Becoming A Healthier You Blog

When you meditate, you are clearing your mind of random and jumbled thoughts. The information overload going in your mind, slowly builds up and may be causing you stress.
Here’s some of the ways you can meditate in just a few minutes:
Breathe: can you take deep breaths? You’re already meditating!
Scan your body: concentrate on each part of your body, focus your energy on each section, and become aware of your body’s aches, pains, tingles, etc., to aid in relaxation.
Repeat a mantra: whether you are secular or religious. An example can be “om” or a simple prayer.
Walking: Did you know you can walk and meditate at the same time? Yes! Just repeat the steps above and find a quiet forest, or section outside to do so.
If you have any questions about meditation, feel free to reach out! We are here to help YOU, become A Healthier You!
10 Signs You May Be Stressed and How to Manage Your Stressors
Exhaustion: are you regularly exhausted? Can’t ever seem to get enough rest?
Difficulty Sleeping: Trouble falling asleep?
Aches and Pains That Won’t Go Away: That weird headache that never seems to go away with anything, maybe a sign.
Muscle Tension or Jaw Clenching: You may not even realize you are clenching your jaw!
Weak Immune System: Are you breaking out? Are you getting sick more often?
Stomach or Digestive Issues: Are you having random stomach pains? Making more or less trips to the bathroom than normal?
Anxiety or Irritability: Are your loved ones noticing how your mood is changing?
Panic Attacks: This is your body reacting to stress.
Overeating: This could possibly be you trying to manage your stress, and not even realizing you're doing it!
Smoke More Than Before: Yes, yes, we all know smoking isn’t healthy, but are you smoking more than before? You may not even realize your stress is higher than normal, and that it’s leading you to smoke more!
These are just some of the signs that your body experiences when you are stressed, along with some of the behaviors that may be used to try and cope. Again, you may not even realize what you are doing, or experiencing!
How is stress diagnosed?
Since stress is subjective, it can be tricky to measure. Only the person experiencing it can tell how much stress they are under. A healthcare provider may be able to give some guidance and tell you what you are experiencing is a sign of stress, but only the person experiencing the jaw clenching, the muscle tension, the neverending exhaustion–are some examples, can tell!
How can I relieve some of this stress? Can I prevent it altogether?
The short answer is no–you cannot avoid stress altogether. We wish you could! However, no one can! It’s just part of life! What we can do is tell you how you can help relieve some of it, get past it, or recognize the signs. We already talked about the signs, let’s discuss how to relieve them!
Exercise: This can help get your mind off of whatever is bothering you! Sweat it off!
While we realize not everyone can go out for a run, try doing some low impact, yoga or meditation. This can help get your mind off of what’s bothering you and get you moving!
Journaling: Think about what you have accomplished, not what needs to get done!
Think about what you are grateful for, not what you don’t have.
Therapy: Consider talking to a therapist to vent, or perhaps a close friend!
Planning: Consider getting a planner! Break big tasks into smaller tasks!
Acceptance: Accept that you cannot control everything. As much as we all would like to control it all, we simply just can’t!
No: Learn to say no! Simple as that! Don’t complicate things. You’re busy and can’t help a friend? Say no.
References:
Stress: Signs, Symptoms, Management & Prevention. (n.d.). Cleveland Clinic. Retrieved April 12, 2022, from https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/11874-stress