Why Is It Important To Manage Your Stress And Anxiety?
Why Is It Important To Manage Your Stress And Anxiety?
We all experience stress as we navigate through our lives today. Some of us are better at coping with life’s stressors and societal pressures than others. All of us need to learn how to manage our stress and anxiety. Why?
It is important to know how to manage your stress so that your body does not feel that it is in constant danger, stay in a high alert state, and continuously release stress hormones and other chemicals in your body.
Over time if left unaddressed, it can lead to serious physical and mental health issues like depression. It can also have adverse effects on all your relationships and prevent you from living your best life.
You may be wondering what stress and anxiety exactly do to your body. Let’s discuss that next.
What Stress And Anxiety Do To Your Body
Stress is a body’s normal reaction to potential danger and anticipated threats. Your body releases chemicals and hormones like adrenaline and cortisol which then cause your heart to beat faster and blood to flow to your extremities preparing you for fight or flight so that you can away from danger.
You also may experience physical symptoms like aches and pains, headaches, dizziness or shaking, restlessness, exhaustion, trouble sleeping or sleeping too much, muscle tension or jaw clenching, irritability, anger, fatigue, muscle pain, stomach or digestive issues and trouble having sex.
Prolonged exposure to stressors can lead to many other serious health issues like depression, anxiety, and personality disorders. Anxiety is the body’s reaction to stress.
It leads to bad decision making, problems with memory or concentration, racing thoughts, and excessive persistent worries about the anticipated future without the presence of the actual stressor.
Heart palpitations and rapid breathing patterns are also common when going through an anxiety attack. It is also possible to experience high blood pressure which can then lead to abnormal heart rhythms, cardiovascular, and heart disease or attacks and strokes.
So, what can we do to manage stress and anxiety? One way is to form habits that help you manage stress and anxiety. Let’s discuss what those are next.
12 Habits To Manage Stress And Anxiety
Over the last few years, we have been experiencing additional stress and anxiety due to the pandemic. It has not been easy to feel peace and joy given these circumstances. When we are not feeling peace, joy, love, and compassion it is hard to create our best life and fulfill our purpose.
Here are 10 habits that will help you deal with stress and anxiety and have you feeling peaceful and joyful again.
Wake Up Earlier
Start waking up a little bit earlier every day instead of continuously hitting the snooze button and then running around in the morning, screaming at your loved ones, and unnecessarily adding stress and anxiety into your day first thing in the morning.
The extra time will enable you to start your day proactively, and peacefully and will help you attract more moments of peace throughout the day. You will be able to respond to people and circumstances instead of reacting to them.
Smile
Smile and express gratitude as soon as your eyes open instead of thinking negative thoughts about the day that you have been blessed with and are about to experience. Smiling releases good hormones into your body that help you feel good.
Also think of all things you have to be grateful for. Gratitude will enable you to experience joy and help you raise your energy and align to your true self(soul).
Have A Morning Routine
Practice self-care every single day and start your day with a morning routine to feed your mind, body, and soul even if it is only for a couple of minutes given the season of life that you may be in. Your soul is currently housed in your body and therefore it is important that your body and mind are in a good state so that you can do the work you came here to do.
Do some deep breathing, exercise, and move your body even if you put on your favourite upbeat music and dance. Remember to drink water and fuel your body with good healthy food.
Have a plan for your day, read or listen to something inspiring and positive for your mind, set intentions and visualize your day and all your meetings going well. Quiet your mind and spend some time in silence to align with and hear your soul, pray, and connect to your creator.
Meditate
Meditate every day and experience numerous associated health benefits. It is equivalent to charging yourself like you always charge your phone. Even a few minutes of meditation would be beneficial.
There are many different ways to begin your meditation practice. Choose the one that works for you. Even if you were to find a quiet comfortable place, close your eyes and repeat “I am love, I am love, I am love.” You will begin feeling your energy shift. You will feel more creative, calm, and at peace.
Hydrate
Drink enough water throughout the day and especially first thing in the morning after fasting for a lot of hours. Your organs need water. Our body is composed of mostly water and can not function optimally without water. You will be agitated, react quicker, and experience brain fog and headaches if you do not hydrate.
Spend Time In Nature
Spend some time out in nature and recharge every single day if possible. Feel the loving energy from the trees, peace around bodies of water, hear the birds sing, smell the flowers, walk on grass bare feet, and feel and connect to mother earth. If you are unable to go out in nature, listen to or watch scenes and sounds of nature.
Avoid Negativity
Avoid consuming negativity especially first thing in the morning. Do not look at messages and emails on your phone and start falling into someone else’s agenda for you. Do not watch negative news because the media is biased and portrays negativity more than positivity. Negativity gets more people to watch their channel. Be careful with what you are consuming and letting in because whatever you consume is what you become.
Stop Negative Self-Talk
Be aware of your mental negative self-talk and habitual thoughts. You create your life you’re your thoughts and beliefs. What we say and think of ourselves is exactly what we would never say to or think about a friend then why say those things to ourselves. Catch those thoughts and start deleting and changing them.
You are special and have been created to be in a perfect body, colour, and gender to fulfill your purpose so stop saying negative things about yourself. Do not let others and society dictate your worth.
Sleep At The Same Time
Make sure to go to bed early and at the same time every day. Your brain rejuvenates and restores itself between the hours of 10:00-2:00 and you may miss this function if you are awake.
Have An Evening Routine
Have an evening routine before bed. Shut off all electronics and stop watching tv an hour before you go to bed. Read for a few minutes, meditate and think of all the things you are grateful for as you fall asleep. You will have a better, more peaceful sleep and the chances of you getting stressed out and anxious will be less.
Respond
Identify your triggers and stressors. Avoid them if possible or if you can not control them then learn to master and develop yourself so you can have healthy responses rather than getting angry and caught up in the moments.
Remember you are bigger than any problem that you may be facing. Learn to set healthy boundaries for yourself so you can avoid too much negativity and exposure to unpleasant situations. You do not always say yes to everyone else especially if it drains your energy.
Have Support Available
It is important to have people in your life who can help you and support you when you need them. This could be a family member, circle of friends, people from your place of worship, neighbours, or a therapist.
In conclusion, now you know it is important to know how to manage your stress so that your body does not feel that it is in constant danger, stay in a high alert state, and continuously releases stress hormones and other chemicals in your body.
Over time if it is left unaddressed, it can lead to serious physical and mental health issues like anxiety and depression. It can also have adverse effects on your relationships and your overall quality of life.
You also learnt what stress does to your body. Stress is a body’s normal reaction to potential danger and threats anticipated or dictated. Your body releases chemicals and hormones like adrenaline and cortisol into your body. It causes your heart to beat faster and blood to flow to your extremities preparing you for fight or flight. You also learnt that you may also experience other physical symptoms.
Prolonged exposure to stressors can lead to many other serious health issues. Anxiety is the body’s reaction to stress. It leads to bad decision making, problems with memory or concentration, racing thoughts, and excessive persistent worries about the anticipated future without the presence of the actual stressor.
The 12 habits to manage stress and anxiety were also revealed to you such as waking up earlier, smiling first thing, having a morning routine, meditating, hydrating, spending time in nature, avoiding consuming negativity, stopping negative self-talk, sleeping at the same time, have an evening routine, develop healthy responses, and have support available.
I hope you will incorporate these habits and start managing your potential stress and anxiety. Please share this with anybody else who is struggling and having a lot of stressful and anxious moments.
Next, read what to do when you feel unhappy