Life can be full of unexpected twists, and sometimes these can cause us to feel upset and stressed. When we feel like this, it can be hard to find time for self-care, and look after ourselves and our wellbeing. Read on for my suggested ways on how to manage stress when life takes an unexpected turn.
When our life takes an unexpected turn, we may find ourselves dealing with a prolonged period of stress that can cause us to have a lot on our mind, affecting our sleep and leaving us feeling drained. It’s easy to push our own needs further down the priority list, but if we don’t take care of ourselves, it could really have a detrimental impact on our wellbeing.
Grabbing as much available time for self-care is vital when we are dealing with stressful and upsetting situations. Here are some ways you can keep your wellbeing on track, and manage stress when life takes an unexpected turn.
Talk
Keep talking about what you are going through and how you are feeling. Bottling things up and carrying negative emotions may lead to ill health over time. If you can keep talking, even if it’s just a text message to a caring friend to get things off your chest, it helps you to release some of what you are holding within.
Eat Well
Stress can take a toll on your body and your immune system. Make sure you are eating as well as you possibly can, even if you have lost your appetite. Try to eat three meals a day, and opt for plenty of nutritious and immune boosting foods, such as fruits and vegetables. Avoid grabbing fast foods, which can be high in salt, sugar and unhealthy fats. If lack of time to cook and prepare meals is an issue, consider using a slow cooker for time saving and ease.
Sleep
Stress inevitably leads to poor sleep. If you are dealing with a stressful situation, you might find it difficult to get to sleep or stay asleep for long periods. If you can, set a small amount of time aside before going to bed, for activities that will help you feel relaxed. You may find having a warm bath, avoiding social media in the evening, meditation or breathing exercises, can all help you to unwind and de-stress from your day.
Mindset
As the saying goes, ‘Every cloud has a silver lining’. This can be extremely difficult to see when something negative, upsetting and stressful hits us unexpectedly. However, do try to find the positives where you can. Ask yourself why this is happening and how can you learn and grow from this situation once you are out the other side. It’s hard to see that pain, vulnerability and discomfort can bring positives too and make us stronger, but if we tackle it from a different perspective and mindset, it really can help.
Gratitude
Keeping on the theme of a positive mindset, taking a couple of minutes out of your day to be grateful and give thanks for the good in your life, can support you to get through a tough and stressful time. You can do this in a moment of quiet during the day, or just before you drop off to sleep at night. Try to find ten things that you have been grateful for that day.
Walking In Nature
Even if you find just a few minutes each day to walk in a nearby park, or around your garden, being close to nature can be very calming and healing. Try a walking meditation, or a little mindfulness by practicing being in the moment. A few deep breaths also helps to calm your mind and connect you to nature.
Ask for Help
Don’t try to do everything. During a period of stress, something has to give and it’s vital this isn’t your health and wellbeing. Ask those around you for help with every day tasks, such as keeping on top of the laundry, cooking and household admin. If you don’t manage some cleaning tasks, don’t worry about it, it’s understandable that you may have to let some things slip for a while. The dust might build up, but fretting about it will only add to the stress you are already feeling.
Check in with Yourself
Take a few moments regularly throughout your day to check in with yourself and how you are coping. Ask yourself how you are feeling and what you could briefly do to support yourself and your wellbeing. Also check you have eaten. If your thoughts are elsewhere, it could be easy to forget to eat and drink enough to keep yourself going.
Don’t Rush Back
When things become easier and your life begins to look a bit more normal, don’t rush back to anything until you are ready. You will need a period of adjustment and healing before you truly get your equilibrium back. Take plenty of time for self-care, in whatever form that is right for you. To allow the healing process to begin, you may need to stay away from work a little longer, and take time for relaxing and energising activities to build yourself back up again mentally and physically.
Stressful periods and situations happen to us all at some time, it’s part of life. The most important thing is to make sure you find balance and look after yourself the best you can. Take things slow and don’t judge or beat yourself up if you do struggle with anything at all. Try some of these ways on how to manage stress, keep talking, find time for self-care, and keep a little focus on yourself during a time when your focus is forced to be elsewhere.
From Stress to Sweet Dreams
Stress can have a devastating effect on our ability to sleep well.
When we can’t drop our worries and anxieties from the day, we inevitably take them to bed, affecting our sleep and ultimately, our health and wellbeing.
From Stress to Sweet Dreams is an online course that will help you to reduce stress and reclaim your sleep. This course is for you if:
- You often feel stressed and are looking for ways to reduce or eliminate stress
- You know stress is impacting your sleep and you are finding it difficult to function
- You regularly have poor quality sleep which causes you to feel stressed, tense and anxious
- You struggle to find the positives in your life, often blaming external sources for causing you to feel stressed
- You lay awake at night with a busy mind, worrying about different aspects of your life
To find out more about this course and to sign up, please click the button below to visit my shop:
