Stress

Stress: 

A common issue in today's society is show much stress we put on ourselves and how stressed our lives are. 

 I, for one am completely guilty of spending too much time on work and just not enough me time, and I never realised the toll, this actually took on me and the others around me. I will tell you I'm always that person to think I haven't studied enough, therefore I will end up studying almost 7 hours. Only to realise in a state of panic that it's 1:00 am and tomorrow (today) I am going to be extremely tired. It also took a toll on how I saw life, I wasn't my usually bubbly happy self but rather my extremely, tired, grumpy and stressed self. Because stress was directly linked to my lack of sleep, I didn't actually have clear vision or perception of the world around me. I constantly believed my friends didn't like me and that I was hated by everybody, which I clearly wasn't but because of my high stress I began to believe these things. This all took a snowball effect on my happiness. Because of the such busy and go-go lifestyles we have we begin to forget, that small things such as happiness. I began to forget what it mean to smile and laugh and just enjoy the simple things without worrying about the future, or what university I might attend, or the next exam or SAC I am going to sit, I completely forgot how to live in the moment, and just be present! 

Today a friend told me, what really in a sense was a wake up call and she literally begged me to just relax and stop. Just that single care from someone changed my day. I realised I do not need to spend hours and hours each day studying which is important on some days, but is completely unnecessary for each day of the week. She told me to just do something I enjoyed for once, something that relaxed me and caused me to have no stress and be the me that I once was. She's a gem and called me tonight just to check and see what I was doing and making sure I wasn't doing homework! So the rest of this post will be a bunch of tips to help take the stress or relieve the stress out of your life. 

Friends

Surrounding yourself with good friends, or even just forming meaningful relationships with others can dramatically relieve the stress you are feeling. Think about it, let's say you had a friend that was drug dependent, you would constantly be worrying about them for days on end. Compared to a friend that made you laugh, that you could call when anything goes wrong or just even, someone to give you a hug. This can help in so many ways. So instead of focusing on the quantity of friends you have focus on the quality. 

Meditation: 

This may sound a little weird to some people, but this can really help get your mind in order. In fact there is an app that you can download from the App store called Smiling mind, it is completely free and takes you through the steps and importance of meditation. I do mine 5 mins before i go to bed and I find this makes a massive difference. 

Taking me time: 

Taking time out of your day, whether it be 5 minutes all to yourself to just breathe and be alone with your thoughts, can be really beneficial or it can be something more, exciting or big such as a spa say or even some time at the hairdresser. The important thing is to do something that you love and just be present in the moment. 

5 grateful things:

I advise every body to do this , every night before you go to bed get a diary and write 5 things you are grateful for, it can be as simple as having some food on the table. This will really help in making you go to sleep in a good mood, therefore you are more likely to wake up in a better mood, causing less stress in your life. 

I also advise you all to read this book that has really helped me in finding my quest for happiness and a stress free lifestyle and that is 'The Happiness Project' RRP $24.99 AUD 

Below you guys can all share what you all do to relieve stress and let's help each other. 

Carly xx