It's Easy to Feel Stressed
Sometimes stress comes in the form of this stress scale. But other times what's overwhelming us isn't on the list. The great recession, brexit and an election for instance.
Even still, I do find the list helpful. Every year I see something big on the list pop up in my life.
Some stress is so big that it comes with the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Sometimes privately, sometimes publicly.
I feel like I've been going through several stages in the last 24 hours. Maybe you have too.
When I start feeling overwhelmed, I have to admit, I don't always react in healthy ways.
I often:
Check Facebook and scroll endlessly
Type terms into Google and read news article after news article
Try to find cute animal photos or videos
Feel like just going back to bed
Spiral back to Facebook... you get the idea
Then there are other things I do, which seem to work better in the long run.
In case they are helpful to you, I wanted to share them here.
Some of my healthier reactions have been:
Taking a moment to breathe
Giving space to those around me and being gentle with them
Writing a thank you email to someone I appreciate
Giving a small gift to someone else
Buying something small for myself
Being vocal about the things I appreciate in my life
Remember the Kubler Ross curve
Meditating for one minute
Thinking about how I can help others
Telling my partner how much I love her
Listening to some of my favorite music
Filling the bird feeder
Giving a close friend a call to just talk
Writing down ideas to help those I care about
These are just a couple simple ideas. They won't fix everything or help me eliminate stress from my life, but in a simple way they help me start dealing with overwhelm.
I can feel them helping me today and I hope they can be helpful for you too.
