10 things to try r
ight now
Managing how we feel, is about looking at all aspects of our life. Cutting down on things that make us feel worse and increasing the things that make us feel good.
The strange thing is, most of us love to keep talking and thinking about the things that are bad and do not have time to do the things we love.
Start sorting out your mood by paying attention to the following. You have to start somewhere and this is small enough to get you going.
If you are not sure if you are stressed, you can take a stress test here.
- Do not go over and over past hurts or arguments in your head. Why not? As each time you do this, you get the same sort of feelings that you did when it first happened. There is no point feeling all the bad stuff again, when you might be sitting at home in front of the TV. It is your thought processes that are making you feel bad, the original event has gone.
- Sort out your to-do list. Remember it is a to-do list – it is meant to be ongoing and not all completed today. How many of the things are urgent – most of the things that stress us out on the todo list, are not life and death situations. Very few things in life need your attention right now.
- Give yourself plenty of small breaks throughout the day – including when you are working. Did you know that our brain works well for a good 60 to 90 minutes and then has a natural downtime. Do not push through this down time, let your brain have a short break and it will thank you for it.
- Keep a check on the caffeine. Too much will over stimulate you and make you feel nervous. This is especially important if you have stress or anxiety. You do not want to be stimulating your already overstimulated nervous system.
- Cut back on sugar if you can. Sugar interferes with our blood sugar levels. Having blood sugar peaking and dipping, can cause adrenaline and cortisol to be released, which does not help if you are already anxious.
- Watch how you talk to yourself. We all have a running commentary on our lives that goes on inside our head. Make sure yours is helpful and not critical. Most of the time we do not pay attention to our self talk. Spend the next few hours policing your own self talk and find out if it is helpful or hurtful to you.
- Get enough sleep. Everything is easier to cope with when we have had sufficient rest.
Get started with these few simple things. You might be surprised at the difference!
About Elaine Ryan
