April 27th, 2021
Let’s review what we have discovered so far this month…first we learned what stress is, how to identify it and found out that it is meant to help us survive, as long as it doesn’t turn into chronic stress, and last week we learned about the effects stress has on our bodies. Wow – we have covered a lot of ground so far this month! Today we are going to explore how to manage our stress, by discovering different ways to cope in stressful situations, and set ourselves up with a plan to succeed in the battle against chronic stress. A Winston Churchill quote keeps coming up in my mind is simple but true: “Failing to plan is planning to fail.”
I am astonished that healthy methods for coping with stress are not taught today. Think about it for a minute. We are under stress more now than we have been in over 35 years, all ages of society are impacted daily by stress out of our control and yet we are not taught how to cope with it in a positive manner. Stress is rarely mentioned as a problem, instead it is accepted as an everyday reality that we must “suffer through” until we die. Not a very optimistic outlook, is it? Let’s change our mindset and create a plan to deal with stress in a positive way that will improve our quality of lives and the lives of those around us!
I am going to separate the activities into two categories: physical and mental.
Physical coping mechanism ideas: exercise, run outside, spend time with your pets/animals, volunteer at church or local charity, spend time with family and friends, attend a concert, cooking, gardening, or watching live sports.
Mental coping mechanism ideas: meditation, journaling, goal visualization, sleep (if you are lacking it), goal setting, deep breathing exercises, prayer, mindset shift, positive self-talk, create plan/list to change habits or meal planning.
The lists are truly endless but is a good starting point of ideas. The key is to find an activity that you enjoy, can do and have time to include in your routine. What other ideas do you have that I did not include? Would it be helpful to list these activities on my website for you to reference and continue to add to the list? Let me know your thoughts and I can make the list happen as it’s own page and add your ideas to the list!
I am so glad you tuned in this week for my blog! Do you have a friend or family member that could benefit from this blog? Tell them to subscribe!
Have a blessed week ~ Lacey