Have you ever felt nervous, frustrated, and angry just by doing something or thinking about something? If yes, you may be experiencing stress.

Stress is caused by many factors, such as a demanding day-to-day work schedule, current events, and various situations. Rocky relationships with family or loved ones and friends can also cause stress.

How Do I Know if I Am Stressed?

• Are you unable to have a full, proper sleep?
• Do you find yourself getting headaches often?
• Did you suddenly lose or gain weight?
• Do you feel impatient about the things happening around you?
• Do you feel all alone and would rather spend time by yourself?
• Are you often angry and irritated about the most random things?
• Do you find yourself constantly worrying or obsessively thinking about certain things?
• Are you unable to concentrate?
• Do you find yourself losing your appetite or being unable to stop eating?

If you answered yes to most (or all) of the questions above, then you may be stressed.

The good news, however, is that you can overcome your stress by changing some things that you can control in your life.

Here are some tips to help you cope with or overcome stress:

1. Incorporate Physical Activity into Your Daily Routine.

If you are stressed almost every day, then you might need to start moving your body. Go for a walk, go jogging, ride a bike, or try a sport that lets you move around a lot. You can also try doing yoga or pilates, which are calmer forms of exercise, but still require a lot of body movement.

Studies show that physical activity helps your overall health in two ways:

1. Reducing your stress
2. Improving your mood

If you find yourself often stressed and anxious about various things, try incorporating some physical activity into your daily or weekly routine. It doesn’t even have to be that strenuous. After some time, you’ll start thinking less about the things that stress you out and look forward to other things instead. You’ll also be able to sleep better and eat better.

2. Eat Healthily.

You’ve probably heard the phrase “You are what you eat.” And while you certainly don’t turn into a hotdog or pizza, the kind of food you eat affects your health much more than you realize. Eating healthy isn’t just for people who are stressed or depressed, but for everyone.

If you are stressed, you might observe that you tend to reach for that bag of chips in your pantry rather than the salad in your fridge. Stress often leads you to overeat and choose highly palatable foods. While they may boost your mood for a while, they won’t last that long and will eventually lead to harming your health in the long run.

You need to have a well-balanced diet and nutritious food. Eat regularly, and don't skip meals as this will help regulate stress and mood swings. 

3. Spend Less Time Online.

Sometimes, scrolling through your phone may give you a temporary high—especially when you see the number of people who have liked your tweets or viewed your latest Instagram stories. Nevertheless, too much of one thing is never a good thing. While mobile phones, laptops, and gadgets play a big part in your life, they should not take up every moment of your day.

Spending too much time in front of your screen adds to your stress and can also negatively affect your sleep—leading to more stress. Set a time limit for yourself when it comes to browsing your phone. You can use some helpful apps or get a friend to check up on you. As much as possible, you should also avoid looking at the phone at night when you are about to go to sleep.

4. Take Time to Journal

When you feel stressed, one of the best ways to relieve yourself of it is to let it all out. And one such way to do that is by writing your thoughts and feelings in your journal.

Every time you feel stressed or tired, pause for a moment and release it from your mind and heart onto a page in your journal. When writing in your journal, you don't need to think about grammar or how it sounds. Just write anything that crosses your mind. Express how you felt or what went wrong in your day. There is no right or wrong way to journal your stress away. Just be yourself, and after you've written a lot, you may find that you feel a lot better.

Journaling helps you express your thoughts and feelings, leading to better understanding and self-awareness. While you write to clear your head of negative thoughts, you may also want to end your day writing about something good that happened to you, replacing your negative emotions with something good. Write about what you're grateful for, a kind gesture someone did for you, or a beautiful quote you found. Wondr Journal has templates to help you guide your thoughts to a more positive mental space especially when you’re feeling excess stress. 

5. Embrace Self-Care

Sometimes, in the busyness of things, you forget to take care of yourself first. You usually feel stressed if you are not fit physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

Set aside some time for yourself so you can practice self-care. Here are some ideas:

• Curling up with a good book
• Getting a massage
• Doing a hobby you enjoy
• Having a nice, long bath
• Going for a walk and immersing yourself in nature
• Using a diffuser or lighting a candle with calming scents
• Preparing a delicious, healthy meal
• Watching a great show you really like (nothing heart-racing or heart-rending)

6. Spend Time with the People You Love.

Everybody needs a support system—that close circle of family and friends who know us, understand us, and accept us no matter what. They’re there for us on good and bad days; they celebrate with us and go through hell and high water with us.

When you’re feeling stressed, it might be a good idea to talk to them about your feelings. You can also ask them for advice or what they think, as it often helps to see things from a different perspective.

7. Know Your Boundaries.

Most of the time, you may find yourself in sticky, stressful situations because you don’t know how to set boundaries. Or even if you’ve set them, you don’t communicate them. Try setting boundaries at work with your supervisors and colleagues. If you are a freelancer or work from home, enforce strict limitations for yourself, such as not looking at your phone or answering emails after office hours.

For others, boundaries get stretched a lot when it comes to family members and close friends. People often let those closest to them get away with demanding more because they're too embarrassed to say no.

Start by identifying your boundaries. Communicate them kindly but firmly to family and friends. It can be terrifying, but if they really love you, they'll respect your decisions.

8. Listen to Calming Music.

If the world gets too much to bear, sometimes, taking a step back and going to a quiet zone will help soothe your nerves. Get out your earphones and play some calming music. Some soothing piano music would do, or you might find that nature sounds help you calm down, too, such as the sound of waves or rain.

9. Take a Vacation.

Sometimes, it helps to get away from it all. It’s not just taking a walk in the middle of the day. Go on a complete vacation where you can rest your mind and soul for a little while. And that means turning off your phone, not answering work calls and emails, and even chats from friends.

Go where you can immerse yourself in nature. Book a cabin by a lake or a cottage by the sea. Hike to the top of a mountain, camp under the stars, and watch the sunrise the following day. As much as possible, go where there aren’t that many people and not too many distractions either.

10. Get Professional Help if You Need It.

If you find yourself unable to get rid of the negative thoughts, if your days are constantly filled with anxiety, maybe it’s time to get professional help. After you've tried to do all of the above and nothing helps, it might be time to see someone—a counselor or therapist or life coach—who can help you identify what is giving you a hard time and how to get rid of it.

Your mental well-being is just as important as your physical well-being. If you want to thrive in your professional and personal life, you must take care of yourself first. Seeing someone who can help you might be that tiny step you need to take to set you off in the right direction.

Living a Happier, Healthier Life

Often, the key to a happier, healthier life lies in yourself. It’s all about the food you take, the exercise you incorporate into your daily routine, and how you let it all out.

If you’re feeling stressed, don’t be afraid to start a journal and write your thoughts down or reach out to those around you and express that you need help. You deserve to have a happy, wonderful, stress-free life.

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