Stress happens when the you believe what is being asked of you is too much in comparison to what you believe you can do. Basically, it’s the state of being you are in when you struggle to cope with different demands. Demands can take many forms: work, family, illness, finances, safety, loss, change, among many others. It’s important to know what demands you are struggling with because often times, we know we are stress but don’t know how to stop it.
This happened to me recently (#midtems). I knew I was stressed. My body was (and is) telling me that stress is taking a toll on it. My mind was going a million miles per hour. And, to add insult to injury, I am a yoga instructor! I’m “supposed” to know how to relax, right? But when it comes to stress, I’ve learned, no one has all the answers. And when it comes to self-care, we all have a lot to learn!
So, in an effort to lower my own stress, I started researching. I found a few tips I loved! Here they are:
- Identify the sources of stress: As I mentioned before, we often don’t even know what Is making us stressed out. Therefore, it’s a great exercise to take out a few minutes of your day to identify the demands you are struggling to meet. So here’s a list to help you get started:
- Work
- Family
- Conflict
- Money
- Illness
- Other (create your own!)
- Identify what you can control: After you identify what is making you stress, you have to decide which items on the list you can control (like scheduling too many appointments in one day) and which of them you can’t (a loved one is suffering from an illness). The fact is: you don’t control all of the demands causing you stress. Therefore, you can not tackle everything at once. You should aim to tackle a few items on the list, the ones you have more control over.
- Make an action plan: This is where yoga, meditation, surfing, talking with friends, etc. come in. This is where you identify what needs to happen in order to lessen your stress levels. This means taking action on those items on the list you can control. Here, you can get creative, ask friends or family member’s for help, and really question if deep changes are a good idea.
Hope these tips help you feel less stressed and more at ease! Remember, school demands are important (that’s why we’re here for) BUT not more important than our health. Let’s strive for balance not perfection!