Our days are filled with various stressors. If not attended to, these stresses can build up and blow up at the most inconvenient moments and towards our most precious loved ones. These unexpected and often uncontrollable explosions cause lots of trouble. From family conflict to job loss, our stress build-up can wreak havoc on our lives and on our relationships.
Choose to take 10-15 minutes each day to decompress. This acts as a pressure valve that lets off the built-up steam on a regular basis so that it doesn’t explode and destroy.
Here are some ways to manage stress daily:
- Choose a regular time each day to decompress.
- When you get home from work or school, take 10-15 minutes to yourself to hit the reset button. With family involved, each person may take some alone time in their own room to reset and be ready to be together as a family without the stress of the day weighing things down.
- Choose a way to decompress, or have several options to choose from.
- Talk, draw, or journal about your feelings or the challenges of the day.
- Use a physical activity to let off pent up emotional energy.
- Know that it’s okay to NOT be okay sometimes. Let others know if you need support to manage.
- Choose to find the joys in life. We sometimes only look at the hard or challenging things. Every day there is good out there to be found if we will look.
- Talk, draw, or journal about your successes and achievements.
- Do something nice or helpful for someone else.
- Check-in and see how far you’ve come in the last week, month, or year. Skills take practice. We don’t get “perfect” overnight, but our choices can eventually become permanent as we continue to make progress.
Everyone needs time each day to decompress, find the joys in life, and connect with others in healthy ways. Make this a priority in your and/or your family’s life TODAY!