The pandemic can take a toll on people, and stress is far from impossible. With the year almost over and the vaccine now in sight, stress can still affect us in many aspects.
People doing their work from home, studying for online exams, cramming for presentations, or busy doing their tasks amidst their cramped up schedule may not be new to stress.
Many of them treat stress as part of their daily lives. It will continue to persevere as long as they are working under pressure, while on the way to work, during work, and after work, until they go home. Happy hormones can also deteriorate over time with too much stress.
The only rest that we can have to lessen the burden of stress in our body is to sleep. However, do you sometimes find it hard to sleep because of too much stress or fatigue? Some people also experience situations like that, as stress robs the only way they know to de-stress.
According to the American Psychological Association, in their survey, 31 percent of their respondents observed an increase in their stress levels during 2016 and 2017, while 20 percent experienced extreme stress. Poppy Jamie, an entrepreneur, TV personality, and creator of an app called " Happy, Not Perfect," was not a stranger to this mental health issue. Her mother is a psychotherapist, and she had known all along the impacts of stress on one's lifestyle. According to her, the most successful people create mindful rituals to take care of their minds, enable them to make healthy decisions, and manage stress even under pressure. To help others in battling this mental health issue, Jamie provided seven steps for a clearer mind.
First Step
It is important to note that managing your mind starts from recognizing the feelings you are currently feeling. Are you sad, broken, excited, rejected, happy, or anxious? You also need to remember that there are no such things as bad feelings and think of it as temporary.
Second Step
Proper breathing allows your mind to cope up and calm your stress. Jamie emphasizes the use of belly breathing, where you will slowly inhale for five seconds then exhale for another five seconds. Relax your shoulders, and do this breathing exercise slowly for 30 seconds.
Third Step
This step is like making your diary, except you need to shred it to pieces after writing. After your mind recognizes your feelings, write down the reason why you are feeling this way. Why are you anxious? What happened that made you feel anxious? Writing down the first thing that comes to mind helps calm your stress and attain a clearer mind.
Fourth Step
Following the writing of reasons that stress you, write a list of what you are grateful for on this day. People easily forget the positive things they are experiencing and dwell on the negative aspects of life. Thinking of positive things for this day can get your happy hormones going and will clear your mind eventually.
Fifth Step
Do activities that will make your positive hormones continue to flow. You can draw your happiest memories, or you can also listen to your favorite lists of music and sing alongside it. Doing these activities will help distract your mind into thinking about the negative situations and reasons causing you stress and clearing your mind.
Sixth Step
Now, after distracting your mind from negative reasons, shift your focus to another perspective, and encourage a release of dopamine to boost your self-esteem. You can do activities like forgiving someone who has wronged you in the past, or think about the things that you would tell your friend if he/she is feeling the same as you are right now; you can also tell someone that you appreciate them and how much you do, or you can give compliments to yourself.
The Last Step
Lastly, spread love and compassion to others. For Jamie, those who think of others the most are the happiest. Encourage and appreciate someone today. Make someone feel better even just by talking to them. A simple text or checking up conversation might help clear the mind of others.
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