Category: Stress Relief

We’ve all been there: had a bad day at work, the kids won’t stop screaming and there is nothing in the fridge for dinner. It never ends. You feel like you will never catch up.  Life is full of surprises. We can’t go back, and we can’t predict the future.

And sometimes, you forget to take care of yourself in the process.

You could be going through a tough time. Perhaps you’ve just had a recent breakup or did a sudden move.

You may also be struggling with anxiety or depression. If that is the case, it’s best to talk to a professional and get it properly treated. Causes of anxiety or depression vary from environmental to chemical.

Self-care should not be something you do once in a while when you’re exhausted. You need to get into the practice of taking care of yourself every day. This helps prevent burnout.

When you learn how to take care of yourself, you feel better about yourself — it shows. Your family and friends will also notice.

It’s so important to make sure you take good care of your body, mind, and soul every day, not just when you get sick. Learning how to eat right, reduce stress, exercise regularly, and take a time-out when you need it are touchstones of self-care and can help you stay healthy, happy, and resilient.

Why Do We Often Fail at Self-Care?

Practicing self-care isn’t always easy. Most of us are crazy busy, have stressful jobs, or are too consumed with technology to make time for ourselves. Me-time is usually last on the agenda. Worse, we can sometimes feel guilty about taking the time required to take care of ourselves. So getting started with self-care can be challenging. In my new book, Outsmart Your Smartphone: Conscious Tech Habits for Finding Happiness, Balance, and Connection IRL, I teach folks how to find time and make space for self-care. But here are some additional tips that you won’t find in the book to get you started with your self-care.

How Do You Engage in Self-Care?

Fortunately, there are many things you can do to engage in self-care. You can read about self-care strategies, join self-care programs, or work with a coach or therapist who can help support your progress. No matter what you choose, the goal is to figure out which self-care strategies work best for you, learn how to use these strategies, and implement them in your regular routine so you can boost your well-being not only today but forever.

1. Make sleep part of your self-care routine.

Sleep can have a huge effect on how you feel both emotionally and physically. Not getting enough can even cause major health issues. But stress and other distractions can wreak havoc on our sleep.

What do you do to make sleep part of a self-care routine? Start by thinking about your nightly routine. Are you eating or drinking immediately before bed? If so, it’s especially important to stay away from caffeine and sugar, which tend to keep you awake.

Reducing stress is also key. If you have work-related stress, think about the best ways to calm yourself after a hard day or relax more while on the job. You might talk to your employer about lessening your workload or settle a disagreement with a coworker.

Next, make sure your bedroom is the best possible place for you to get good REM sleep. It should be free of distractions (such as a television, laptop, cellphone, etc.). And make sure you have room-darkening curtains to keep the sun from waking you up too early in the mornings.

2. Take care of yourself by taking care of your gut.

Your gut health can have a significant impact on your health, well-being, and feelings of vitality. The types of foods you eat crucially impact the bacteria that live in your stomach, resulting in a cascade of either positive or negative outcomes. Healing the gut can lead to an unhappy person, and vice-versa.

3. Exercise daily as part of your self-care routine.

We all know exercise is good for us, but do we really know how good it is? Daily exercise can help you both physically and mentally, boosting your mood and reducing stress and anxiety, not to mention helping you shed extra weight.

Of course, it might be hard to go to the gym every day, so try to incorporate other exercises, such as walking, tennis, or yoga, which may be able to fit into your schedule more easily. The most important thing is to create a routine that works for you.

4. Eat right for self-care.

The food we eat has the potential to either keep us healthy or contribute to weight gain or diseases such as diabetes, but it can also keep our minds working and alert. Eating the right foods can help prevent short-term memory loss and inflammation, both of which can have long-term effects on the brain and, in turn, the rest of the body. Some of the most amazing self-care foods include fatty fish, blueberries, nuts, green leafy veggies, and brassicas, like broccoli.

5. Say no to others, and say yes to your self-care.

Learning to say no is really hard; many of us feel obligated to say yes when someone asks for our time or energy. However, if you’re already stressed or overworked, saying yes to loved ones or coworkers can lead to burnout, anxiety, and irritability. It may take a little practice, but once you learn how to politely say no, you’ll start to feel more self-confident, and you’ll have more time for your self-care.

6. Take a self-care trip.

Taking a self-care trip can make a huge difference in your life. Even if you’re not feeling particularly stressed, getting away for a weekend every now and then can help you disconnect, relax, and be rejuvenated. These self-care trips don’t have to be costly; simply drive to the next town over and see the sights, or go camping nearby. The goal is to veer away from your normal schedule and take the time to do something just for yourself.

7. Take a self-care break by getting outside.

Spending time outside can help you reduce stress, lower your blood pressure, and live in the moment. Studies have even shown that getting outside can help reduce fatigue, making it a great way to overcome symptoms of depression or burnout. Getting outside can also help you sleep better at night, especially if you do some physical activity, like gardening, hiking, or walking while you are outside.

8. Let a pet help you with your self-care.

Pets can bring a boost to our lives. From giving unconditional love to providing companionship, pets can be hugely beneficial for our self-care. Dogs especially can help reduce stress and feelings of anxiety and can even lower blood pressure. In fact, many people who suffer from disorders like PTSD have benefited from working daily with animals, which is why service dogs have become so helpful for these individuals.

9. Take care of yourself by getting organized.

Getting organized is often the first step to becoming a healthier you because it allows you to figure out exactly what you need to do to take better care of yourself. A small change, like keeping a planner or a calendar on the fridge, can help you write down all your responsibilities and appointments, while at the same time keeping your life a bit more organized. You can also create an area to keep keys, purses, backpacks, briefcases, and coats, and make sure they’re ready to go for the next day.

10. Cook at home to care for yourself.

Many people don’t take the time to make themselves meals, preferring instead to stop for fast food or popping a pre-made meal in the microwave. But these “fast” meals aren’t usually sufficient when it comes to feeding your body the right kinds of calories and nutrients. Even if it’s only once a week, consider making a healthy meal for yourself or your whole family. You could even look into a meal delivery service or meal kit that can help you get started.

11. Read a book on self-care for self-care.

In today’s fast-paced world, we tend to turn to our phones for entertainment or comfort, scrolling through news feeds that can contribute to our stress and worries rather than helping it. Instead, consider bringing a self-help book with you when you leave the house. Even better, bring books on self-care so that you can learn more about how to take care of yourself while you are taking care of yourself. You might be amazed at the difference it can make when you slow down instead of always looking at your phone. Not only can it help improve your mood, but it can also help you to stay more present and mindful.

12. Schedule your self-care time, and guard that time with everything you have.

It can be hard for us all to find extra time. But it’s extremely important to plan regular self-care time. Moments alone can help you to ponder the best ways to move forward in your life and keep you grounded. And moments with friends can help you feel more connected and relaxed.

Whether you decide you want to go for a long walk, take a hot bath, or enjoy a good movie with friends, taking self-care time is imperative. Look for small ways you can incorporate it into everyday life; for example, you might wake up 15 minutes earlier to sit with a cup of tea and practice deep breathing before the chaos of the day begins, or you might take a walk around the block on your lunch break. The more you can work self-care time into your schedule, the better you’ll be able to grow, enjoy your life, and thrive.

Source:  http://www.psychologytoday.com©

Photo: Kaylah Otto Via Unsplash

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Observe the Seasonal Changes Around You

To connect further, keep a nature journal to record what you observe. A simple leather-bound notebook is a beautiful way to track your seasonal reflections through poems or collages and develop a deeper awareness of the world around you.

Since many of us live by the clock today, it’s easy to forget that we live in a world of natural seasons and seasonal change. What if we were more in tune with the age-old rhythms of the seasons? There’s much research that shows we would live a healthier, happier, and more productive life. Here is a tip on how to live seasonally—in your garden.

The Gardening season

Every main season in a four-season climate contains many microseasons of varying length. They arise and die continuously throughout the calendar year, sometimes overlapping, often coinciding, in some years never occurring at all. For example:

• Late March and early April bring seed-starting season, dandelion season, and mud season …
• These ease gradually into the forsythia, volunteer lettuce, and lilac seasons …
• And then on into the strawberries, peas, lamb’s-quarters, and asparagus seasons …
• Until we reach the August–September blowout: broccoli, green beans, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, summer squash, and corn seasons …
• And then we move under blankets with carrots, beets, and root vegetables that we roast, along with warm boiled soups, stews, and broths made with winter cooking greens, plus preserved and fermented jars of food, dried dates and fruits, and lots of nuts that give us heat and energy.

Tips to Live in Tune with the Seasons

By living seasonally, I mean fully inhabiting your natural environment and letting your environment inhabit you. You can live seasonally even in urban settings, even if you spend your working hours in an office cubicle without windows.

“Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of the earth.”
― Henry David Thoreau, American writer (1817–62), in Walden

How to live seasonally? Here are a few ideas.

1. Get out more, and pay attention when you do. Get curious about what’s happening in the natural world. Notice what’s new or changed since the last time you ventured out.
2. Make yourself go out in all kinds of weather. (Okay, do avoid thunderstorms and extreme weather.) As the need arises, get some serviceable outdoor gear.  Think rain gear, a wind-resistant jacket and pants, sweat-wicking shorts, T-shirts for summer, and thermal long johns for the colder months.  Also hats, mittens, and treaded boots. If you live in snow country, put some lightweight snowshoes and trekking poles on your gift list. Add a bike (speedy for commuting or just an old beater for jaunting around) if you don’t have one.
3. Buy or borrow wild and cultivated plant guides and learn how to use the identifier keys that they contain. Look at the weeds that grow from cracks in the asphalt, along the roadsides, or along the woodland path. Identify the aromatic flowers and shrubs that grow in a neighbor’s yard. Notice the insects that flutter around this or that plant. Friend or foe?
4. If you’re really adventurous, get insect, bird, and other nature guides, too. Identify which pollinator species is buzzing around inside that squash blossom, or which mammal left that pile of scat at the edge of the field. What bird species made that perfect, tiny nest in the lilac bush outside the town library? What kinds of fallen leaves are these?

The Benefits of Seasonal Living

• If you get out more often to explore your surroundings, you’ll get more exercise, which is always a good thing. Taking a lunchtime walk, even on an overcast day, does wonders for recharging your mental batteries and sharpening your mind, as well as burning a few calories.
• If you choose to learn more about the plants and animals that share the space around you, you’ll expand your knowledge, maybe even your wisdom. Your interior world will become broader, deeper, and more diverse.
• You may find new friends out exploring the same terrain. This, in turn, may lead to planning more extensive joint adventures. New relationships formed around similar interests can increase your emotional well-being.
• As you notice and learn more about your local environment, you may start to care more about it and understand how humans’ impact other living creatures. People simply don’t take care of what they don’t know and embody.

Celebrate the Seasons with Traditions

More seasons? More celebrations! To my way of looking at it, every season, particularly if it involves a lot of hard work, deserves a holiday.

• Depressingly long mud season? Plan a “mudluck” dessert social, where everybody brings their gooiest dark chocolate confection.
• Harvest season winding down? Time to celebrate with an evening of Halloween pumpkin carving.

You get the idea. Go ahead. Name your private seasons—and celebrate one today!

Source: almanac.com©

You head to yoga, squeeze in mani/pedis and treat yourself to the occasional wine and rom-com action when you need to soothe your stress-filled mind. But did you know that you could be practicing a little extra self-care by simply stocking your home with greenery? These seven miracle plants are scientifically proven to help you chill the heck out.

1. MINT

It’s lovely to have mint around for cooking—but this fragrant herb also has serious stress-relieving properties. A study by Wheeling Jesuit University found that sniffing it can actually lower frustration levels and boost alertness.

2. JASMINE

Yes, jasmine is beautiful and lovely to smell. But according to a study published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, its scent was found to be “as calming as Valium” to the nervous system. (When the scent was released into a cage of mice, they became so chilled out, they all sat quietly in a corner.) Woah.

3. ALOE

You already love this plant for soothing your sunburns and moisturizing your skin. But did you know that it also purifies the air of common carcinogens and emits oxygen at nighttime, helping us to sleep better? P.S. In a recent study, it was also found to reduce depression in mice.

4. LAVENDER

This fragrant, flowering herb has been used medicinally to calm nerves and aid in depression for centuries. (Erm, aromatherapy anyone?) One particularly illuminating study found that the scent of lavender had major effects on lowering pulse rates on nursing students in stressful situations.

5. SNAKE PLANT

According to NASA’s clean air study, this lush-looking plant clears the air of over 107 toxins and emits tons of oxygen throughout the night. This cocktail can improve your energy levels, ease headaches and quite literally have you breathing easier.

6. BASIL

This—may we mention? —delicious herb contains high amounts of an organic compound called linalool (which is commonly used in aromatherapy). A team of Japanese scientists famously conducted a lab rat study that found that exposure to linalool reduces the activity of hundreds of genes that typically go into overdrive during stressful situations.

7. ARECA PALM

This leafy, statement floor plant is also a hard worker: It’s proven to remove nasty toxins like formaldehyde, trichloroethylene and benzene from the air. As a reminder, breathing purer air (whether awake or asleep) lowers your blood pressure. Say it with us now: Ahhhhhhh.

The source of this wonderful information is:

By purewow.com (Grace Beuley Hunt)

These good-for-you activities can help you live longer — and the good news is, you might already be doing some of them.

1. Gardening

Go green: Studies showing that gardeners are less stressed and live longer come as no surprise to longevity expert Dan Buettner, author of The Blue Zones. “If you garden, you’re getting some low intensity physical activity most days, and you tend to work routinely,” he said.

Plus, said Dr. Bradley Wilcox, a gerontologist at the University of Hawaii, “Gardening gives you that something to get up for every day.”

2. Reading

Turn the page: “Older individuals, regardless of gender, health status, wealth or education, showed the survival advantage of reading books,” said Becca Levy, professor of epidemiology and psychology at the Yale School of Public Health. “We know that reading involves two cognitive processes that could [help in living a longer life]: the slow, deep immersion needed to connect to content, and promotion of empathy, social perception and emotional intelligence.”

3. Playing or listening to music

Take note: Per the folks at Johns Hopkins Medicine: “If you want to keep your brain engaged throughout the aging process, listening to or playing music is a great tool. It provides a total brain workout. Research has shown that listening to music can reduce anxiety, blood pressure and pain as well as improve sleep quality, mood, mental alertness and memory.” In fact, one study showed that going to gigs on a regular basis can help add a decade to your life.

4. Dancing

Bust a move: “Dancing is mainly linked to physical health benefits,” explained the British Heart Foundation. “But when you dance, you are moving different parts of your body in a coordinated way, and this activates several parts of the brain.” That’s always a plus in the fight against age-related diseases such as dementia.

5. Doing yoga

Stretch out: According to experts at Henry Ford Health: “Studies show practicing yoga can help lower blood pressure, slow down heart rate, reduce stress and trigger the release of feel-good chemicals in the brain. So it’s no surprise yoga can help maximize your health and longevity.”

Article written by Morning Honey ©

Photo credit:  Unsplash© Morning Honey

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Spend less than you make. This may seem obvious, and boring, but spending less than you make is by far the biggest key to financial success. If you struggle with spending, focus on this one rule until you’re at a point where you have positive cash flow at the end of the month.

Thankfully, personal finance is 80% behavior and only 20% head knowledge. So that means anybody can learn how to manage money well.  Check out Dave Ramseys money tips to get started.

Money Management Tips to Help You Make the Most of Your Finances

The first step to managing money is knowing what you’re dealing with. That’s right, it’s time to be brave and look in the financial mirror.

Start by logging in to any financial accounts you have (bank accounts, credit card accounts, student loan accounts). Then make a list of every unpaid bill, any recurring expenses, debts, credit cards, auto loans . . . everything. Leave no subscription or payment unturned. You need to know exactly how much money is coming in, how much debt you owe, and what you’re paying for every single month.

I know this part can be a little intimidating, especially if you’ve made some money mistakes you’d rather not think about (hey, we’ve all been there—me included). But you’ve got to face the brutal facts if you want to make progress.

The best way to manage your money is with a budget. Without one, you’re basically just winging it every month, hoping there’ll be enough money to keep the lights on and food in the fridge. But that just leaves you broke, anxious and stressed.

A budget puts you in the driver’s seat. You get to be the one deciding how to spend your hard-earned money—not the government, the credit card companies, or even your mother-in-law (she means well . . . probably).

When it comes to budgeting, sitting down and doing the actual budget is only the first step. You also have to track your expenses.

Because if you just put some numbers down but never actually track your spending throughout the month, how will you know if you’re where you need to be? You won’t. You’ll just end up with an overdrafted bank account (which is the financial version of a charley horse).

Emergency fund, rainy-day fund, disaster fund, never-go-into-debt-again fund, or my personal favorite . . . oopsie-daisy fund. No matter what you call it, it’s important to have one. An emergency fund gives you peace of mind because you know you’re financially prepared for whatever comes your way.

If you’re in debt, save up $1,000 for your starter emergency fund. Over time, you’ll beef up your emergency fund to cover 3–6 months of expenses. But before you do that, you’ll need to tackle the biggest threat to good money management: debt.

Debt is dumb. There, I said it. And I’ll say it again and again as many times as I need to. While social media and your broke friends tell you that “debt is a tool to build wealth,” it’s actually what keeps you from building wealth. It steals your income and your peace. Debt causes you to pay for the past instead of building for the future.

Avoid debt like its lava—or spam (the edible kind and the email kind). Once you allow it into your life, it’s hard to get rid of it. And anyone trying to sell you debt as a good way to manage your money is just straight up scamming you (and probably spamming you).

You may not think you spend that much, but every grocery run and overpriced latte adds up (a dollar more for oat milk?). Remember that budget we talked about? Chances are, you’ll have trouble sticking to it the first couple months. But cutting back on your spending can help you live on less than you make and give you more margin.

Instead of eating out at restaurants when you don’t feel like cooking, start preparing your meals in advance. Rather than dropping $50 at the movies, plan a fun date night at home. Choose generic brands in the grocery store or cancel subscriptions you don’t use. There are plenty of ways to save money!

A new guitar. The latest Apple product. The Peloton you just know will get you to work out more (been there, sold that). It’s tempting to swipe a credit card or split it up into “four easy payments.” But we’re avoiding debt, remember?

A key part of managing your money well is knowing when to buy something. Because you want to own your stuff, rather than your stuff owning you. That means, if you don’t have enough to pay cash for it, it’s not the time to buy it. There are two words for that—delayed gratification.

If you’ve got your eye on something you can’t afford right now, you can create a sinking fund for it. Sinking funds are a great way to save for large purchases because you can budget for them over time to spread out the cost. And the best part? You won’t get stuck making payments for something you bought months ago.

All right, this is where the fun really begins. Because investing isn’t just about making sure you’ll have enough for retirement (though, that’s definitely the main reason to invest). It’s also a way to build some serious wealth—enough to live the life you want and be outrageously generous!

Here are some investing basics to remember:

• Invest 15% of your gross income into tax-favored retirement accounts like your 401(k) or a Roth IRA. 
• Invest in good growth stock mutual funds. 

Whether you’re 24 or 54, it’s never too early or too late to start! The sooner you prepare for your golden years, the better.

A big part of managing your money is playing defense—by having the right insurance. Basically, insurance transfers the expensive risks to someone else. Because the last thing you want is for your savings to get wiped out by a medical emergency, car accident or flood.

There are eight types of insurance everyone needs at some point: auto, health, life (if you have people depending on your income), homeowners or renters, long-term disability and identity theft protection, as well as long-term care (when you turn 60) and an umbrella policy (if your net worth is more than $500,000). Just watch out for companies that try to scare you into buying insurance you don’t need (like cancer insurance, burial insurance or whole life insurance).

10. Be generous with your money.

There’s no denying the connection between those who win with money and those who give back to others. The two go hand in hand like peanut butter and jelly (or peas and carrots, if you’re a Forrest Gump fan).

Studies have shown that being generous leads to more happiness, contentment and a better quality of life.  Isn’t that the kind of person you want to be around or become?

It’s not financial success that causes people to be generous. It’s being generous throughout their financial journey (even when it’s hard) that allows them to win with money. So, don’t wait until you have a certain amount of money in your bank account or time on your calendar before you start practicing generosity. Be intentional about making generosity a regular part of your life today.  

Source:  ramseysolutions.com©

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