12/05/2025
🤍WAYS TO HELP WITH STRESS.
Following on from my post about when stress becomes a problem, I wanted to share some things that I have found helpful - both personally and in my practice.
These are great habits, whether you feel that stress is affecting you adversely or not.
However, I have noticed (& experienced) that when we are overwhelmed, these practices can feel impossible. ‘No time!’ we cry….
And that’s exactly when they are needed most.
• AWARENESS - Learn to step above the day-to-day and check in with how you are. You might experience poor sleep, or feel like your heart is beating fast. But you may also realise your thoughts are racing, you can never relax (even on days off), that you are always on high alert for the next problem you need to fix. Creating some space to figure out how it may show up for you is the most crucial first step in helping yourself.
• PRIORITISING YOURSELF - So how do we create this space? By putting yourself first. Build some non-negotiable time into your day to ask yourself questions and look at your behaviours (journaling can help). Carve out this time for yourself as if it were your most important work project. An hour in the morning, half a day at the weekend, whatever you can do. Put it in your diary on repeat. You are your most important to-do list.
• CREATING CONNECTION - With yourself and the world. If your nervous system has been overstimulated for a long time, it needs a reset. You need to learn how to bring on a parasympathetic rest or digest’ state, and be able to drop into it more easily. Ways to do this include: 1) Breathwork (google for all different types). 2) Getting into your body through gentle exercise like yoga or even cold water therapy. 3) Journaling (to help you connect with yourself). 4) Confiding in & making time for loved ones (or finding a good therapist). 5)Walking in nature (by the sea, through the woods, your local park). 6) Holistic therapies such as hypnotherapy, acupuncture, and of course, reflexology.
None of these methods are new or a fast fix. They are nonetheless foundations for a life that is more balanced. And they work.
Are there any you would add to this list? 🤔
