Stress is a topic that everyone is talking about because Americans live in a stressed-out, crazy, busy time in history with no end in sight. As a millennial I have seen many friends where both parents are working full-time jobs, have children to come home to, and try to have a social and spiritual life. Even if you don’t have children and a thriving social life our jobs are putting more and more demands on us, and barely providing us with a livable wage. The Federal minimum wage has not gone up since 2009 which means with inflation it is becoming impossible to earn a living wage to care for yourself let alone a family. This stress and strain for earning money means working even harder and picking-up a second or third jobs. This does not leave a lot of time for relaxation, self-care, relationships, spirituality, exercise, diet, creative expression, and joy.
As an older millennial (I’m 35 years old), I just stepped away from my high-stress social work job to try and find equilibrium, balance, peace, space, meaning, and purpose. I know, I am truly lucky and blessed to have a caring and thoughtful husband who can support both of us while I get my act together, and by “act” I mean get to a place where I don’t feel like I am about to have a panic attack on a weekly basis. I am finding out now that social work might have not been the right profession for me, but who knows what to pick for their “lifetime career” at the age of 18 when you are starting College. Dear God, you are just a child with an undeveloped brain. Fast forward 15 years and I feel like I have worked EVERY social work job from alcohol and drug addiction, to Hospice, to medical social work, to working for grant programs at colleges, to working at career programs with non-profits and the list goes on. Now that I have stepped away from my social work job, I have been focusing more on stress relief techniques that work for me. Everyone is different and may have a multitude of techniques that work better for them, but this is what has worked for me! I do want to preface this with leaving a career that was not right for me was probably the biggest thing I could do to decrease my stress level. These techniques are things that I did during my job and even more now after leaving my job.
Mindfulness
Becoming aware of thoughts and emotions but not chasing them mindlessly.
4-7-8 breathing technique by Andrew Weil. Breath in for 4 seconds, hold for 7 seconds, and breath out for 8 seconds. Repeat 4-8 times, twice a day.
Be aware that the negative voices in your head is called the EGO and it is doing everything in its power to keep you safe and unhappy.
Breath in and out, sit with yourself for 15 minutes a day and do nothing! Breathing is an essential part of living, so simple and it physiologically slows down your thoughts.
I love guided meditation, imagery, alternate nostril breathing, and muscle relaxation exercises. YouTube any of these exercises and they have videos for you!
Yoga
Outside of breathing techniques yoga is next best thing that helps me get out of my head and into my body.
Yoga is a spiritual practice to help you be more present and calmer during your day without all these pesky thoughts racing through your head.
Combine stretches, strength building exercises, balancing techniques with lots of deep breathing and you get Yoga! Obviously, it is a lot more than that, but that is the basics of it.
I highly recommend watching Yoga with Adriene on YouTube yogawithadriene.com I have followed her for over five years. Most of her classes are 20-30 minutes long and are great for beginners. I also recommend supporting your local community and attending a yoga class!
Journaling
Journal 2-3 pages right when you wake up to get any anxiety and negative chatter in your head. Do not stop writing or look back at what you’ve written until the 2-3 pages are done.
Once you get rid of ceaseless chatter ask who are you?
What excites you? Who do envision yourself to be?
What steps can you take this week, month, in 6 months, next year to live more aligned with your dream? Be specific with your goals make sure they are SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound).
Envision your dream in detail and meditate on it. This is called MANIFESTING.
Exercising
Health experts cannot say enough but exercising for at least 30 minutes a day will make a positive difference with your thoughts, emotions, body and overall well-being.
Find exercises that are right for you and your body, and most importantly find exercises that excite you! My favorites are roller skating in skate parks, and dancing like a maniac.
Get your heart rate up and sweat! That is ridding toxins from your body!
Get outside even if the weather is not ideal. I hear so many excuses from people about WHY they cannot move outside for 15-30 minutes a day. There are so many health benefits to being out in nature moving our bodies! That is what we were meant to do and what our ancestors did. I ALWAYS feel better after walking, running or hiking outside.
Diet
There are so many dietary theories out there and as a Holistic Health Coach I am a big advocate that not one diet is right for everyone.
Don’t get me wrong let’s lay some ground rules!
EAT: Whole, unprocessed foods! Lots of vegetables and fruits. If you can eat seasonally, organic, and local. Make sure you are getting all the nutrients your body needs. Eat a protein source which could be beans and legumes, nuts, or meat. If you eat meat try to make sure it grass-fed and organic. Eat fiber which is in a lot of grains that can contain gluten or may be gluten free. I also eat a lot of fermented foods like pickles, kimchi and kombucha.
DON’T EAT: Refined added sugars and sweeteners, processed foods and oils, fast food, packages with lots of ingredients you cannot pronounce. Limit or eliminate caffeine and alcohol consumption. Avoid foods that contain a high number of pesticides on them known at the Dirty Dozen.
These are my main five coping techniques that have greatly reduced my stress and anxiety. In the comments below let me know what coping strategies work best for you! Thank you for reading this and please sign up for Newsletter that I will be starting this month, February, 2021!
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