Stressed Spelled Backwards is Desserts
The last couple of weeks have in fact inspired this week’s blog. Stress. We all go through it, in a lot of different ways. In my life, it is school. This semester has been very time consuming, and hasn’t brought much joy to my life (grad school probs). The stress has been all consuming, and exhausting. I am kind of glad that no one saw me very much for a few weeks, because it was rough, and I would just sigh and cry for no apparent reason at all. You guys feel me? Even if I wasn’t doing something for school, I was thinking about it. To be honest with you, the stress behind the thought of school was probably more stressful than just doing the schoolwork. I know I’m not alone in this. Whether it is school, work, health, bills, or your relationship we all seem to be a ball of stress. We get so caught up in the hard things in life; we often forget all of the amazing things that happen every day. We wish our life away, and we are constantly trying to get to the next phase of our life, and forget to enjoy the one we are in right now. I’m pointing the finger at myself when I say this. Like I have said before, I was blessed with being extremely type A. I had my kitchen decorated; my kids named, my dog picked out, and daydreamed about my car when I was 14 years old. I laugh at all of that now. I find it funny that I thought I would be in that much control over my life. Nothing has worked out in the way I planned it, it was all worked out better. Notice that I did not say easier, I said better. At the end of the day, God’s plan for your life is much better than anything we could plan ourselves.
I have kind of given up on trying to plan my life so much, and it is a very freeing feeling. Don’t get me wrong, I relapse sometimes, but my controlling tendencies are at least getting better. What I’m getting at, is that stressing over things we cant control is not going to get us anywhere. I know it is easier said that done, but what most people don’t realize is that stress can have a harsh consequences on your health. We all react to stress differently. Whether it is a physical reaction like an upset stomach, sleep lose, you eat less, smoke, or even isolate yourself from friends and family. All of these things affect your well-being. You body has a natural stress response during which it releases stress hormones into your body. Which cause your body to go into an “emergency” mode. This is referred to as a fight or flight response, and it prepares our bodies to react quickly. However, this emergency mode is not meant to last for long periods of time. On the contrary, long-term stress is very hard on a person’s body. I want give you all some ideas on ways you can help reduce your stress, and things that have gotten me through years of spreading myself too thin.
1. Write it down. I am quickly figuring out that this is my advice for a lot of things. But, when it comes to being efficient in a hectic week, this helps tremendously. During the last few weeks, I have written countless to-do lists. It ensures that I stay on task when I would rather be watching Netflix, and it makes me feel accomplished when I get to cross items off of it.
2. I don’t sacrifice the things I love when I am busy. It has always been one of my pet peeves in life when people say they don’t have time to do something (namely: workout). Even on my most busy days, I can at least squeeze in a 30-minute workout. I don’t do this because I am afraid I am going to get fat, or because I will lose muscle mass in one day. I choose to be active every day because it keeps my mind healthy too. You get to forget about your mental stress, and forget about the world for a bit. It has been the key to my sanity for the longest time. It’s also much cheaper than a therapist.
3. All during finals week you see pictures of students study snacks, and for some reason they are always full of neon colors and trans fat. When you are going through a stressful time, it is more important than ever to eat healthy and take care of your body. I know that it doesn’t seem important at the time, but you will be much more successful when you quit making excuses for times so you can binge eat. Food is still food, even when you are stressed out. Don’t turn it into an emotional cohort for you to eat your feelings. Buck up, and take control!
4. If you are suffering from stress, and it has been a long-term problem, you should evaluate what it is that is causing you so much pain in your life. Either eliminate it or fix it, because your body cannot work well when you are in an extended period of stress. It can lead to depression and many other horrible side effects.
5. Also, you can abandon some things in life that you thought were a necessity before this. 1. Showers: as long as you smell okay, you are golden. 2. Wear a hat, this kind of goes with 1, but it saves time and energy that you don’t have. 3. Although I don’t suggest eating tons of candy, I would suggest you find a caffeine source. 4. Find an outfit that you really like, because you will probably be repeating it.
This is a subject we can all find common ground with; all of us go through it. Although that isn’t always comforting, you can have comfort in knowing that it will pass, and if it doesn’t, then you aren’t choosing to be in control. Health is so much more that eating healthy and exercising. Keeping your stress levels down plays a huge part in your spectrum of health, and it is important that we all take control of the variables in our life that cause the negative impact. My finals are finally over, and with several tests in the books, and after practically writing a book, I am glad to be blogging again! I have some exciting things coming in the new year, and I will share them with you soon!
-B
What’s that? Wednesday
I do in fact know that it’s Thursday, by the way. I just don’t want to change the name, and I don’t plan on posting on this day anymore. Anyway, today I am talking to you about one of my favorite things. Orange/Fruit Punch Kool-Aid water enhancer, and it is wonderful (don’t you dare go out and buy all of them, I will come after you!). I have been known to use a whole bottle of it in a day. I drink a ton of water, usually way over a gallon (yes, I pee a lot). These flavor enhancers are a good way to add some flavor to your life if you don’t enjoy the taste of water, but you also don’t want to drink your calories. I personally love water, but when I am feeling fancy or frisky or whatever, I put some of this in my water. Actually, I’m not going to lie, I use a lot. I would say it is stout, and way more than they recommend. They have many different flavors and brands of this at the grocery store, so go try some!