Stress. Everyone knows what stress feels like. Whether it is school, work related, or just life period, everyone has that “crunch time” experience where a million different things are being thrown at once and it seems like the world has fallen on your shoulders. Family issues comes up, friendships are being tested, and boyfriends get this “I don’t know” type attitude. Life itself just gets extremely hard and it seems like the walls are closing in. The best thing you can do is stop, take a deep breath and count to ten. Encourage yourself. Don’t be afraid to take a moment out of your day to encourage yourself to keep moving forward. Give yourself a pat on the back and thank God for being able to make it as far as you have. Give yourself a little credit for being strong, persistent, and dedicated enough to get to where you are. And if you need to, coach yourself up. I know it is a little awkward having to talk to yourself, but it works! Give yourself a pep talk. Don’t just let life drag you wherever it wants you to go. Take a deep breath, count to ten and then get back to work!
Sometimes it is good to silence the noise. Take out some time to do something relaxing like going to the hair salon, nail salon, the mall or anywhere that you can relax and decompress. Do something that will put you back in a good mental and emotional space. If your mental and emotional space is not right, nothing else in life will be. When everything in life seems to resemble an erupting volcano, stop, take a deep breath, and count to ten. Also, don’t forget to add a little “me time” in there as well. Things will turn around and get better. It just takes a little faith, a deep breath, and time for yourself.