Coping with Stress and Anxiety

Life these days

Life these day’s is stressful. We are surrounded by propaganda about how the NHS is going to be shut down, we’ll never have a house or a good job, and we will be forced to work into our mid seventies –  that’s if we don’t all die in a nuclear war, or get taken over by Isil before then.

The generation just entering work have been hit hard by the recession, and now will bare the brunt of the aftermath for the foreseeable future. Our live’s and our futures are uncertain, and this causes increased anxiety around everyday life.  I thought I’d share a few of the things I do to help me get to grips with stress and anxiety.

Goals

This is a big one for me. My new years resolution was to make weekly goals for myself. (Not to brag or anything, but I’m still doing it – waheyy!) They are normally small, achievable things. For example -make my bed every morning – which is something that has probably only happened twice ever before this year (ahem!). Although that may not sound like a huge life-goal, I feel a lot better for having a tidy-room, and now that I’ve made it a habit, it feels strangely like a big achievement.  More often than not my achievement’s that week will be much greater than what I set out to do. If not, at least I’m making my bed every morning like the real life adult that I am!

Yoga and Mindfulness

There’s been a lot of hype around Mindfulness recently – living in the present rather than the future to decrease anxiety. Most of it is based around meditations, and I find the easiest way to practice this is as part of a yoga programme. That way, I still feel productive as I’m exercising, I’m getting endorphins to aid stress-relief and happiness, and I find it just comes more naturally as a result of focusing on the yoga postures.

To Do Lists

The satisfaction of crossing of an item isn’t the only thing To-do list’s are useful for. I often keep several going at a time. one for work, one for personal life, one for chores, one for blogging etc. It helps to keep things separate, meaning I get more balance if I prioritise 1 or 2 things from each list. I also like to add normal things that I do anyway, like ‘shower’ or ‘have breakfast’. This way, even when you haven’t got a lot of work on, if you are feeling down about it or have little energy, you can still get the satisfaction of that little tick next to an item on your list.

Does anybody else use these tools? I’d love to know if you have any coping strategies you’d like to share?