i need a minute (or two)
As I opened a new file and thought of what words to start this post with, my mind whispered, "Try not to sound so overly sad." And to that voice I replied, "Screw you. I can allow myself to be sad if I want to."
staying on top of stress
Between following your passions, staying in education, making money, and handling family life and friends, it's easy for life's responsibilities to feel like they are piling up way too high. Stress is an all-too-common factor in our lives and if we're not careful, it can bring real detrimental effects on our health, our personal relationships, and our future. There's no one-true-approach to staying on top of stress, but the techniques that help you is an essential part of coping with life.
Be the help
Sometimes, getting involved in someone else's trouble can actually help you feel a little better about your own situation. When you can't find the solution to your problems, a little social charity goes a long way to making you feel competent, like you have some agency. Doing something altruistic and seeing the positive impact you have in another's life can be important for building self-esteem when stress seems to knock it right down, too.
Get organized
Often, stress comes from many real issues of life that pile on top of us. Responsibilities and money are two of the most common. Financial stress is very real, but it's not insurmountable. Access to quick cash can help you solve the immediate stress, but budgeting and planning financial security (like emergency funds) is essential for the long-term.
Time-management skills will also become more and more important as you focus more on career and education. Setting a schedule allows you a little more control over the different responsibilities you face, which can make it feel like they're not quite always there pressing down on you.
Know you need quiet time
Some time alone to reflect or even distance yourself from your thoughts can be just as effective as distracting yourself by helping others out. Meditating, yoga, performing breathing exercises, or even writing down your thoughts. They all give you a chance to step outside of your own thoughts, and get some distance or perspective on your troubles. Sometimes, they'll help you spot solutions you hadn't considered before. Most of the time, they help those troubles feel like they're not quite as urgent and omnipresent.
Be aware you can't do it all
Sometimes, the need to "solve" your stress can be a source of stress in itself. Stoicism has a very helpful lesson that could change your viewpoint on a few of the troubles in your life. To put it simply, you are in control of two things: your thoughts and your actions. If it's not within your control, it's not something worth occupying your thoughts with.
Take a closer look at what's stressing you out. Is it something you could change with your own actions? Is it something you can change your frame of thought around? If the answer to both is "no", then it might not be worth stressing over.
Everyone reacts to stress differently, and deals with stress from different sources, so it should only make sense that we each have an individualized approach to staying on top of it as well. Do any of the methods above help you or have you discovered your own path to a life that's a little more peaceful?
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This post was contributed and pre-written by Grace Harrison.
Did this help you navigate around your stress? How do you cope? Leave a comment, or share the article. Hope everyone has a great week. See you!
melbourne | white night 2018
it's time you tried something new in your life
If you stick to the same old routine everyday, life can start to get a little bit dull. Whether you live an easy life or a hard one, keeping everything the same on a daily basis is what’s going to defeat you a the end of it. No matter how resilient you think you are, it’s mental pressure that builds up when you’re consistently working. There’s a lot of factors that go into how your mind feels every day, and it’s important to make sure you’re doing everything you can for the sake of your mental health.
why i wear this necklace
Anyone who sees me regularly would know that I wear very little to no jewelry on a daily basis. Aside from a watch and two elastic hairbands around my wrists, my ears aren't pierced (neither is any part of my face) and I own countless bracelets and rings I hardly ever wear anymore.
But one thing you'll most definitely see, though, is a small, silver cross necklace. One I've kept around my neck since I turned 17.
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