Stress is an inevitable part of life. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, “Seven out of ten adults in the United States say they experience stress or anxiety daily, and most say it interferes at least moderately with their lives.” Stress can be brought on by almost anything. The most common sources of stress are work, relationships, health issues, money issues, and politics.
If we don’t handle the stress in our lives well, the results can be devastating. According to the Mayo Clinic, when stress goes unattended, we can experience: Headaches, muscle tension or pain, chest pain, fatigue, change in your sex drive, digestion problems, sleep problems, anxiety, restlessness, lack of motivation or focus, feelings of being overwhelmed, irritability, anger, sadness, and depression.
As you can see, stress can impact just about every area of your life.
Here are 4 practical strategies that I use to handle stress in my own life.
1. Decide where you want to live emotionally.
Anthony Robbins once said in an interview that, “The quality of your life is the quality of where we live emotionally. We all have an (emotional) home.” Ultimately, our emotional state is our choice. You and I have the power to choose how we will feel everyday of our lives.
Breaking out of a stressed-out state begins with recognizing that you and I have the power to move out of that state. We are not victims of our emotions. We can choose another home to live in. Abraham Lincoln said, “Folks are usually about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”
When I feel stress mounting in my life, I always remember that, ultimately, it’s my choice to feel this way or not. This truth empowers me to take action to change my emotional state.
2. Work out your body.
Stress is physical. It has been well-documented now that when we move our bodies with exercise on a regular basis, we can change our physiological state and reduce stress. According to the Mayo Clinic, “Exercise in almost any form can act as a stress reliever. Being active can boost your feel-good endorphins and distract you from daily worries.”
The physical effects of stress on the body are draining. We feel tired and fatigued. We lack patience and often lash out at loved ones. When we exercise, our bodies are energized. We produce chemicals in our brains that act as natural pain killers. We feel better and have more energy, which then counteracts the stress in our lives.
Life is busy. People often say they don’t have time to exercise. I would argue the opposite. You cannot afford not to exercise. “Exercise doesn’t take time out of life, but it puts life into time.”
3. Organize your life.
Life itself, with all of its demands, produces stress. I don’t think anyone wants to intentionally make life more stressful, but we do when we fail to organize our lives. Don’t believe me? Just recall the last time when you felt high levels of stress because of work or parenting or both, and then you couldn’t find that important document. Or you lost your car keys… again!
A disorganized home, office, or car only increases stress in our lives. On the other hand, when we get organized, we can reduce stress. Elizabeth Scott, a wellness coach specializing in stress management, said, “Putting in the effort of getting organized, especially if this organization extends to multiple areas of your life, can help reduce stress levels long term by requiring less last-minute scrambling in a variety of everyday situations.”
Personally, when the spaces in my life are organized and clean, it affects me emotionally. It helps me to relax and focus on what needs to be done.
4. Pray.
In prayer, we have the ultimate stress reducer. Peter gave followers of Jesus this instruction in 1 Peter 5:7, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” The action encouraged here is for believers to throw their concerns upon the Lord because the Lord loves them and will take care of them.
Certainly, we are not to abdicate responsibility. God will not do for us what we refuse to do for ourselves; however, when we pray about things that are stressing us, when we truly put our trust in God, we will deal with whatever we are going through with a different posture. We will act and respond, but we will do so with a quiet, hidden confidence in God. Paul said we would experience God’s peace and that, “His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7)
I believe if you will implement these 4 strategies, you will experience a breakthrough in the levels of stress in your life.
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