Here is the secret about emotional stress. All emotional stress in self-induced. Things ebb and flow in life. Everything that happens to us is 100% neutral. It isn’t until we observe it, process it through our perspective and beliefs that we then choose to paint the situation as positive or negative. Here are 7 stress management tips to help you master your inner peace.
Self Awareness
You can’t change something if you are not aware of it. Being self-aware is realizing that this is no opponent. It is you against you. Become a student of you. Understand what makes you tick and constantly work on improving yourself. Don’t compare yourself to anyone and you are in competition with no one but you. Are you a little bit better today than you were yesterday, last week or last month. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Be persistently consistent and keep moving forward.
Take things personally
Today it seems like people go out of their way to find ways to be offended. We want to take things personally and play the victim. A sign of maturity and emotional fitness is to remain calm and not take things personally when someone challenges you to lose your inner peace. I am not saying to be a pushover. Stand your ground, call people out on their stuff and lay down healthy boundaries to protect your mental health. Understand that how people react or respond to you is not of your business. Hurt people hurt people. Strong, mature, kind people don’t go around purposefully hurting others.
Perspective
Understand that everything that happens to us is for a reason. All the things that we “think” are bad may not be bad. Look at adversity as a blessing in disguise to teach us a life lesson. Adversity is there to develop our character and for us to gain experience. Adversity helps get us to our next level in life. Life is about seeing things for what they are and being grateful for them. Our greatest rewards are on the other side of our greatest challenges. Embrace the hard situations and grow through it. Develop the mental toughness to say hey, this is an opportunity for me to grow, to rise to the challenge and beat it. Playing the victim and staying small keeps you where you are. You either sink or swim. Learn to swim and swim in style.
Understand your emotions
It is human nature to have feelings – to get angry, upset, irritated, sad, joyful happy, etc. When life throws challenges at us or puts us in challenging situations, it can be very easy to become emotional. Your feelings are valid. But it is what you do with those feelings that matter. Most people do not have the skill of diffusing that emotional stress from their body well. I see this every day in my practice. People suppress their emotions and do not handle them on a conscious level. These emotions go from the conscious level to the subconscious level and get stuck there. They are the elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about it. Your body then says to you, “alright, if you are not going to handle these emotions on a conscious level, then I HAVE to do it for you.” This is how your suppressed emotions then manifest as physical problems – neck pain, shoulder pain, hip pain, headaches, indigestion, insomnia, fatigue, etc. When you get emotional, work through it and process it consciously. Suppressing it is only going to invite illness, injury and/or mental health issues.
Diffuse your emotional stress
First understand what it feels like to have inner peace, being calm and in a balanced state. This is where you need to live inside. When you are aware and connected to how this feels, any time you feel like you have loss your inner peace and become emotional should easily come to your attention. When you feel emotional or uneasy inside, figure out a way that is best for you to learn how to diffuse it properly. Some examples of this are exercising, journaling, talk things out with a family member, friend or someone you trust or learn to meditate to let things go to name a few. There are many ways to manage your stress. Whatever is weighing heavy on your heart or mind, learning how to diffuse or release it from your subconscious and processing it consciously can return you back to that inner peace. Being aware and managing your emotional stress effectively and efficiently can really help to supercharge your health and the strength of your body.
Permission to play
This is the one that most people forget about doing, switching gears, doing something different to balance your life better. Let’s face it, life isn’t always easy. We all go through rough patches for a reason. It is part of being an adult. And I understand that some days we don’t have the strength or energy to adult. I get it. This is where you need to love yourself and recharge your battery by giving yourself permission to play. Do something that brings you absolute joy – watch TV, read a book, exercise, go for a walk, put a puzzle together, play an instrument, play with your dog, get together with friends, etc. Give yourself permission to play WITHOUT feeling guilty. Balance your life so you have the strength to keep moving forward.
Support
If you need help, ask for support. Les Brown, motivational speaker said, “Ask for help, not because you are weak, but because you want to remain strong.” Sometimes we need help to get through the rough patches. Develop a support team in place to help you. No one gets anywhere in life without the help of others. Don’t isolate yourself and remain on your own island. Humans are social by nature, ask for the help to remain strong.
Kindness
Throughout this whole process remember to be kind to yourself. We are our own worse critic. The pressure and expectations we put on ourselves are sometimes worse than the situation we are in. Be kind to yourself and give yourself some grace to deal with the challenge at hand. Be sure that your diet is clean so your body gets the nutrients during periods of high stress. If you need to sleep more then sleep more. Get additional chiropractic adjustments. Listen to what your body is saying and support it.
Keep your cup full
It is human nature to want to give and serve others. But you can’t serve others from an empty cup. Make sure your cup is full and you have the strength to serve others. Selfishness and selflessness are two side of the same coin. Choose selfishness when your health is suffering or you cup is empty to restore your strength so you can continue to serve others WITHOUT feeling guilty. Replenish and recharge yourself with any of the ways I have mentioned above. A storm comes not to cause destruction but to clear a path we couldn’t see. A storm comes to give us an opportunity to grow and develop who we are. It is a blessing in disguise. Embrace it and grow through it. Need help ask.
If you’re struggling with any health challenge, call Dr. Keith’s office at 630-246-2627 to schedule a complimentary screening. With a focus on both digestive health services and chiropractic care, Dr. Giaquinto can provide a customized care plan specific to you to help you regain your health. Discover effective stress management techniques and strategies to find calm and balance in your life. Explore expert advice, practical tips, and resources to help you cope with stress and improve your overall well-being.