When everyday life gets more and more stressful, it is even more important to take care of your own needs. By supplying your body with its needs, stress will have a lower effect and you gain an inner balance. This is what I’ve learned in the past years.
When living intentionally, I think a big part of that is to listen to your own body. But sometimes we are so busy in our lives, that we forget to listen. Part of my journey to minimalism is to practice this more – my goal is to make it a regular habit. Best would be that I don’t even have to think about it anymore but simply do it.
Having a migraine brain, I learned the hard way that not taking care of yourself can lead to pain. If I don’t take breaks to wind down, my brain will take the break for me with a painful attack. For me, these attacks can last up to three days, depending on the amount of stress built up. Over the time I’ve encountered a few strategies that work for me:
Getting enough sleep
This is essential. Whenever times get stressful, sleep refills my batteries. Running on sleep depreviation makes it even harder not to lose control and myself.
Taking those 15 Minutes
Whenever I feel overwhelmed, I try to get away from it physically and mentally. So I search for a quiet spot, leave the building or simply go to the bathroom. There I would close my eyes and try to empty my brain for those 15 minutes. Concentrating on my breath helps.
Eating Healthy
This is one I have to work on especially. When things are getting rough I tend to long for chocolate. But I do notice, that if I control myself and get some fruit or vegetables instead, I feel better in the long run.
Muting the Phone
Simply muting my phone already eliminates one source of stress. This way I can deliberately decide when I want to tend to all the app notifications.
Talking to someone
I noticed that talking to someone about my current worries and reasons for stress helps me to handle everything better. It also helps to put things in perspective.
These strategies might not help everyone, but they’ve helped me in the past. Everyone is different and has their individual needs. I’m always on the lookout for new ideas and strategies, but I think the most important part is to learn to listen to your own body. Living a balanced life inside and out leads to a better mental and physical health in the long run. This includes knowing how to to deal with stressful times.