Making healthy changes in order to reduce stress

How to manage stress and why your mindset matters.

I am a chronic over thinker. I once asked my therapist what I should do about this, and he responded simply with “don’t”. So of course, I thought about that for a while.

My issue with stress is that I tend ignore it and let it stack up rather than use it as a motivation to rid myself of the root of my stressors. Here are some steps I try to take in order to get the ball rolling in the RIGHT direction.

See it: Ignoring stress yields more stress because you can not fix something until you see that it is broken. Try reflecting on the stress and the reactions it invokes.

Questions like, “Is your reaction to the issue making the situation better or worse? What changes can you make to manage the stress?” Most importantly, “What’s can you learn/gain from this stress?”

Use it: Stress is designed to metaphorically grease your body’s gears by priming the fight vs flight responses, so  why not use your stress response as leverage. If the stress is giving you energy, motivation, or a sense of urgency, how can you use it efficiently?

If stress is working the other way, and keeping you in a funk, then you might consider what other things you can accomplish in order to get into the correct head space. This can range from making your bed, going on a run, working on some music, or cooking up something crazy. Once that task is done and you feel confident in your abilities, you usually have more energy to rid yourself of SEEMINGLY overbearing stressors. Using your gifts and talents to relieve stress keeps the stress from growing and getting a life of its own

In conclusion,

Let your money make money, don’t let your stress make stress