Stress! It has been named the health epidemic of the 21st century and statistics show that we are currently more stressed now than we were only 5 years ago. It has become a daily part of our lives while we struggle with juggling everything and we ultimately end up feeling like we are failing at it all which further adds to our stress.
What actually causes stress though, and are you currently managing it effectively?
What causes stress?
Many of us prefer to think or believe that what is causing us to be stressed is the circumstances, people or situations around us and everything that is happening outside of ourselves. However, what is actually causing you to feel stressed is your internal reaction to this external stimulus.
Most of us have supressed and repressed our emotions internally throughout our lives and what is making you feel stressed is this internal pressure of pent up emotions that is being triggered by what is happening around you. The longer you continue to hold on to the negative energy of emotions like anger, fear, guilt and anxiety, the more these emotions begin to control you.
This is actually good news
There is quite a lot of misconception around delving internally in order to deal with what is making us react or feel the way we do. We are wired to want instant gratification or a quick fix so we spend a lot of time outside of ourselves, doing what society tells us we should be doing, and distracting ourselves from actually making the real (sometimes uncomfortable) changes that may be needed.
It is actually good news though that stress is caused internally and that you can manage stress from the inside out. It means that you actually have more control and power over dealing with it than if you are waiting for everything else around you to suddenly not make you feel stressed. It does however mean you need to be willing to delve deeper and let go of the misconceptions in order to take back that power.
How to relieve stress?
If you feel like you are ready to start making those changes, and really manage stress, here are some tips to start you off on your journey:
- Become more self-aware – I highly recommend that you take the time to get to know yourself and check in with yourself often, without knowing who you are and why you are reacting as you do, there is no starting point. I get my clients to start making notes of their stress triggers and negative thought patterns they are experiencing so they can be more self-aware and start to manage their stress from there;
- Focus only on what you want – many of us feel anxious a lot of the time, and what often causes this is us focusing what we don’t want to happen to us in the future. When you are feeling anxious stop and reflect on what you are currently thinking about and turn your focus around to think about only what you DO want from any given situation;
- Start learning how to let go – many of us have been conditioned from a young age that negative emotions are bad and that we should control our emotions, unfortunately this often leads to us repressing and supressing our emotions, instead of allowing ourselves to feel whatever we need to feel and then let it go. Emotions are actually a great indicator of our negative thought patterns so stop ignoring them or pushing them further inside;
- Be present – we spend so much of our lives living in the past and the future, that we end up missing so much of what life has to offer us right now. Start being present in your life, every time you feel yourself drifting backwards or forwards, which your emotions will be able to tell you, bring yourself back to now;
- Own your power – I know it can feel scary to go inwards and let go, but don’t let fear get in your way. You have the power to manage the stress in your life without having to waste so much more energy trying to fix and control everything that it happening outside of you. Own this power and start understanding how you tick.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this, have you managed stress this way before and do you have any further tips?
If you feel you would like help with starting you on this journey, you can get in touch with me on http://wildflowertransformationcoaching.com.www78.cpt1.host-h.net/contact/ to organise a free Stress Awareness Session.
