. Going to the gym and doing some stretching
and body weight exercises might be all it takes to relax your muscles and
relieve your stress.
You may be thinking—I need to do something during the day to
relieve my stress. Here are techniques you can do right at your desk. One of my
favorites is deep breathing. Take a deep breath in through your mouth and out
your nose multiple times. I found this helps clear my head and energizes me. It
has also been scientifically proven to reduce stress and lessen the harmful
effects it has on your body. Also, if possible consider going outside for this exercise,
sun in your face always does the heart good.
Another exercise that can be done at your desk is tightening
different muscles groups, holding them tight for ten seconds then releasing
them. Do this in your legs, butt, shoulders, arms and hands. This will improve
your circulation and relieve tension.
Lastly, I think it’s important to address the power of our
minds in regard to controlling our stress. I found that dwelling on stressors
that I have no control over does not help me in any way, it only makes it
worse. Take control of your thought life. Focus on what you DO have control
over and take action on those things. Choose not to dwell on stressors that you
cannot control and focus on what you can.
Finding healthy ways to deal with stress is taking HUGE step
toward healthy living. Cutting out emotional/stress eating is critical. Take
some time to identify what your key areas of stress are, whether or not you can
control them, and come up with a plan of attack to get your stress under
control in a healthy way!
Hope
xoxo
References
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