Modern life – it is hectic. There are early rises, long commutes, traffic delays, dealing with people who have a one-sided perspective, bills to pay, trying to stretch the household budget, buying the necessities of life, trying to take care of a family, or yourself, and their schedules, your own schedule. Perhaps there is also the need to take care of an elderly relative, or a child with a disability. There are gifts to buy, birthdays to remember, and trying to keep up with neglected friendships.
No matter which way a person tries to deal with all these things, it is a fact that inherently tied to living in this day and age entails a whole lot of stress. Finding down time and quiet time is next to impossible. Those gorgeous travel magazines with their beautiful island spa havens are ever beckoning – but when will you find the time, let alone the money?
There are however, a number of different things that you can slip almost effortlessly into the daily grind of life that will help ease your frazzled mind and soothe an exhausted body.
The first thing that needs to be taken care of is yourself – in particular your body. If you are kind to your body, your brain will be much more likely to stay in a healthy state, and you will be less likely to be victim to anxiety and depression. The most important three ways of taking care of the body are to (1) get some exercise; (2) eat a healthy diet with lots of variety of different foods – especially foods close to their natural state and (3) to get enough sleep.
Sleep allows the body to regenerate the brain. Proper food nourishes the brain and body, and exercise helps to oxygenate the brain and body, and alleviate the build up of stress hormones. It is difficult to work on all three things at once – so pick one thing and work up towards including all three.
Sleep is particularly important – so trying to get enough sleep will assist in helping reduce your appetite for sugary foods, as the brain craves more energy when it hasn’t had a chance to regenerate overnight. Sleep is the body’s and the brain’s time to heal. If you have too much difficulty getting to sleep, consult your primary health care practitioner, who will be able to assist you. Likewise for healthy diet and getting exercise – see your primary health care practitioner who can clear you before you embark on an exercise program, and if you need dietary advice they are a good place to start.
You needn’t go to much expense to learn how to eat good food and there is no need to go and shell out for a gym membership if you don’t wish to. The local library you will find can be an excellent place to start where you can borrow health magazines, excellent books on healthy cooking and eating, and books, DVDs and videos on exercise.
If you look around too in your local community, there may be walking groups, or you may be able to get a free pass for the local gym – try before you buy.
Work on sleep, diet and exercise primarily – so these will keep you healthy and help maintain immunity against diseases. There are also a number of simple, quick and effective (and frugal) means to relax on a day to day basis, whilst you are madly trying to save up for that island spa retreat holiday.
If you are having trouble getting to sleep, it helps to write it down, then once it is written down, you will find it is then easily gone from your mind.
If you are at work, or in a stressful situation, find some place to sit for no more than a couple of minutes, and perform a quick breathing exercise. You can find a couple of quick and straightforward breathing exercises here: http://www.selfhelpmagazine.com/article/breathing-exercises.
Have you tried aromatherapy? Essential oils are therapeutic goods, so it is advisable to speak to a naturopath or aromatherapist who is able to provide you with blends that are safe for your use and applicable for your particular condition (for example some essential oils cannot be used during pregnancy). Different blends can induce different therapeutic effects on the body – such as peppermint and lavender, which is effective in relieving headaches. Seek professional advice before using these oils, so that you can do so safely and effectively.
Cooking meals in a particular way can help to buy you some time – for example – using a slow cooker means you don’t have to stand over the stove and supervise the meal; it is ready for you at the end of the day. Likewise with casseroles – a bit of preparation, put it into the oven, and set the timer. Then you may be able to afford yourself some opportunity to escape. If you have children who are smaller, it is wise to ensure that somebody is there to supervise them so that they do not go near the oven and to be safeguarded. If you don’t have a partner, enlist a friend to watch the small people in your family. Then you can return the favour at a later time for him or her.
Once you have allotted yourself some time – escape into your own home spa retreat. There are a myriad of different and inexpensive home recipes you can make to indulge the senses and soothe the mind. Try here for some excellent home spa ideas – and they won’t cost you a whole lot either, so you can indulge without the guilt: http://www.spaindex.com/HomeSpa/HomeSpa.htm.
If you don’t fancy making your own home spa recipes, pick up some body treatments from the dollar store. You can often find quality things such as bubble bath, hot sugar body scrubs, hair treatments and other treats such as wooden back scrubbers for a fraction of the cost of the regular stores. Have a look at their catalogues, or pay a trip to the dollar store every now and again, and purchase a couple of inexpensive home spa treatments. You may be quite surprised and delighted at the bargains you can pick up at the dollar store.
A soothing massage also works a treat to ease daily stress. Some health funds cover therapeutic massage, making it more affordable – if you have a health cover package, enquire if this option is available to you. Failing that – you could enlist your partner or a friend to give you a free shoulder massage. You can sometimes purchase inexpensive battery operated vibrating massagers from the electrical goods store. The other option you may have available in your local mall are the two dollar (or similar) shiatsu massage recliner chairs. For a wonderful massage at a bargain price, take your MP3 player along, listen to some soothing music and relax back while the recliner chair does its work, and doesn’t put a dent in your spending plan.
Another way to soothe yourself is to surround yourself with nature. If you can, put some sort of plant life near you while you work, or in your home. If brightens the space, and brings nature nearer to you. Every opportunity you have to get out of a built environment and into the local park and take a stroll, take advantage of that. When you can, take trips to local national parks, and enjoy the breathtaking scenery. There is something incredibly soothing being surrounded by nature.
Water is also a very soothing element. Either taking a long soak, going for a swim, taking a quick shower, or installing a water feature in your garden, or a miniature indoor water fountain will prove a delight to the senses and calming to the nerves.
Another extremely important way of not adding to the already excessive stress of modern life is learning to let go. These include letting go of past mistakes – after all you are only human – be gentle with yourself. Learn from your mistakes, but let go and move on.
Also important is to let go of offenses in relationships – including at work, family relationships and with friends. The other person may have moved on a long time ago, and forgotten the offense, while you still may be nursing the hurt. Nursing the hurt and bitterness is bad for your health. It increases stress hormones in your body, and causes damage to your health. If you are having trouble letting go and moving on, then get some professional counseling to assist you in doing this. If it is a situation at work, your workplace may have an employee assistance scheme where a counselor will help you work through your issues.
Forgiveness is incredibly healing to your mind and your body. It does not mean that you have to let the person do the same thing to you again, or that you condone their behaviour, but it does mean that you can move on, and develop a healthy boundary that can prevent you being in a similar situation in the future.
Learn more about the health benefits of forgiving here: http://stress.about.com/od/relationships/a/forgiveness.htm
The other way that you can help to relax and de-stress is to reflect on things that you are grateful for, and for things that you have done as successes. It helps to keep a gratitude journal and a success journal, so you can go back over these when stressful times are peaking. Looking back over these helps you put issues into perspective.
Another way to de-stress is to find and enjoy a hobby. Spending time in something that you are good at enjoy is a tremendous way to soothe a stressed out mind. It gives a feeling of accomplishment and pleasure.
Spending time with people who are genuinely interested in your wellbeing. You can quickly work out who your friends are when you are stressed out. Some people are fair-weather friends, only associating with you when it is convenient for them, and or only ever call when they want something of you. Knowing that you are appreciated and that a person just wants to meet up with you for a coffee and a chat, for just the sake of your companionship is reassuring.
Conversely, don’t burden all your issues onto the one person. Friendships are for enjoyment as well, not just seeing each other through the hard times. If things are really getting too hard to bear, and day to day life starts seeming hopeless and you are experiencing increased stress and anxiety, it may pay to go and visit your doctor, or to enlist the help of a professional councilor.
Stress is an inevitable part of modern life, and to attempt to get away from it all together is exceedingly difficult, if not impossible. But by adopting a healthy lifestyle with good nutrition, plenty of rest, exercise, counseling therapy where needed, and an inventory of stress management techniques – stress can be managed, and certainly minimized. You can cope with daily life, and learn to cope well and relax when you need to.
I was feeling pretty blah this morning. I looked over my food diary from yesterday - and in it I noted that I had zilch fruit or vegetable!!!