My goal is now reducing my stress levels. Over the course of my life, many people have told me that I am high strung but I’ve always passed that off as a part of my personality and energy. As I’ve gotten older, my tiredness has kicked in; I can finally feel some of what people have told me. Am I stressed?
Stress doesn’t have to feel like you’re in a state of panic. Your
body can show stress in many other ways. Sleep disturbances, appetite changes, lacking motivation, brain fog, irritability.
All of these traits are very easily mistaken as personality traits — for me especially! This last while, there are so many things that are chaotic in my life, but I am focusing in on tackling some of those misperceived ‘characteristics’ and reversing them, instead of asking myself “how do I stop feeling stressed?”
Sleep has become much better for me by integrating exercise into my day in some fashion — a tired body equates to a tired mind.
“a tired body equates to a tired mind”
Try some sleep tips from my previous post here
Prepping my lunches ahead of time, eliminates my occasional lacking appetite. Cleaning, cutting, container-prepping produce reduces the should I/shouldn’t I? conundrum of meals.
Laughing more! I cannot explain how this works but it does!
At night I try to watch shows that are light-hearted or comedy-driven so I laugh more. I’m a sucker for reality TV for the most part, but at night I avoid the drama and laugh my troubles away. Before I know it I’m wiping away happy tears and singing to myself as I’m getting ready for bed.
Hobbies are a revolving door for me. I’m always trying something new and trying to fall in love with it… I usually don’t but I’ve stopped guilting myself about that and worked on embracing all of my trials.
The biggest shift I’m making is doing everything I can to enjoy where I’m at in my life. We all make plans for ourselves and if we’re lucky, a lot of our plans come true. When the plans don’t come true, we can feel disappointed, frustrated, angry and stressed. So everyday I am utilizing my job, my hobbies, my social interactions, and TV (lol) as ways of being in the ‘moment’; forgetting my age, all of my unfinished plans, and just allowing myself to be happy. Sometimes being sad or upset is part of the moment too, but they too shall pass.
Sometimes being sad or upset is part of the moment too, but they too shall pass.
The very public world has done 2 different things — made us feel like we aren’t doing enough AND made us feel like we’re not alone in our worries. Remember, we truly do have more in common than we do in differences, especially when it comes to mental stressors. Slowly but surely I am truly enjoying and appreciating my daily life, which in turn is reducing my stress levels. It’s a counter-intuitive approach that’s working!
Do you feel stressed?
what are you doing to feel
up lifted? Let me know!
xox francie
all things francie 