Management of Stress

Stress management techniques are really important in the day we live in.

I wrote the other day about how chaotic life can be sometimes, and how chaotic our life is right now. It's certainly not something that I can't handle, but I am really trying my limits right now which is a good and a bad thing. I also have to remember that the challenges that I'm going through, not to belittle them, are nothing compared to the challenges of other people in the world in reality so that helps me ground myself a bit.

The things that really have helped me so much in the past few weeks and months is trying to figure out how to best manage my stress levels. There are lots of books, podcasts and shit out there on the topic as there are with many things. I think that's one of the great things about the day we live in, the depth of resources is unbelievably vast and complex.

Some of the ways that I am able to manage my stress levels these days are some of the basics that many of the people talk about: taking a deep breath when confronted with a difficult scenario. This one seems pretty basic but we so often forget to do this and it's really important that we do it! Getting the extra oxygen into our bodies and feeding our brain is really important for so many things, especially when our stress levels are high.

One that I've started to factor in more often these days is also one that I really enjoy, even if it's just briefly. Getting outside and getting some fresh air and sun! We've had a really good bout of weather where we live lately, which seemingly is going to change, but we've had lots more t-shirt and shorts weather than normal. I'm not too worried about that overall but I am taking advantage of it for sure. I am making it a point to get outside and soak in the sun for 2-3 minutes when stress levels are really high. When things are calmed down a bit, but still elevated, I try to get out there and breathe in the air and soak in the sun for at least 15 minutes or more. A few times I've taken a meeting I've had and sat outside in the direct sun to get some delicious sunlight. This has helped wonders!

A big one that's helped so much over the past few years though for sure is being able to spend some time from my day or evening writing. I don't profess to write things that are profound and meaningful, but going through some things in a day or event and writing some of them down into things for the chain here has been very cathartic to me and my mental state. Granted there are a lot of things that I don't write about which is good, because that's also not good to just throw our whole lives out there for people to read.

Going through the photos that I've taken to find the right ones for the posts has also contributed to my ability to manage the daily stress. I didn't really think that would be the case but it's certainly been so over the past year or two as things ramp up in terms of stress levels. I've always loved looking at photos and find it really fun to go through mine when I am writing to find ones that I find appropriate or just ones that I am interested in at the time. It helps sort things out and keep things on a good level.

What about you, have you figured out techniques that work for you to manage your stress levels? Do you need more? Let me know in the comments!