Stress is one of those things that seems to be so normalized in todays society. While a little bit of stress can be beneficial to getting a project done in time or the stress that excitement brings when going on a rollercoaster, consistently living a stressful life has much deeper impacts than we’re ever taught about.

 

In the society we live in there are incredibly elevated stress (cortisol) levels found amongst most all individuals. Not only are we constantly bombarded with people having the time of their lives on social media and seemingly making millions like it’s nothing but we’re also living in an incredibly capitalistic society. Everyone and their mother has the newest, hottest products, rent and home prices are at an all time high, groceries are insanely expensive and are doing nothing to provide us the nutrients we need because our soil is dead and our crops, unfertilized and not genetically modified can’t feed 8 billion people (I can go on about this forever, as you can see).

 

All of the aforementioned stressors plus anything else you are going through spike our cortisol levels, the hormone that gets released when you are stressed. Elevated cortisol levels for a prolonged period of time can cause heart disease (the number one cause of death in the world), anxiety, weight gain, high blood pressure and so many more diseases JUST from your body being in disease.

 

That all sounds a little fear-mongery but fear not, there are ways to mitigate stress. Some people have it a lot harder than others and like everything I write about, some of these things may not work for you at this point in your life and that’s okay. I encourage you to experiment with what you can, take whatever works and run with it. Meet yourself wherever you’re at and remember that no two experiences are the same, no one can assume your capabilities, and your life is yours to control, no matter what.

 

 

“Every situation in life is temporary. So, when life is good, make sure you enjoy and receive it fully. And when life is not so good, remember that it will not last forever and better days are on the way.”

-Jenni Young

 

Avoid Acting on Impulse

 

As a libra, I get it, I really do. It’s so easy to scroll through your social media of choice and start to feel like you don’t have enough. We are constantly served ads from companies and influencers alike. Everyone has either gotten so good at marketing or we just have less and less willpower. The whole goal of social media may have, at one time, been to connect people but it has turned into a hunting ground for social media addicts with short attention spans, who look up to influencers, and have low self worth. That may sound harsh but it’s the reality of todays society (I’m not excluded, I’ve also fallen into the trap). This is the best, most relatable example I can think of and I think it will resonate with the majority of you.

 

Sometimes acting on an impulse can be fun, such as an impulsive weekend getaway. The majority of the time, however, impulses probably aren’t keeping your best interest in mind. For the purpose of your sanity and some possible not so hot life decisions, take a moment before you act. Depending on how big the decision is and how many moving pieces come into play take however much time you need. If it’s a purchase through an Instagram ad ask yourself, “is this something that I need or something that I want and why do I want it?”. If it’s something much bigger than that, really take some time and check in with your options. Find a nice deep breath and take time to bring your body to a calm state before you make the decision, it could change the entire trajectory of your life.

 

Live in The Present

 

The only thing that exists is the present moment, the now, but how often are you really being present for what’s happening right now? Some people live in the past and reminisce on the things that hurt them and cause this suffering and stress to seep into the present moment. Some people live in the future and ruminate on their fears and the what ifs causing stress and anxiety in the present moment (for something that most likely isn’t even going to happen).

 

In order to stress less we need to learn how to live in the present because truly that is all that exists. Yes, the past happened and may influence the present, but that’s no longer your reality and it will only continue to disturb your life and your growth if you keep living in it. It’s a practice to be present. It’s not easy to wrangle the mind that likes to float between the future and the past, the fears and the memories, but it is entirely possible.

 

One practice in being present that I like, that is easy and accessible is to just look for something new. Whether you are going on a walk, taking the same commute to work that you do every day, or doing really anything where you feel like your mind wanders, just notice something new. This practice forces you to be there. It forces you to look around and notice the things around you, maybe you notice a new flower on your walk and you also notice how the fresh air feels on your face, you feel gratitude for the beautiful place you live in. This practice will help you to be present and, if you are willing and open, from that presence it can also bring gratitude and joy.

 

 

Release Control

 

The only person you have control over is yourself, the only actions you have control over are your own. This concept is so much easier said than done. Of course, in theory, we all know that the only thing we have control over is ourself but the practice of releasing that perceived control we have over other things or other people is hard work.

 

It helps to recognize, first, that that is exactly what it is, perceived control. It’s comforting to think that we have control over a situation, it helps us put our mind at ease and makes us feel like we can determine the outcome. Spending even an ounce of our energy trying to control things or people that are out of our control is probably one of the biggest time wasters. Not only is this a huge waste of time, it is also SO stressful. Think about how stressed out managers get. They are trying to control all these people and moving pieces around them because it’s their job. You are trying to control all these people and things around you because you’re scared and your only compensation is stress.

 

“Let them” is super trendy right now and it is so good to see people finally putting that into practice in their lives. This is a practice of releasing control. You do your thing in your life and you let other people do their thing. If there’s a situation you feel like you want to control because you’re afraid of a possible outcome you have to just let go and let them because the only person you’re really hurting by constantly stressing, is yourself.

 

Stop Expecting Perfection

 

This is huge, especially, once again, in todays society where people edit their pictures, get their bodies done, rent luxury cars to make them look cool, etc. This constant need to be better and have more and be doing more and be self employed and all the things is causing crazy amounts of stress.

 

No one and no thing are perfect. We get the highlight reels from peoples lives on social media, we only see that artist when they blow up not their years of hard work and failure. What we see and experience is so curated and filtered, it’s not reality.

 

Trying to attain a perfect life is actually impossible. Fill your life with beautiful things, beautiful people, work hard towards your goals and love yourself. No matter who you are or what you do there are going to be imperfections, that’s just life.

 

Realize Everything is Temporary

 

Have you ever been stressed one second about something trivial and then all of a sudden it’s gone? Road rage is an excellent example, you get yourself all worked up because this person cut you off and then the feeling subsides. You really got worked up for nothing. These feelings seem to arise out of nowhere and then fade away, just like clouds, they are only passing by.

 

No matter how stressful the situation is, it will subside. No matter how hard things are right now, they will get better. It’s tough to see the light at the end of the tunnel when you feel like you’ve been living in the darkness for so long but, I promise, it’s there. Think about a difficult situation you’ve gone through in your life, does that situation still make you feel how you felt then? Probably not.

 

When something uncomfortable comes up try your best to greet that discomfort instead of running away from it. If you run away that discomfort can fester and cause stress down the line and you may not even know where that stress is coming from. Take an inventory and see how you feel in stressful moments and then when you notice the stress start fading away recognize how silly it was to even get stressed about something so minute in the first place.

 

In Conclusion:

 

Stress is a natural part of life, it is one of our primary protection mechanisms. It’s a consistent practice to mitigate our stress responses and it is certainly easier said than done. Over time, however, you can start recognizing your patterns and finding different tools that work for you to live a much less stressful life.