How To Deal With Stress

(Disclaimer: This post was originally published on my previous blog on October 26, 2017 and has now been deleted from here. I enjoyed writing this one so very much that  didn't simply want to discard it just like that. Those of you who have not had the chance to read it before, can enjoy it now :).)

Life can be pretty stressful sometimes. Well, let's be honest here; life is stressful almost all the time. The good thing about it is that stress can be dealt with. The downside of it is that it takes a huge toll on your mental as well as physical health. That is why it is so important not to just ignore it when it does come up in life. 

A couple of weeks ago I started feeling a lot more stressed than usual. I felt like I could accomplish nothing at all and that made me feel even more panicked. This severely affected my performance in studies and work as well and that is something that I simply cannot allow to happen.

Thankfully, I am out that phase now, but during all this time I came to realize the importance of doing small little things to make yourself feel better. The stressful time also prompted me to write a little something about it because I know that it is something that every single person suffers from. So, in this post I would like to share a few tips with you on how to manage stress when it gets seriously unmanageable. So here it goes:

1. Accept That You Are Stressed:

First of all, It is absolutely fine to be worried sometimes. It is normal to feel as if everything is not under your control ALL THE TIME. We, after all, are human beings. So, it is okay to allow yourself to be imperfect once in a while. Embrace your emotions and not just suppress them. Also when you allow yourself to be sad, you actually take some time out to register the reason (or reasons) for your unhappiness. Knowing what bothers you is a great way to know your strengths and weaknesses. It may also help you to avoid similar kinds of stressful situations in the future. So just acknowledge your stress because that way you're able to be in the position of control over it, instead of it being in control of you. 

2. Have a Good Cry:

After you have acknowledged that you are stressed out, it is always advisable to vent it all out in a good old crying session. I guarantee that you would feel loads better instantly! You must realize that crying is not a sign of weakness at all. It just means that you are not afraid to show your emotional side to yourself and, sometimes, to the rest of the world. In fact, in my opinion, people who are not afraid to cry in public are much braver than others because they do not care much about public opinion. However, I would not recommend to over-indulge in crying as that can be detrimental to your health as well. Just cry the right amount, okay? (kidding!!)  

3. Give Yourself a Break:

This probably should have been the first tip because it is so very important to sit back and relax. Just move away from the reason of stress and try to forget about it. In my case, I was stressed out about a number of things, but the major cause of my distress was my research thesis. So I made a point to take a break from working on it and tried really hard to forget about it. Although I was unable to completely stop myself from working on it yet, it did take a huge amount of stress off of my mind. Try to distract yourself by watching a TV series you love or by reading your favourite book. You can also try to cook a new recipe or bake a cake or something. It always does cheer me up! 

4. Reach Out to People:

Tell the people you trust that you are stressed out. People who actually care about you will definitely try to lift you up. However, everyone cannot be entrusted with your problems so try to keep it to people who actually are worthy of your trust. I told my closest friends when I was not feeling well and even my supervisor too. All of them proved to be amazing at boosting my confidence right back up and making me feel myself again. It is extremely important to construct a support system around yourself that never ever lets you down as it proves to extremely helpful in such stressful times. Try writing letters to your close friends and make a point to decorate them too. I love writing letters because I feel like it is much more intimate than sending someone a boring old text message. It also allows you to be much more detailed and makes the receiver a lot happier because they realize that you actually took some time out to write to them. Try it, It's amazing! 

5. Spend Time With Nature:

There is nothing more rejuvenating than spending time with nature. It honestly works like magic and makes you forget about your trivial (as well as not so trivial) issues in an instant. When you go out in the natural world, surrounded by trees, flowers, fresh air and may be stars, you realize that there is so much more to life than just sitting on your laptop and worrying about your problems all the time.  

Going for long walks is one of my most favourite thing ever. I much prefer to go with a friend so that I have an opportunity to talk with them at the same time. But I also LOVE to be alone when I go out there as it lets me take in all of its beauty in a much better way. It also gives me a chance to admire it and reflect about it in peace and solitude. In short, I feel literally the happiest when surrounded by the colours of nature as it is a great way to de-stress and relax.  

Yesterday I went to spend some time in my lawn; it's my favourite thing to do at home. And I loved being there. I took some pictures because I wanted to share the experience with you guys as well so here they are:

(Can't wait for them to ripen up!!)

So this is pretty much all I have to say about managing your stress today. Just remember that you are stronger than your problems can ever be! I hope you had a good time reading this post. Feel free to share your feedback with me in the comment section. I would appreciate that very much. See you with another post very, very soon (hopefully). Until then, Goodbye!