April is Stress Awareness Month! Do you suffer from Stress?
Most people would recognise times in their life that have been stressful – acute stress which comes and then goes away is very useful.
We are concerned about chronic stress- daily, persistent tension in the mind and body.
Stress can happen because of external events or because of the internal stress of our personality types such as: being a perfectionist, a people pleaser, high achiever, or liking to be in control.
Stress makes you feel anxious, worried or feel under too much pressure, it can make you feel physical tension too.
Stress is made worse by a feeling of lack of control, poor sleep, a poor diet, time pressure and lack of time to recharge.
I believe that if you are stressed it is best to start back with the basics of:
- A good night’s sleep (get off your screens for at least an hour before bed!)
- A healthy diet full of lots of colourful vegetables and fruit- eat the rainbow!
- Discover what makes you feel alive - being in nature, a walk, a cuddle with a pet, a hot cuppa, chatting with a friend, and do it for a few minutes every day!
- Movement- stretches, a walk, yoga, putting some music on and just dance!
Stress and modern-day life often go hand in hand, we carry our own computers in our pockets and are never left alone because we can always be distracted from ourselves.
Try having some phone free time too, to just sit…
Allow your stress to be your best teacher- it is a message for you to change something.
Try changing one small thing this week!
