The irony of having a whole month dedicated to “stress awareness” is that we’re rarely aware when we’re feeling exhausted, overworked, and in need of some serious #selfcare. Right?
The Mayo Clinic defines stress as “a normal reaction the body has when changes occur, resulting in physical, emotional and intellectual responses,” but we don’t alway feel this reaction in real-time. Instead, that stress presents itself as other mental symptoms ranging from feelings of overwhelm to loneliness to negativity. Physically, stress can also manifest as bodily pain, low immunity, and nervous habits (like nail biting). It’s a lot more complicated than many other human emotions—but it’s nothing you can’t handle.
If we become more aware of how we’re feeling, we can learn to defuse overwhelming situations before they escalate.
4 Strategies To Help You Get Real With Your Stress
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Try an exercise snack: TBH: All snacks are delicious—but exercise snacks are special. These mini-workouts last between 5 and 20 minutes so you can get all the stress-busting benefits of a sweat sesh during your lunch break. Try this 16-minute core workout to get started.
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Celebrate your accomplishments: We tend to focus on the negatives. The items on our to-do lists that didn’t get done. The conversations we wish had gone differently. The $100 bucks we probably didn’t need to spend on a new pair of sneakers. Try listing out three accomplishments at the end of the day to rewire your brain. (“I made a delicious latte this morning” totally counts.)
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Box breathe: If you’ve tried and failed to start a meditation habit 20 times over, same. Box breathing is nice because it only requires a couple minutes and offers a comparable mental clarity to meditation practices. Inhale for a count of four. Hold for a count of four. Exhale for a count of four. Hold your breath out for a count of four. Keep going for about two minutes.
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B.Chill… with a teaspoon of honey: Our B.Chill Honey is designed to bust stress and support sleep with every single spoonful. Stir into a cup of tea for R&R on speed dial.
