It's normal to have questions, when you are faced with a crisis such as Covid-19 or facing challenges in your professional or personal life. "What does this mean for my life now"? ''ls it normal to feel how I feel"? "How will I cope"?
Feeling uncertain is completely normal, however, living with high level of stress is putting your entire well-being at risk. Excessive stress has a negative impact on your entire body. You need to learn how effectively manage stress levels, so you can be happier, healthier and more productive. Stress management is not a one-size-feeds-all. Here are a few tips to help you with that:
Identify stress sources in your life: You could write stress journal to identify the stress source in your life. How they make you feel and how you react to it.
Practice the 4 A's of stress management: avoid, alter, adapt, accept. Learn how to say no, avoid people who stress you out, take control of your environment. Learn to express your feeling instead of bottling them up. Learn to compromise. Looking at the big picture and adjusting your standards are easy ways to minimise stress in your life. Don't try to control the uncontrollable, learn to forgive and share your feelings.
Get moving: Physical activity is a huge stress reliever. Dance, walk, swim, exercise.
Connect to others: Connect with friends, help someone else by volunteering, meet new people by taking a class or joining a club, reach out to colleagues at work. Keep in mind that the people you talk to don't have ability to fix your stress but is great to talk.
Manage your time better: Don't over commit yourself, prioritise tasks, break projects into the smaller steps or delegate responsibility.
Maintain a balance with a healthy lifestyle: Eat a healthy diet, reduce caffeine and sugar, avoid alcohol and drugs, get enough sleep.
Try aromatherapy, supplements, hypnosis or find a great life coach.
