Hello Beautiful Souls!

Over the last few weeks, my family and I have gone through some stressful events. A close family friend passed, work slowed down, a door dasher dashed through our dining room wall, and there was a medical scare with my mother to name a few.

With all of this seemingly going on at once, I found myself really struggling to manage my stress levels. And then I went into some old notes of mine in a composition notebook. There was a page with an asterisk written in the top corner. The title said, “3 Quick Stress Busters”. I began to read what I had written. As I tried the methods that I had already written down, I thought of more stress relievers and tried them as well. My mood improved considerably!

And then I thought to myself: You have to share this information! And so, here it is!

Sleep More

Many of us have the tendency to sleep less when we are under stress. Sometimes, we are awake at night because our worry over life events causes us to feel restless. We sacrifice sleep, feverishly searching for a solution, when the answer may just be that we need more sleep. Experts recommend 6-8 hours of sleep per night. Sleep doesn’t just give rest to our bodies, but it also provides rejuvenation to our minds as well. While we sleep, our bodies not only rest, but they heal.

Get Organized

Sometimes our outer environment affects our inner environment and vice versa. Organizing your immediate area- your workspace, your bedroom, etc. not only clears space and provides a more comfortable and relaxing environment but it raises your vibration as well. I believe that clearing negative space around you clears negative space within you too. And that when that space is cleared it alleviates some of your stressful feelings as well.

Listen to Music

Music didn’t just soothe the savage beast. Music has been known for years as a very effective mood-altering tool. You want a romantic scene? Play a love song. Want to make it a real tearjerker? Play a sentimental pop song. Music is so effective because it carries frequencies. Some frequencies  are high and some of them are low. The music with the higher vibrational frequencies will produce a more favorable reaction, while the music with the lower vibrational frequencies reap a more unfavorable response. This is why people say that certain songs ‘make them sad.’ The low frequencies in the music sparked an unfavorable emotional response in the person’s mind.

With music being powerful enough to evoke an emotion or a reaction, why not use music to your benefit? Play music with high or positive frequencies. Listen to your favorite song a few times in a row. Or you could even listen to sound bowls.

And what goes well with sound bowls?

Meditation

Of course, meditation! If you’ve read any of my blogs before in the past, you may have gathered that I’m quite a fan of meditation. Meditation is a great tool to calm yourself and gain clarity. When you slow your thoughts down, things are less hectic, and you are able to respond to stressful events with more ease.

Journaling

This is a hidden gem! Journaling. In my opinion, is a very underused stress management tool. Journaling, when used effectively with emotion monitoring can be the first line of defense against stress and anxiety. When you monitor your emotions, you pay more attention to your moods and energy shifts. Accessing your feelings regularly provides insights on the people, places, things, and situations that trigger you or result in feelings of stress and anxiety. After assessing the emotion, journal about it. Write about your feelings and what you believe caused those feelings. Is there any validity to the emotions that you’re experiencing? Are you able to release what you have written and move forward in peace? Writing out your feelings helps with releasing the stress that you feel while possibly brainstorming for a solution!

Find a Reason to Laugh!

While most of the other stress relieving tips chose a more direct and hands-on method, this method plays by its own rules. This is my favorite stress relieving method because I’m a goofy person and I love to laugh. I love making others laugh. The sound of laughter (whether it’s me or someone else) brings me joy.

When you find yourself feeling tense and your stress levels begin to rise, shift your thinking. Choose something else to focus your attention on. Think of your favorite movie, a funny memory, a random joke- anything that may make you laugh. It has been said that laughter is on the same sound frequency as healing. Is that why they say laughter is the best medicine?

Shut it Down

Technology is wonderful. There’s no doubt about it. It provides us with valuable and effective tools and connections that we otherwise wouldn’t have access to. Technology is how I get to communicate with all of you!

But sometimes, technology can be a double-edged sword. When we overindulge in technology, we can find ourselves overstimulated by news, social media, emails, and other noise. This noise makes it hard for us to settle down, unwind, to destress. To reduce stress and rest more easily, I suggest putting your phone down at least 30 minutes before bed.

Last, but not least:

Vacation, baby!

Maybe it’s just time to get away. Take some time for yourself. It doesn’t have to be a super expensive trip, and it doesn’t have to be an extensive amount of time. It could be a day at the beach, or an afternoon at the park. Just go to a place where you can be you. Detach from as many stressors as possible and enjoy yourself. You deserve it!

That’s all I have for now.

As always, these words were sent with good intentions, but I do apologize if my words caused you to feel anything other than inspired, empowered, or enlightened.

Until next time, beautiful souls!