We would all love to live a stress-free life, devoid of problems, unfortunately life isn’t so straight forward. We all experience stress at some point in our life, even if it is because of something beyond our control. Last week, I spoke about minimising stress at work, this week’s article is a continuation of that conversation, only, this week looks at minimising stress at home.
Find below some tips on how to minimize stress at home.
- Find things in your life that you are grateful for. Whether it is one thing you can think of or whether it’s two or three things, find things that you have in your life that you are grateful for, daily, write it down, look at it and be reminded of how blessed you really are. Yes, I know things could be better, but then again things could also be worse. Be grateful for the little things.
- Have a social life or network. It is very important to have a life outside of work or even the home. This is a good way to let your hair down, have fun and connect with others if needs be. A social life can be something as simple as just going to the nail salon and painting your nails, or it can just be, you just going for a walk and appreciating nature. The point is you have to do something for you, whether it is by yourself or in a group like a church group, where you can meet and pray. I know a few mothers who seem to have their hands tied with a young family, work etc. and feel that there is no time to have to even think of going out with friends, and yes, certainly as parents to young children, sacrifices will have to be made. The point is, if you are tired or stressed and a conscious effort is not made to invest in yourself, or things that make you smile, you will reach burn out, then you will be no help to anyone.
- Play a song that you find uplifting. Whenever I am feeling stressed or not my normal self, I like to listen to music, especially songs that make me want to dance, I immediately feel a sense of joy.
- Take 5-minute escape breaks. This is something I used to do whenever I felt anxious at work or overwhelmed. This is what I was taught when I was doing my life coaching training, the idea was basically to take myself somewhere mentally where I would feel happiness and joy. I used to visualize myself at my dream destination sipping a cocktail. This can be practiced at home also, when you feel that there is a lot going on, take the time to have a break, put your feet up and totally shut off and escape. Remember you are not expected to do everything at once.
- Tell your nearest and dearest if you need help. If you are feeling overwhelmed and you have been feeling this way for so long, don’t assume that loved ones/spouses know where the help is needed. Maybe you need your spouse to come home a bit earlier from work to help you to do some chores, help with the kids or give time to a course you are studying. The point is, ask for the help.
- Put your mental health first. If you want to put your mental health first, you need to create a daily routine that allows you to do so. Make time for, hobbies, prayer, take the time to plan your schedule and honour the commitments you make to yourself. If you are feeling unusually stressed and even sad, then this is something that needs to be addressed, just like we need to keep ourselves well physically, we also need to keep ourselves well mentally. We should also know that ensuring that we check on our mental health does not translate to mental illness, this is a misconception. If you feel low or depressed then do seek out professional help, please engage your healthcare professional, or tell a loved one who can help you get the help you need.
