6 Ways to Minimize Stress in Your Life

As many of you know, we are in the process of moving. We lived in an apartment for 3 years and moved in after we got married. Phil and I had an apartment full of things individually, we got many amazing gifts for our wedding, and then I started a blog. And a blog just equals more kitchen things. I love all of my kitchen things, but we have a lot of them. For this move we have lots to pack (and pack and pack). We are moving from a 1,000 square foot apartment to a 1,700 square foot house. That means our own garage and our own yard (well, rental home with rental garage and yard). We are excited! With all of the excitement of moving, we had an extremely hard time finding this house. We really solidified the home only 3 weeks ago. And that’s after 3 months of looking for a home to rent. Because of all of that looking (and starting to pack even though we had no place to go) I was getting really stressed. We even had a house we thought we would rent but the home fell through at the last minute and we had to move in 2.5 weeks and had no place to call home.

I have to be honest stress got to me in this process. I thought I had a little better stress management system in place. (I guess not as well as I thought).

There was even a time that I was emotionally “done”. I bet you know that feeling, where it’s like the flood gates open up and you completely melt. I think we were created to have a breaking point, because after we break I feel like we really are able to get a second wind and keep going. And obviously I’m still going because I’m still here, still packed up the rest of the house and am typing this blog post. (P.S. This post will go live after we move).

I had to dig deep and start doing some stress relief techniques. I wasn’t going to let this stressful event of packing and moving take me down. I decided that I may have some recovery time but I wouldn’t let my body crash. As I started implementing these stress relief techniques I decided why not share them with you too. I hope you can find these before you have a stressful event. But if you find yourself stressed and not sure what to do, I hope that you can apply some of these techniques and relieve some stress wherever you are at right now.

1. Prayer

This is a life-saver. In every aspect of my life. Prayer is something that I do on a daily basis, but in times of stress I have to look towards help from God more often and more consistently. I actually don’t think I could get through a day without prayer, but it is a lifeline for times of stress.

“Prayer is where the action is.”
John Wesley

“Don’t pray when you feel like it. Have an appointment with the Lord and keep it. A man is powerful on his knees.”
Corrie ten Boom

“Prayer breaks all bars, dissolves all chains, opens all prisons, and widens all straits by which God’s saints have been held.”
E. M. Bounds

2. Good Diet

Never underestimate a good diet! If you’re been following Just Enjoy Food for a while you know how much I love good nutrition and making healthy eating a lifestyle. But when our bodies are stressed we NEED to eat better. There’s no way around that.

When stressed we need to cut down on inflammation creating foods (like sugars and grains). Another thing to implement is to eat more nutrient dense foods, such as homemade broth, fermented foods, and an increase in healthy fats/ oils such as coconut oil, butter, olive oil. I try and get at least 2 Tbs of coconut oil  and 2 Tbs of butter in my diet on a daily basis. If you are starting out, try for 1 Tbs coconut oil and 1 Tbs of butter.

Here are a couple of articles I’ve written to support a healthy diet that can give you more details of what and how to eat:

Inflammation

Healthy Saturated Fat

Gluten Free

3. Supplements

I love a good supplement. I’m not a big supplement pusher, but if you aren’t able to get a nutrient or vitamin in your diet then supplementation is the way to go. And in times of increased stress our bodies need support. And this can help buffer the stress

Some of my favorite stress-busting supplements are:

• Ashwaganda
• Magnesium: I personally like Ancient Minerals Magnesium oil Spray and Epsom Salt Baths the best
• Healthy Fats: Krill Oil, X-Factor Butter or Fermented Cod Liver Oil (FCLO)
• Adreset or Trancor from Nutri-Dyn (You can take the Stress Assessment and see what is the best adaptogen for you)

4. Chiropractic Care

As a chiropractor, I love it when people are under regular chiropractic care. Our bodies are controlled by our nervous system. Our brain communicates to our body via your nervous system, your spinal cord and the nerves that come out of each vertebra of your body. This intricate and very delicate nervous system is the foundation of healing in your body. I know I talk a lot about food, supplements, and other ways to build health. But I don’t want you to forget about how important chiropractic adjustments are to your body. I believe wholeheartedly in regular chiropractic adjustments for the whole family. From birth on up.

In times of stress chiropractic adjustments are even more critical to our bodies. When our bodies are stressed, our nervous system is affected and that can cause subluxations. A subluxation is when a vertebra shifts out of position and puts pressure on the spine and nerves. Chronic stress = chronic subluxations. Regular adjustments restarts the nervous system and allows life to flow into your body. It also helps reduce the negative effects stress has on your body.

I always recommend finding a good wellness based chiropractor. At our office we do structural correction for the spine and then maintain that correction over a life time.

5. Finding Time to Recharge

This is a hard one for me to do. When I’m stressed my head spins. I am one who easily gets overwhelmed. I wish when I was stressed I became the energizer bunny and got a lot done, but that’s not me. I tend to get stopped in my tracks when there’s too much going. How does your body deal with stress?

I have learned that when I feel this way I need to plan to do something that recharges me. It could be as simple as watching an episode of television or a walk or to get out of the house and go to a coffee shop or meet with a friend. When I do this, I gain perspective, recharge and can then get back to what I need to get done. With moving I’ve had to leave my house a few times or turn on a movie to give my brain a break from organizing. I also like to do an “emotion check” and see if there are any emotions I need to work through because of the stress. I personally use The Emotion Code and am certified in that specific technique. Once I have my recharging time I can see my organization in a new perspective.

I’ve learned when I take time to recharge I am always less stressed and I get more done.

What do you do to recharge?

6. Get More Sleep

This is one I often times fail at when I’m stressed. I think more time= more productivity. But what actually happens is that I get less done, go to bed later and then can’t get up early. It’s no good. If I go to bed at a decent time at night I can get up earlier and wake feeling rested and ready for my day. There’s nothing like waking up feeling ready for your day!

Here’s what a good schedule looks like to me:

Bed at 9:30 and sleeping by 10:00. I like to wind down before falling asleep.

Wake around 6:30, check my email, schedule out some blog things on social media and then start my day at 7:00 am. If I need to sleep in I am starting my day by 8:00 am.

I am very blessed to have a schedule that allows me to sleep in a bit if my body needs to. And there are times it definitely needs to sleep in more. I am no early morning person (I wish I was) and when my body needs more healing and recovery I need at least 9 hours of sleep per night. That’s a lot, but it’s what my body needs. I give myself grace knowing that I will probably always need more sleep than most. I won’t be a late to bed, early to rise and have tons of energy person. But I can know my body and how to make it function the best. And you can do the same for your body… learn what time you need to get to bed and wake up to have a productive day. Learn how many hours of sleep you need to feel rested.

 

I want to hear from you:

How do you deal with stress?

What are some of your favorite stress-relieving techniques?

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