5 Ways to Manage Stress and Anxiety

It’s only Tuesday and it’s already a long week. Trying to juggle a work life and a personal life is becoming less and less possible. But you keep telling yourself if you take a break from this balancing act, the whole world will come crashing down on you. I’ve been there, so I know the feeling. But I’m here to tell you, that is a lie. A break is absolutely necessary. And the feeling of being stressed out and anxious is quite the opposite of being in balance. It’s time to regroup. It’s time to ask yourself, what am I doing to manage my stress and anxiety? If you’re finding it difficult to answer that question, read on to see what you could be doing differently.

Exercise Regularly

Exercising increases your endorphins, your feel-good hormones. But exercising regularly helps to build self-esteem, trust, and confidence in yourself. Areas in life that can be used to fight anxiety. Doing something uncomfortable like an intense workout or running helps us to tackle tasks that are difficult or inconvenient in our daily lives. It helps you to see things in a different light. You begin to see difficult tasks as only inconveniences and inconveniences as things not even worth the space in your mind. I have found that the more I work out, fewer things phase me. I also see exercising and fitness as a way to release the stress. I imagine that our capacity to handle stress is like water in a bucket. And each day is full of possibilities to add stress to that bucket. I believe it’s normal and healthy to carry some amount of stress. It’s necessary for growth and vital for challenges. But not so much that it completely fills your bucket, or worse, overflows. Get ahead of your day by starting it with some fitness or end it by burning off some steam. Find whatever schedule works for you and stick to it.

Therapy with God

Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. Written in the bible, it’s clear as day. God wants you to talk to Him. He wants you to share your feelings, your thoughts, your fears, everything that is bothering you. He wants to hear what you are grateful for, what you cherish and who you love. There are plenty of ways to do therapy with God. My own personal ways include spending time in nature, praying, reading the bible, and writing in a journal. Nature helps me to feel closer to Him. Prayer helps me to connect with Him anytime, anywhere. The bible is a reminder of all the ways that God is our comforter and that we are not alone in our battles. Writing everything down in a journal helps me to gain clarity. Acknowledging what we are grateful for helps to balance these ideas in our heads that everything is wrong. When we focus on the darkness, everything is dark. But when we focus on the light, everything is bright. You don’t have to carry all your stress and anxiety inside. You can let it go and give it to God.

Rest Your Weary Soul

In a society that tells us to go, go, go, find comfort in knowing God wants us to also rest. Finding time to rest is one of the most important things we can do for our health and well-being. Yet it’s one of the most difficult challenges our society faces today. This is not the kind of rest where you’re laying in your bed for 4.5 hours, not moving because you can’t stop scrolling on your phone. It’s the kind where you are totally disconnected from external distractions, giving your mind, body, and soul a break. Without rest there’s no recovery. Whether it comes to our physical body or our mental health, we are creatures who need balance. With proper sleep and necessary breaks, we are able to regulate our moods, so we can keep our judgement sharp. When we are sharp, we make better decisions. Better decisions lead to better outcomes. But don’t wait until you’re burned out to take a break. Incorporate rest as part of your routine. Take a bath each week. Schedule a massage once a month. Practice meditating each night. Lay in the middle of your living room stretched out with your eyes closed and just breathe.

Don’t Forget to Play

Just like exercise, playtime and doing something enjoyable helps release endorphins. Again, those feel-good hormones! The good thing about this stress reliever is that the options are nearly endless and are unique for everyone. Play time can be a hobby, a game, dancing, or spending time with family or a pet. It can be absolutely anything. It’s up to your own preference on how you like to let go, be in the present moment and forget about the world. Play time doesn’t only help you feel good, it helps to boost creativity. When the creative part of your brain is buzzing, you’re able to see problems in a different light, allowing you to come up with new solutions. Play time also helps you to put life into perspective. When we’re genuinely enjoying ourselves, we’re reminded that life is much more than the accumulation of problems we face.

Good Riddance

Sometimes it’s not a matter of adding something to your routine, but a matter of subtracting something. Some anxiety is healthy, like right before an exciting or important event. It’s a sign that you care. But crippling and long-term anxiety can be a sign that something is off, or something needs to change. Your diet is a great place to start. Garbage in, garbage out. When you fill your body with alcohol, drugs and unhealthy foods, the result is a negative impact on both your physical and mental health. Your body is a temple, try to treat it as such. Sometimes the never-ending theme of stress could be an immaterial factor in your life that you have outgrown. Such as a relationship or a job. It’s worth exploring whether it’s still the right fit for you or it’s time to move on, for the sake of your well-being. Another aspect to consider are your boundaries. Do you know what your relational and physical limits are? Do you communicate them? Do you take on the stress and anxiety of others so freely that you mistake it for your own? Boundaries are not meant to shut people out, but rather to protect others, yourself and ultimately your peace.

Creating a well-balanced life takes effort and is far from easy. But when we focus on our mental health, when we take the time to create routines that help prevent a burnout, life’s challenges become a lot more manageable. We build the strength to face our anxieties, rather than making them bigger. I have found that when I’m consistent with these methods, even combining them (like play time and fitness), I flow with the current of my life, rather than fighting against it. This blog only covers 5 ways, but there’s so many more ways out there. I encourage you to share in the comments how you manage the stress and anxiety you face today.