Stress is something we all deal with, but many people find that their stress level starts to affect their mood or their health negatively when they aren’t able to manage it. Some common reasons why we don’t manage our stress is because we think it will be too time consuming or difficult to start, but that isn’t necessarily true. Here are five strategies that can be done in 10 minutes or less and are simple enough to start doing today.
• Stop “should-ing” yourself: Throughout your day you are probably thinking something like “I should have done this” or “I shouldn’t have said that.” You are making a judgment about your behavior and most likely you are being too hard on yourself. Instead, change that thought into simply describing the facts about the situation and leave the judgment part out of it. When you stop criticizing yourself and your actions you will feel less stressed.
• Take a walk in nature: Even if you only have 10 minutes research shows that a walk, preferably in nature, has significant effects on reducing your stress level.
• Smile and laugh even if it’s fake: Research shows that even if we force ourselves to laugh or smile it releases the same feel good chemicals in our brains that occurs when we genuinely laugh or smile. Can’t find anything funny? Get on www.YouTube.com and type in “funny cat videos” (the most popular type of video that is searched for on the site!)
• Keep a gratitude journal: Our brains are hard wired to pick out and pay attention to the negative aspects of our lives. We don’t just wake up and feel happy—we have to work at it! A gratitude journal is simply writing down three positive things every day that happened to you, whether they are accomplishments, something enjoyable, or a lucky break. It can be as simple as, “I enjoyed my cup of coffee this morning.” Research shows that keeping a gratitude journal makes people feel happier overall and also reduces stress.
• Practice being mindful: Mindfulness is the act of paying attention to the present moment. Sounds easy, right? But it is actually difficult because our brains naturally want to ping pong all over the place about the past, future, our to do list, etc. So if you are feeling stressed (racing thoughts, anyone?) try this mindfulness grounding exercise: Take note of how your five senses are engaged in the moment. For example, you can think to yourself “I feel my body sitting in a chair, I see the clock on the wall, I feel my breath going in and out, I smell dinner cooking.” Going through this grounding exercise will reroute your brain away from your normal anxious/stressed thought track and help you feel calmer.
I would love to hear your feedback if you implement any of these strategies into your life. Leave a comment below.
Alison Pidgeon is a licensed professional counselor who loves helping her clients find practical, helpful solutions to their problems, whether it’s a stressed out mom or a millennial dealing with a life transition. She owns Move Forward Counseling (www.moveforwardlancaster.com) a mental health private practice in East Hempfield, Lancaster County, which she started after becoming burned out in her former job working in community mental health. She is on a journey to find the elusive “work/life balance” in being a mom and owning her own business. During her spare time her therapy is cooking.
