This April is Stress Awareness Month and Promise Community Health Center wants to help you manage your stress little by little with some stress management tips!
Even the smallest steps can help improve your mental health, whether that be prioritizing self-care or making changes to reduce stress. Little steps like making manageable adjustments to your routine can make the biggest difference on your mental health over time.
Here are some helpful ways to manage stress:
- Connect with someone: Check in with your support system and connect with someone new. A sense of belonging and community can help reduce feelings of loneliness.
- Prioritize sleep: Take steps to improve your bedtime routine. Minimize screen time before bed, create a clean and restful sleep environment, or write down what is on your mind.
- Move in your own way: Get moving the way you want and do activities such as walking, running, yoga, and stretching. Move in a way YOU will enjoy to get those endorphins flowing.
- Spend time in nature: Take some time out of your day to step outside, get fresh air, and enjoy nature. Eating lunch outside or taking a short walk after work can help stimulate your senses.
- Breathe deep: Breathing is an excellent tool for reducing stress and increasing relaxation. Short and shallow breaths can heighten anxiety, while deep breaths help us shift into relaxation mode.
- Practice mindfulness: Focus on the here and now. It can help with self-awareness, emotional regulation, and control. For example, you can have a mindfulness session where you are mindful of your five senses while you do an activity such as a nature walk.
There are many things in our world that can be stressful. Such as the increase in the cost of living and finances, work, uncertainty about the future, relationships, personal health, and personal safety. Recognizing stressors is a great step to minimizing your stress little by little.
You should regularly check in with yourself, asking if you are experiencing signs of stress or burnout. If you are, contact a mental health professional or someone you trust.
