We all experience stress in our everyday lives, no matter what the source of the stress is. It can be difficult to find time to practice self care, but it is so important to help us manage our stress. One of our Sticks & Stones counselors, Aline Bendeck, LMFT, compiled a list of some strategies to help manage stress, pulling from therapeutic materials and Thich Nhat Hanh’s books, and we would like to share them with you!
Here are some strategies to help manage stress:
Choose well how to spend your time
- Set priorities
- Take time off when needed
Build your strength and resilience
- Exercise
- Healthy Nutrition
- Get enough sleep and rest
Create a supportive environment
- Get rid of clutter
- Surround yourself with beauty and quiet
Learn to relax and recharge yourself
- Deep Breathing
- Warm baths/showers
- Relaxation exercises
- Yoga
- Hobbies
- Meditation
Manage your Self-Talk
- Translate worry into action
- Rehearse positive outcomes to stressful situations
- Learn to turn off your inner critic
- Do not take your “self-talk” too seriously
- Look for the humorous side of situations
Practice saying “no”
- Let someone else do it
- Save your energy/strength for important tasks
- You do not have to please everyone
Ask for help
- You do not have to do it all by yourself
- Seek people you trust and those who care about you
Pay attention
- Be present and aware of this moment
- Be attentive to the small daily moments of life
- Be intentional and mindful of the here and now
Take the long perspective
- What is really important to you?
- Will this situational crisis be important one year from now?
- What worried you one year ago?
- Look at the bigger picture!
What are some other strategies that might work for you?
