EFFECTIVE WAYS TO DEAL WITH STRESS

It would be somewhat of an understatement to say that the past few years have been a little difficult to cope with. Who’s with me?

If there is one thing that this whole pandemic has taught us, it is that each of us has to be doing everything in our own power to manage our lives, our health, and the amount of stress that we find ourselves experiencing. The COVID-19 pandemic has been a brutal reality, but what’s not brutal is our resilience and willingness to power through.

It makes perfect sense that we’ve had to come up with new methods to adjust our lives and adopt better habits.

Recently on the blog, we spoke about “instead of doing more, doing less” and the response was overwhelming (in a good way). So, we wanted to provide some other tools for your toolkit so you can effectively deal with stress, if and when it strikes.

Let’s dive in.

Get moving!

As you likely know by now, Dunnebells is a huge advocate for movement. Our bodies were literally made to move. However, you should not expect that getting some exercise will solve all of your problems for you.

Research has shown that the release of endorphins that occurs after a decent workout can help boost your mood and put you in a better position mentally to deal with the stress that you experience on a day-to-day basis as well as any larger issues that you may have. So, it can’t hurt, can it?

Being physically active has numerous benefits for your mental health. Not only can it help clear your head and assist you in coming to terms with what is bothering you, but it also has the potential to improve your overall health and wellness at the same time.

What do you do if you don’t really enjoy exercise? We’ve got covered in this blog, go ahead, click that link.

Relaxation

When we say relaxed, we mean with a deep sense of calm. Relaxing isn’t about finding a technique that helps you calm down only on the surface. It’s much more than that. Increasing one's stress level has never been shown to make anything better, and the greater your stress level gets, the more everything will ultimately appear to be worsening.

In order to be able to concentrate and zero in on what it is that is causing you an excessive amount of tension and concern, you must first identify strategies that will assist you in relaxing. Finding something that works for you is the only thing that matters.

Maybe you try yoga, maybe you simply try stretching, or maybe what you need to relax in is a dark room with zero sounds whatsoever. Or, you might be into brown noise or white noise and a cup of tea.

Whatever works for you, is what you should do. Finding what works might be the hard part, but with the end goal in mind, we trust that you’ll find something that works for you.

CBD 

CBD can be used for a wide variety of purposes and in a wide variety of methods to enhance health and reduce the anxiety that is related to stress. If it’s not your thing, no worries - it doesn’t have to be. But if you’re interested in figuring out if it could work for you, it’s never a bad idea.

Several manufacturers of CBD have created a wide array of formulations with varying concentrations of cannabidiol (CBD). Finding a concentration and dosage that is effective for you frequently requires going through a process of trial and error. At Dunnebells, we have a number of our members using CBD as a way to deal with stress and the results are pretty incredible!

Avoid undesirable habits

During times of stress, if you fall back on behaviours that you are well aware are not good for you, you will find that you feel even worse about the issue.

Consider the alternatives to engaging in unhealthy behaviors (such as going for a bottle of wine, gorging yourself on food, or engaging in any of your other vices). What could you replace that habit with? Maybe you just stop the habit, but if you can’t do that - replacing it with a better habit always seems to make avoiding a tad easier.

When you are under an extreme amount of pressure, do you reach for a drink? Eliminate the possibility of giving in to temptation by avoiding purchasing alcohol and keeping yourself busy with activities that prevent you from having a drink.

Easy in theory, hard in reality we know.

Bad habits are difficult to quit, but if you fill your time with meaningful activities that are beneficial to your mental health, you will find it much simpler to learn how to properly cope with stress. Talk to your family and friends or your healthcare provider if you are unsure of how to handle this situation on your own. They will be able to offer you assistance to help you get through the difficult moments

SUPPORT

Interested in what it’s like to have a coach in your back pocket to help you navigate these stressful situations so that you can become your best self? Please, head to our website to find out more www.dunnebells.com .