Stress is something so insidious and difficult to recognize and manage and it is a subject which I intend to expand on in later articles. Stress manifests in so many different ways, then once recognised it is often hard to identify which area of your life is causing the stress and why.
The general population often seem poorly equipped with tools to manage stress, myself included, and when not managed properly it can progress to other, more serious forms of mental unrest such as depression. With statistics of 1 in 4 people having a mental illness likely being a gross underestimation it is obvious people need better ways of dealing with the stress that come with a challenging modern life. Everyone's mental well-being sits along a continuum between full health and debilitating illness and it is our responsibility to be aware of where we are on this and how we can care for our minds as well as our bodies.
It is far more common for health promotion to be focused around achieving and maintaining a healthy body, but what about daily advice on how to keep you mind healthy, and are the two directly linked? I think they are.
There is an increasing focus on advising exercise as a form of management for stress, anxiety and depression to try and move away from the prescription medication response that has become the norm.
It has been well documented in the past that exercise can help reduce stress and anxiety and help with the management of depression, partly through a physical response by increasing the release of Serotonin (a happy hormone) and partly through the increased sense of achievement and self-esteem in provides for people.
However in my opinion is also has to be incorporated into peoples lives in a fun and relaxing way otherwise it gets put on the 'to do' list and ends up causing increased stress when it doesn't get done.
Often people need to change their attitude towards exercise and make multiple lifestyle changes to ensure they have more coping strategies to manage stress.
Some tips for stress relief
Eat well, a low stimulant (sugar and caffeine) diet full of fruit and vegetables will help maintain good levels of nutrients essential for stress relief. The ones particularly important are the B Vitamins, founds in green leafy veg, beans and lentils. Aswell as being essential for managing everyday stress responses there are increasing studies now linking B Vitamin intake with reduced risks of degenerative cognitive function and illness such as Dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Also Vitamin C is very important, which is found in abundance in fruit and veg, it may also be helpful to take a supplement as levels in supermarket fruit and veg can be widely variable.
As well as contributing to poor blood sugar control stimulants can increase the levels of stress hormones in the body adding to the feeling of anxiety and irritability. Some substances, such as coffee, actually act as nutrient robbers, so they deplete the body of essential minerals.
Exercise daily, in whatever form you like, but raise your heart rate and enjoy it, get some fresh air and have some 'you' time.
Write lists of the things that are stressing you out the most and then write an action plan on how to deal with it, even if you just write little steps at first. This will immediately make you feel more in control of the situation and when the jobs are ticked off, it will make you feel like you are taking action and dealing with the problem.
End your evening by focusing on some positives! Think of three things that you are grateful for in your life at the moment, this will help put things into perspective and get your mind into a positive place before trying to sleep.
Set some achievable goals to work towards, this will help take your mind off the areas of your life that are stressing you out and help focus on some new exciting challenges. This is where I find exercise works well, as it combines a physical beneficial response as well as refocusing your mind on the task immediately in front of you.
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