Dealing with Stress

Hiya! Emeraude here, wishing you a wonderful Wednesday. Do people even use the word stupendous? The next time I'm talking with somebody I'm going to use it as much as possible, just to see their reaction. Before we get into a discussion about teenagers and stress, I should answer Alyssa's question from last week. Her question was "What is your slushie order?" her's is interesting, mine is very simple! I like a medium blue-raspberry slushie on a hot summer day. 

Everyone is stressed about something, that's just life. But do you know the actual definition of stress? I didn't, I wasn't even really sure what the difference between stress and anxiety was. That's why today I decided to write about dealing with stress. 

I wanted to start by making sure I had a clear understanding on what was stress in my life and what was anxiety, because I think a common mistake I make when discussing these issues (which are equally important in my mind) is confusing the two terms. I'd also like to point out that I'm not a professional and am just speaking from experience. 

A quick google search explained this "In a medical or biological context stress is a physical, mental, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension. Stresses can be external (from the environment, psychological, or social situations) or internal (illness, or from a medical procedure)" and this was taken directly from an article on the matter by medicinenet.com. With my question answered, let's get into stress management. 

The first thing I want to stress (pun intended) is that it helps immensely to have an awareness of why you are stressed and whats on you're plate. Right now I think we all have extra stress in our life at the moment, but regardless it's still very important to identify what is going on in you're head. 

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not telling you that I would suggest hooking your head up to a stress detecting machine (is that a thing? I don't believe it is) and making a four page report on why you are a little on edge. What I do when I'm stressed or overwhelmed is write a list of all the things that are going on, the tasks I have to complete, the school work I am thinking about, the projects I have to complete, things I want to get done, etc and go from there. Once I have done this I tend to see what needs to be a priority and follow up by crossing out anything that I don't need to worry about (please don't cross out that 2000 word essay that's due this Monday and you haven't started yet). 

Good, now that we know why we are stressed we can better deal with it. 

The best tool I have for managing life in general (stress included) is journaling. I have so. many. journals. They are such a great "dump zone" for worries, they never repeat what they're told, and often when I'm writing in my journal I work through problems I'm having and solve them just simply by reflecting. When I am stressed I will simply write about why I am feeling stressed to start. After that I read through my entry as if I was trying to help a friend with a stressful situation to try and come up with helpful notes on how to deal with it. Other times I just go on rants and vent, which is really soothing. It's also the perfect place to write that list I was telling you about, you know the one to help you identify what's freaking you out? Yeah, that one!

Something else that is really important even if you aren't stressed out is time management. When you have a lot on your plate (which is a very common reason people get stressed) and you try to just keep it all straight in your head a few things are bound to happen. 1. You will most likely forget about something you needed to do, 2. You are exhausting you're brain power worrying about not forgetting that you told Suzzie you'd call her at three and that before that you need to get x, y and z done, 3. Your going to be way less productive because you can't give any task your undivided attention. Get what I'm saying? 

Time management is something I have often struggled with (in part because I have tried to only keep things organized in my head, which I learnt the hard way is a recipe for disaster)and if you are in the same boat, do not worry my friend, that's why I am writing this post. There are so many tools to aid in time management and organization. If you are an app kind of human then I would suggest to use Google Tasks because its free, and simple and doesn't have a bunch of bells and whistles to distract you. It can also link to your google calendar super easily if that's something you use. There are many apps out there, I would suggest to try a couple and see which one has features that work for you. 

I'm a pen and paper kind of girl however, so no matter how many apps I tried I always end up finding them more annoying than anything. This comes back to the journal tool I mentioned. I usually make a list of things I want to get done during the week in my journal and then transfer them to a simple planner I got at the book store. Sometimes I decorate these, but lately I have found it a lot more soothing to my stress and anxiety to use a couple different colored pens and just use the lines provided. Less chaos for my eyes = easier for my to take in. But not everyone works the same, some people need the motivation of cute decor to help them go back to their list and want to check the tasks off. 

If journals, and notebooks and such sounds like too much to you, and you aren't really an app person I understand, sometimes you just really need simplicity, especially if you are already stressed and overwhelmed about a lot going on. In this case I would suggest getting your hands on a notepad you can keep on your desk and use for the things I suggested (notes and lists and such) it work just as well and is often a lot less time consuming. 

I know many people enjoy coffee, and I understand because I also enjoy it a lot. However if you are stressed I would highly suggest that you try to cut down on the amount you consume. The reason being that the caffeine in coffee increases stress and anxiety. According to an article by health.com “The natural effects of caffeine stimulate a host of sensations, such as your heart beating faster, your body heating up, your breathing rate increasing—all things that mimic anxiety,” they go on to explain that you're brain gets confused and just thinks it's regular anxiety. 

I'm not suggesting never drinking coffee again, what I would suggest is drinking fewer cups if you're already stressed out. Another option is to drink decaffeinated coffee to hold you over. 

Assuming you are really stressed (maybe balancing school is really hard, or you just feel like you have too much on your plate) there is still some solutions to manage it. 

Something I find really helpful is sports. It's a way to decompress, let out frustrations and distract your brain from what's going on. I know right now team sports aren't really an option due to a lot of things being canceled and closed, which can be very frustrating. If you want to decompress at home there are tons of at home workouts you can find online. I tend to prefer dance ones because they are really fun, but there are plenty to chose from. 

On a similar note to exercise, I love taking walks around my neighborhood (when weather permits) to calm down. Fresh air helps a lot. Depending where you live there may even be nature trails you can explore. 

I know this is probably something people don't want to hear if they feel like they already don't have enough time to do things, but it can help. Sleep. If you aren't getting enough sleep it can worsen your situation. When you are tired you are less productive, less alert and overall aren't going to be able to tackle the day in the same way as if you were well rested. The Mayo Clinic suggest 8-10 hours of sleep for teens and 7-9 hours for adults. This is something that could greatly improve your stress management.

Finally, if you are really struggling with stress (and/or anxiety), it's significantly effecting your everyday life and you are having too much trouble managing it, you should probably talk to your doctor about it. If it isn't at that point yet, I would suggest talking to a friend or family member about it. Sometimes all you need to feel a little less stressed is to talk to someone. 

I hope some of these ideas were helpful, and that you're hanging in there during these crazy times. I want to leave with a question for Alyssa (as per usual) "What do you do to manage stress?" Have a magnificent day ❤