Everyone experiences stress. No one is immune to it. Sometimes it can help you focus and get tasks accomplished. But when stress is frequent and intense, your body feels the strain. Learning to effectively manage stress is crucial to living well. Valuing your mental health and protecting your peace takes effort. I’m sharing all of my personal recommendations. And we’re not striving for perfection here. Just a path towards the most joyful and tranquil you.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links and I may earn a commission if you purchase through them. I only partner with companies and products that I use and trust and that align with my personal mission.

How Stress Affects You

Stress affects your entire body, mentally as well as physically. If you’ve ever fallen ill after experiencing long-term stress, you know this. Continued stress leads to increased levels of cortisol. That cortisol weakens our immune system, making it easier for you to get sick.

Other symptoms might include:

• Insomnia or difficulty sleeping
• Headaches
• GI upset
• Jaw pain
• Changes in appetite
• Frequent mood swings
• Difficulty concentrating
• Worsening symptoms of a mental illness
• Elevated blood pressure
• Aches and pains
• Panic attacks
• Anxiety or irritability

Why Some People Manage Stress Better Than Others

Everyone has their own unique threshold. Large crowds and loud noises might affect some, while others stress over silence or free time. Certain things that upset you, won’t make a friend raise an eyebrow. What you might not realize though, is we are all vulnerable to stress at different times in life.

When you’re sleep deprived, or experiencing poor physical health, you’ll be more susceptible to how stress affects you. During major life changes such as the death of a loved one, getting married, having a child, starting a new job or moving to a new home, stress can be harder to manage.

How To Manage Stress

You know how stress makes you feel. The question is, what are you suppose to do about it? Stress is unavoidable, and some of us are more prone to stress than others. We often try to manage stress with unhealthy behaviors or avoidance.

To manage stress in healthier ways, you can develop a personal approach to recognizing triggers and experiment with coping strategies. It’s important to remind you that you’re not like anyone else. What works for a friend, a coworker, or a family member, might not help you one bit.

You might also love 25 Easy Healthy Habits To Feel Better Now

Manage Stress With Movement

Move all day. Movement is so powerful. It’s an instant energy shifter and gives you the opportunity to release stress throughout the day. Plus movement increases the release of endorphins, dopamine and serotonin. Physical exercise does so much more than burn calories and build muscles.

I exercise just as much for my mental and emotional health, as I do for my body. And we have to stop thinking that our minds and our bodies are disconnected. You are your body, and your body needs to move.

Start your day with light stretching or a short jog, get up from your desk at work every hour and move your body. As a nurse my job requires hours of physical movement, but I still find myself wanting to run some specimens down to the lab or help transfer a patient by wheelchair just to keep my body moving all day.

Whatever you do, make it fun. Use these moments to be periods of joy, not additional blocks of stress in your already overwhelmed schedules.

Practice The Art of Acceptance

You will be capable of managing stress in many situations, when you learn to accept who you are. The real you. To accept yourself, means you don’t deny or suppress emotions as they come. Rather you acknowledge them. No harsh criticizing either.

As you learn to make peace with things in the moment, you step out of your way and move toward growth. You’ll be able to see that each moment has a purpose, or a reason for unfolding the way it does.

Acceptance allows you to admit your mistakes, own your outcomes and unconditionally value all parts of who you are. Protecting your peace also includes recognizing your triggers. When you’re more aware of your triggers, you can work towards avoiding triggers when possible, and how to cope when it’s not.

The rhythm of your breath has a profound impact on your state of mind.

Manage Your Time

Prioritize your activities and use your time well. Making some type of day-to-day schedule helps ensure you don’t feel overwhelmed by everyday tasks and deadlines. I know there are loads of digital apps out there. However, I’m an old fashioned, paper and pencil kinda girl. I love a colorful planner, note pads, post-its, you name it. Here’s a link to grab my favorite weekly planner pads or reminder binders.

Make sure to schedule a time for joy. Planning pleasant or relaxing activities is just as important as scheduling a doctors appointment or grocery trip.

That being said, I constantly struggle with managing my time. I want more of it, and I never seem to have enough. As a parent, it seems to be flying by at a rapidly increasing pace. I want personal time, professional time, family time, etc.

But time is that one precious currency you will never be able to earn more of. Even now as I type it, I know I need to listen to my own advice.

Breathe

Take a breath. Your breath is one of the few components of your body you can control. Breathing may be reflexive, but it has the power to completely transform your energy. Altering your breathing sends messages to your body of calm and safety, focus and alertness. It’s one of the fastest ways to shift your consciousness.

Chest breathing keeps tension in your neck and shoulders and tells your body to be alert. Belly breathing is a signal of ease and safety. Also try extending your exhale to make it longer than your inhale. This stimulates your vagus nerve, calms your nervous system, and over time, reduces inflammation and stress.

The rhythm of your breath has a profound impact on your state of mind. On the flip side, your state of mind will impact how you breathe.

Disconnect

We’re all guilty of mindlessly scrolling on the interwebs.

Set aside time in your day to leave electronic devices behind. Spend some time in nature. We experience an instant mood boost when we’re outdoors. If you happen to live or work near a body of water, spend time there. Allow it to calm your energy and reduce stress on your body.

The art of relaxation is harder than it looks. I challenge you to try it today. Allow your body and mind to relax, unwind, settle into itself and release anxiety. Begin the process of protecting your peace.

Engage In Mindfulness

Mindfulness is our ability to set an intention and shift our awareness to the present. To be nonjudgmental about our experience. Mindfulness has been shown to help reduce stress, decrease anxiety and improve emotion regulation.

This might sound very woo-woo to you, but becoming a more mindful person can start while you read this. Put on soothing music. Savor your bites of food. Take a long bath or shower and actually feel the water. Do that disconnect thing and put your phone away at the dinner table, or while playing a game with the family.

My favorite way to improve mindfulness is through single-tasking. Single-tasking is doing one activity at a time with as few distractions as possible.

I’m currenly practicing single-tasking by silencing my phone while creating content, and focusing on a single task for 25 minutes, then taking a 5 minute break.

Oh, and when something swoops into my thoughts and tries to take my focus away from the task, I jot it down. A lot of multi-tasking comes from remembering to do something in the middle of another task. If you ask my husband, he’ll tell you I’m crazy guilty of doing this all day long.

Boost Your Mood

Even with these tips on effectively managing stress, I still need mood boosters sometimes. Not to mention that many options for managing stress take time and come with a learning curve. Wouldn’t it be nice if there were easier options? Whether powders or pills, I have been researching and using many healthy, holistic products on the market today. I’m passionate about sharing these supplements.

Take a Chill Pill

If you need a quick and easy supplement, Stress Ease by Banyan Botanicals is my go to. This is perfect to take as needed. Does packing for a trip and heading to the airport stress you out? Take a Stress Ease. Interviewing for a new job, big presentation at work, meeting your partners family for the first time, etc.

Basically, this organic herbal supplement allows you to be better prepared for the physical and emotional challenges you face. It helps you reduce feelings of anxiousness, promote a calm mind and support rejuvenation.

My new favorite though is a product by Just Thrive. Their breakthrough supplement Just Calm is a wellbeing weapon against stress. It’s called a psychobiotic. A new category of mood-influencing probiotics. Just Calm reduces perceived stress, diminishes mental fatigue and improves your ability to handle occasional overwhelm. This is literally a game changer when it comes to your relationship with stress. For a 15% discount on Just Calm, enter SSSOUL at checkout.

Powerful Powders

Golden Mellow and Magic Mushroom by Your Super have phenomenal adaptogens and super food powers. They make managing stress delicious and easy. I personally love adding Magic Mushroom to my morning coffee. It has Ashwaganda, cocoa and cinnamon, yum!

Instead of pouring a glass of wine at bedtime, opt for a golden latte with Golden Mellow. With Ayurvedic adaptogen Tulsi, ginger and turmeric, it’s perfect for de-stressing and reducing inflammation as you sleep.

For further information on adaptogens and how they work, check out Adaptogens Are Guaranteed To Improve Your Quality of Life

Reach Out For Help

Asking for help with your mental health can be hard, but you’re not alone. I’m not a mental health professional, but I’ve had experience reaching out for professional help.

Talking to mental health professionals, family and friends, have brought me to this stage in life. It only took me 35+ years to embrace reaching out for help. Don’t wait that long.

You might not like asking for help. Maybe you feel like a burden, or you’re terrified of what someone will think. The truth is, people who care about you, want to help you. And if you don’t want to speak to family or friends, talk to licensed clinicians.

Before you reach out, think about the outcome you want. Do you simply want to be listened to? Would you like more practical or emotional support? Just talking about your problems, your stressors, your triggers, etc is incredibly freeing.

My Final Thoughts

Managing your stress is a lifelong journey. My advice to you is this: remember that having a bad day is a universal human experience. Try to keep things in perspective. Treat yourself with kindness and support, as if you were your own best friend. Take a few minutes each day to appreciate yourself and how far you’ve come.

Medical Disclaimer: The information provided on Sweat Savor Soul is not substitute for professional medical advice or treatment for medical conditions. You should not use this info to diagnose or treat a medical problem. Sweat Savor Soul is not liable for how the information is used. You are personally responsible for your health and wellness. Sweat Savor Soul is simply a guide to help you reach your goals through healthy lifestyle changes.