Tag Archives: stress

Going Healthy, Health, Lifestyle, Tips

Simple Ways To Relax For Those With Low Energy

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Do you need to relax right now? If you do, you probably don’t have the kind of bandwidth left that means you can go for a walk or call a family member and have a present conversation. You need something simple to do that’s going to help you right now!

Whether you’ve had a long working week or you’ve been dealing with a big family crisis, you’ve now got little energy left, and you definitely don’t have the patience or capacity to cook a nutritious meal or cover the bathroom in candles and incense either! 

But seeing as we all relax in our own ways, it’s good to have a long list of potential ideas for simple relaxation methods. This way you can try out a few things that won’t take much effort at all, meaning you can end your day in a comfortable and supportive way. 

Let’s make that easier as well. Here’s a little list of simple ways to relax that could work for you. 

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Have a Hot Drink Under a Blanket

It’s the simplest and most easy thing to do, but if you’ve got some hot chocolate or cocoa in the cupboard, pop it in a pan and make yourself a good hot drink to sip on. Then grab your favorite blanket and cozy up under it. Whether on your bed or on the sofa, as long as you’re somewhere comfortable and you don’t feel the need to get up again, you’re in the right place. After all, now you’re in the perfect position to have an easily relaxing evening! 

Once you’re in position, you can get up to all the other de-stressing ideas down below. For the meantime, make sure you’ve got a big cup to get through and the blanket you’re under is super fluffy and warm! 

Put Some Music on

Changing your environment can have a strong impact on your mental health. 

Play a Game You Don’t Have to Focus on

Games are meant to be fun, and if you’re already a fan of video gaming in your spare time, loading up one you don’t have to focus on is a good way to replenish your energy. This is likely to be a simple game such as minesweeper or an old game you know well that you’ve already sunk hundreds of hours into. 

Load it up, spend at least half an hour on it, and let yourself relax and have some fun without thinking about the world outside. Instead, spend some time in another world, and get involved in character problems that aren’t real and don’t require much thinking or effort from you.

And gaming has been proven to be a very relaxing activity to try out. If you’ve got a free evening to yourself and you really need to recharge your batteries for a while, use this hobby to disengage from reality at hand and take things at your own pace. 

Have a Nap

If it’s been a very long day and you just need to shut your eyes right now, feel free to take a nap! It doesn’t even need to be only 20 minutes long – you can sleep for upwards of an hour if your brain and body needs it. Let your body guide you in this moment; not listening to it is what leads to draining days like these happening a little too often! 

Curl up somewhere comfortable and take a nap; sometimes it really is the only reliable way to recharge, especially when your energy has been completely drained from you and you feel you couldn’t even take another step! 

So, if you’re a bit zombified right now, get some sleep. Or if you feel you’re going to be napping for a long time, just head to bed early and have a very good night. It’s perfectly OK to be in bed by 7pm some nights! 

Tense and Release

A form of mindfulness, tensing your muscles for around 10 seconds (or just as hard as you can tense them) and then releasing and letting the tension out can bring you into the moment. It’s a good grounding technique that helps your muscles to let go of that last bit of rigidness that was making you feel on edge. 

When you tense and release each muscle in turn, going down your body from your head to neck to your shoulders and so on, each muscle group is going to get its turn. This will ensure you let out tension all the way across your body and you’re not holding onto anything without realising it. 

Background Noise and Deep Breathing

If you don’t tend to practice deep, diaphragm breathing from time to time, let your lungs fill as much as you can and make sure you breathe from your belly (and not your chest!). The more you breathe like this, the easier breathing is going to feel, the less pain you’re going to carry in your body, and the less tension you’re going to feel across your shoulders. 

Try to keep your feet on the ground as you breathe like this, and then put some background noise on that you can zone out to as you practice. This is a good way to ground yourself and clear your mind from the worst of the thought cycles that are going round it. 

The background noise you’re using should be a sound you really enjoy, such as whale song, or a rainy forest, or even ambience from a coffee shop. If you like it, it’s going to be a lot easier to be present with yourself and not your worries. 

Take your time trying out deep breathing, as you’re not going to feel immediately relaxed after only a couple ins and outs. It’s even recommended that you should get your breaths down to only six per minute, which can help to regulate the inner cogs and clocks that rule your body and the way it behaves. 

Put Something You Love on TV

If there’s a TV show or a movie you’ve always loved to watch, and it doesn’t matter how many times you put it on – you still have fun with it – put it on right now. Having something  beloved to watch during low energy periods when you need to recharge can help bring you back to a peaceful peace where it feels easy to breathe. 

So put something you love on the screen and lose yourself to it for a little while. If you can clear your mind and end up feeling a bit stronger as a result, that’s a good thing. At the very least watching something relaxing can help you get to bed and get a good night’s rest. 

Unwinding before bed is the best way to lull yourself into a comfortable sleep, even if you need to stare at a screen for a bit! And if you happen to fall asleep as you’re watching, that’s perfectly fine too. After all, it only happens every now and then. 

If You’ve Got Low Energy, Don’t Push Yourself! 

Keep it simple instead! That makes relaxing when you’ve got no energy to do anything else perfectly possible. You can kick back with your feet up and sip a warm drink, tensing and releasing your muscles as you recline, with some warming music or something funny you love on the TV in front of you. What could make for a better evening after you’ve had a hectic and stressful day?

Going Healthy, Health, Life, Lifestyle

4 Hidden Causes Of Stress And Anxiety

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Stress and anxiety have become almost synonymous with modern living. It affects millions worldwide, and many have no idea how to keep them in check or properly managed. That has largely led to about 75% of doctor appointments due to stress-induced ailments. People know about stress, but few are aware of the hidden causes. You’re about to discover the lesser-known causes and how to avoid or manage them.

  1.  Perfectionism and unrealistic expectations

Do you often set lofty standards for yourself? People seeking happiness and success unconsciously adopt the habit of wanting to get everything right in their lives. Whether in their careers, relationships, or personal achievements, the desire to be perfect is immense. Unfortunately, life doesn’t work that way; forcing things can create immense emotional and mental pressure. Perfectionism and unrealistic expectations breed stress and anxiety. The constant fear of failing to meet unreasonably high expectations becomes the breeding ground for uncontrollable frustration. Before you know it, you will be dealing with tremendous levels of stress that impact your well-being. The only way to avoid this is to learn to embrace imperfections. Accept that life is full of mistakes, but the good thing is the opportunity to correct them when the need arises. Set realistic goals that put less stress on your mind and body.

  1. Emotional labor

People often overlook the impact of emotional labor on the mind and body. This factor refers to regulating, managing, or masking your true emotions to perform a task or job, usually to conform to societal expectations. Many professions fall into this category at a glance, explaining why emotional labor is often overlooked. For example, certain jobs require you to be cheerful even when upset and unhappy. Customer service and front desk positions do this often and are usually burdened with emotional labor. After a long while, the discrepancy between your true emotions and what is required of your job builds stress and anxiety. It is, therefore, important to build healthy coping mechanisms such as mindfulness and open communication. The latter is crucial, especially when your supervisors notice a challenge in your ability to remain cheerful with clients as the job demands. Some employers understand the impact of emotional labor on their workers and enforce work-life balance measures.

  1. Sensory overload and fatigue

Sensory overload can affect anybody, especially when exposed to excessive noise, glaring lights, and other environmental factors. A less recognized aspect of sensory overload can be found among people with hearing loss. It can be emotionally taxing when you struggle to follow conversations and actively participate in them. Hearing loss and fatigue can trigger stress and anxiety if not well managed. Fortunately, that can be alleviated by seeking professional help. The audiologist and hearing instrument specialist will explore options like hearing aids and assistive devices to reduce sensory overload. That is why it is advisable to check your hearing often. Early-stage auditory loss may present as reduced sound quality when watching TV or listening to the radio. You can only follow TV and radio programs when the volume is greatly increased to a point that others find noisy. You don’t have to strain your senses to communicate with the world around you. The more you do, the worse you aggravate your situation. Chronic stress is associated with many ailments, so it’s vital to avoid such situations to get out of control.

  1. Social media overuse

Reports indicate that more than three hours of constant social media usage can harm your mental health. The question, therefore, is why this is so. Social media tends to alter reality; for many people, that is more than enough to trigger stress and anxiety. People want to be seen as living the best time of their lives, so there is immense pressure to live beyond their means. Some purposely travel or visit expensive hotels to capture pictures and videos to be posted on social media, and it may not necessarily reflect their lifestyle. Unfortunately, this background information is unknown to many. Some people end up comparing their lives with the personalities they see online. The urge to live like them is a source of stress for many. These curated and idealized versions of others trigger inadequacy and low self-confidence. That is why people are advised to limit their social media usage. If you cannot, you’re better off acknowledging that the curated lifestyles you see there are mostly unreal.

Stress is everywhere, and so is anxiety. Remember to seek professional help when your coping mechanisms fail to produce desired results.

Health, Life, Lifestyle, Tips

How to Find Support During Difficult Times

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Have you ever noticed how sometimes life is moving along just fine, and then you suddenly get thrown a curveball? If you are going through a period like that right now, you are not alone. Everyone experiences times in their lives when nothing goes the way they had hoped, and everything feels more challenging. 

There are many reasons why your life may feel more difficult right now than ever before. Perhaps you are experiencing ill health, maybe you have relationship troubles, or you are simply finding life extremely stressful right now. Whatever the reason you feel this way, it is crucial to know that you can reach out for help whenever you need it. There is never any shame in asking for help, and it is a brave thing to do. So, if you could use some extra support while you go through a difficult time, seek it out and use it while you need it. 

If you feel ready to get help but are unsure what support you need, you should find these tips useful in helping you to get back on track:

Confide in a Friend

One of the most important things to remember when life gets tough is that you don’t need to face the issues alone. Reaching out to talk about how you are feeling can make a big difference. Being able to share how you feel and what life has been like lately for you can make you feel less alone and provide the support you need throughout this difficult time. There’s nothing quite like having a friend on hand to listen whenever you need it to make you feel better about any stressful situation you may be facing.

Seek Legal Advice

If your problem relates to a legal issue, this can be especially stressful, and you may feel unsure how to handle the problem. 

Seeking legal advice as soon as you can is an excellent way to relieve the pressure you face and make life a little easier for you. You can start by conducting some research to help you find a reliable law firm, such as McKenzie Law Firm, to ensure you get a lawyer with a proven track record of helping people in situations just like yours. With the right law firm on hand to guide and assist you, you should feel any pressure you are feeling start to drift away.                 

Get Professional Help

Having a friend you can confide in can make a vast difference to how you feel when you are experiencing difficult times. However, sometimes you may need a little extra support. Many people find it beneficial to speak to a therapist when experiencing difficulties in their lives. Professional therapists have a wealth of experience of helping people who are feeling just like you are right now. While your therapist may not be able to solve the underlying issues you are going through at the moment, they can provide a listening ear and guidance when you need it most.