Ever have one of those weeks where you just don’t feel like you could get ahead? Or frustrated to the point of an emotional break? Well, I’ve had a few of those recently.
While my blog is focused primarily on healthy eating and exercise, mental well being is also vital to overall health. According to the American Psychological Association, 58 percent of Americans believe that one can’t have good physical health without good mental health. The question I keep asking myself is – how do I keep myself sane and cope with something (stress) I will need to deal with for the rest of my life?
After taking some time to self reflect, I found a few things that helped me get through it:
Meditation – Part of my 2015 goals was to meditate more often. I’ll be honest and say it’s been hard to keep up with – or maybe I haven’t made it as much of a priority as I should. I went on Spotify and found some great guided meditations which makes it easier than trying to sit in a room silent thinking about nothing. Clearly impossible for my frantic mind 🙂
Reading for fun – Some people reading this may say “you read to reduce your stress?”. But hear me out on this one! Typically when you’re reading, it’s something for work – an email, Powerpoints, etc. It’s not a story that can take you to another place and free your mind from your daily stressors. When I read something that’s enjoyable and related to my hobbies, it helps me relax and focus on something else.
Some quality reading material 🙂
Positive thinking – When you’re in a stressful/frustrating situation, it’s definitely hard or nearly impossible at times to see the “good” in it. I am trying to put a positive spin on things to help me through – for example, failing at something is an opportunity for me to get back up, dust myself off, and learn from the experience which in the end, will make me a better person. There are a lot of stats out there that show how positive thinking affects your health, but I found this one from the Mayo Clinic really informative. My coworker and good friend Amy is a big believer in this – check out her blog too!
Putting things into perspective – This might fall under positive thinking, but when I’m in a stressful situation, I have also been trying to think about the following:
- Is the situation really going to affect my life?
- Am I making a bigger deal out of it than what it really is?
- Gratitude for the fact that I am alive and healthy and even able to experience life
On top of this, I wasn’t able to workout until last Friday (it had been two weeks!), which I think contributed to my mental fog. Exercise is such a stress reducer for me – as well as eating a balanced diet. I REALLY need to focus on getting back on track this week – but that’s what great about life. You can always start again 🙂