Apologies, I had such a good summer I forgot to schedule posting a blog! Are you someone who gets worried about things to do? Do you worry about forgetting, letting your stress build and worry until it's done?
It's important to manage stress levels, as over long term they can have a detrimental impact on your life. Constant stress can lead to high blood pressure, heart problems, digestive complaints, sleep disturbances and a whole other host of issues. Short term it can be fantastic to get us out of difficult situations or get that deadline met, so it does have it's place and isn't always bad. It's just our body doesn't know the difference between 'good' and 'bad' types of stress and hasn't developed from when we were about to be eaten by an animal that we needed to escape.
To manage our stress it's important to recognise it could be part of our life and try to spot when it is happening. My stress levels raise when I'm trying to manage many different things, so I have a tendency to write lists in my diary and use an app on my phone so I don't have to try and remember everything. Whereas I used to get annoyed with myself if I did forget something, I now see that it's maybe not the end of the world and that my human side has got the better of me. So in this case I forgot to write my August blog post - the result? No one emailed me, there was no hoo-ha to say it hadn't been done and I thought 'oops, oh well', so, I guess it was absolutely fine!
Want some tips to help stress levels? I've started a 5 minute morning meditation, you can get a wide choice if you search You Tube for 'five minute meditations'. The other thing I would recommend is regular complementary therapies. I'm not just saying this because I'm an holistic therapist, I'm saying it as someone who regularly gets sessions and who realises that time out from the hectic day to day stresses is actually really important. It gives you time to clear your thoughts and give your body a break, because it's all going to be waiting for you when you get back to it.
Other things you can do: get outside in nature, take a bath, read a fiction book - not everything needs to cost money, but they can all help you when things are just getting a bit too much. Another important aspect is to get off technology for the hour - don't answer texts, emails or social media in that time, as this can also add to your stress levels. You may think you don't have time to take a break, that there's too much to do, but begin the mantra 'I have plenty of time' and give yourself an hour. Getting back to things you're likely to find you're more alert and focused on the task that needs to be done.
So the next time you've forgotten something, remind yourself you're human, give yourself a break and look for a solution that's going to be the least stressful way to stop it from happening in the future. When you're less stressed you're likely to have more energy and alertness to get the work done quicker and enjoy life more.
