The Circle of Wellness Newsletter 4/24
April is recognized as National Stress Awareness Month to bring attention to the negative impact of stress. Managing stress is an essential component of a healthy lifestyle. Knowing how to manage stress can improve mental and physical well-being as well as minimize health-related issues. Stress is unavoidable but it's important to understand stress and the best ways to manage it.
Stressors can include health problems, work, money, family or relationships issues, or regular daily hassles. With cumulative or too many stressors at once, your body might be in a constant state of high alert, leading to poor concentration and productivity, depression, anxiety or fluctuating mood, physical and mental exhaustion, professional burnout, and health problems.
When stress becomes chronic, the body cannot return to normal functioning. Chronic stress can be linked with health conditions such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, depression and anxiety. It's important to recognize what stress and anxiety look like. Here are several tips to help recognize stressors that may be affecting your health, and ways to help you build resilience:
Recognize and counter signs of stress. Your body sends signals that say "I'm stressed out!" These can include difficulty concentrating, headaches, cold hands, tight muscles, a nervous stomach, clenched teeth, feeling on edge, fidgety, irritable or withdrawn. Knowing how your body signals distress, can help you deal with stressful moments. Learn to not only recognize when you are experiencing stress, but also to take action to counter their effects. You can try meditation, deep breathing, yoga or gentle stretching, going for a walk, journaling, or taking a quiet time to refocus your thoughts. All of these activities can help induce relaxation and reduce tension.
Prioritize self-care. Make taking care of yourself a daily routine. Learn to be okay with saying "no" to requests that would jeopardize your wellbeing and to prioritize yourself along with your responsibilities. Start with small changes in your daily routine to help build resilience to stressful circumstances. Leave time to exercise, prepare and eat healthy meals, participate in relaxing activities, and get an adequate amount of sleep. Also, do something that you enjoy, such as reading a book or listening to music, which can be a way to shift your attention and focus on the positive rather than the negative.
Remain engaged with family and friends and make new connections. Stay in touch with family, friends and community groups in your life — modern technology makes this easier than ever. Having a close person to talk with can be reassuring and calming. Make it a habit to connect to at least one person a week, whether in person or virtually, which is very important to those individuals who work from home and live alone. Arrange to have a dinner out with friends or host a family gathering at home, connect to your local neighborhood or religious community, try new activities where you can also interact with new people, or volunteer at your favorite charity to bring more meaningful experiences in your life.
Shift your perspective. Changing the way you think about and respond to stress is called "reframing." View sitting in traffic as an opportunity to enjoy music, podcasts or pleasant views. Reduce anger in response to rude or aggressive behavior by imagining what might be happening in that person's life. Keeping situations in perspective is an important way to boost stress resilience. If you practice reframing, you will get better at it over time.
Talk to a mental health professional. If stress is affecting your well-being, you feel you are completely burnt out, stress has caused you to engage in substance abuse, if you feel it’s affecting your relationships, reach out to your doctor or a mental health professional. If you have suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, call or text 988. Lifeline chat is a service available to everyone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
I’m currently accepting new clients for Psychotherapy and Personal Development remote sessions. All current clients receive 20 % discount for Personal Development or MARI services, and newsletter subscribers receive 10 % discount as new clients.
No matter what you go through in life, reach out to friends and family for support and seek out a professional help from a licensed mental health practitioner.
American workers are burnt out, with recent data suggesting that 2 in 5 employees quit a job to take care of their mental health. For employees and employers alike, mental health in the workplace should be a priority. Talking about your mental health with colleagues and supervisors can help reduce stigma and boost morale. When possible, taking a mental health day off from work can be helpful for navigating burnout.
Read more about the latest work burnout information and strategies here.
Whether you’re trying to conceive, currently pregnant or caring for your newborn, this book is for real moms that tells the honest truth about what to expect emotionally after having a baby. In Life Will Never Be The Same: The Real Mom's Postpartum Survival Guide, there’s a definitive guide to emotional health surrounding childbearing. The authors present their clinically-proven strategies for surviving and thriving during both the postpartum period and a lifetime of motherhood.
There are many useful apps geared toward anxiety and stress reduction, learning mindfulness and meditation, and trying cognitive restructuring techniques. You can spend as little as 5 minutes a day practicing better mental health and overall wellbeing with these apps. Do you know any other apps that you’d recommend?
Eating chocolate can instantly improve your mood. Chocolate contains serotonin and endorphins, which are natural substances that make you feel happy. When you eat chocolate, it brings a little burst of happiness. Dark chocolate, in particular, is good for stress relief and relaxation. So, when you’re feeling down or stressed out, a small piece of dark chocolate can be a tasty pick-me-up.
Cocoa in chocolate has flavonols and antioxidants that make blood flow better to the brain. This can help you think more clearly and concentrate better. Chocolate also contains caffeine, which can make you more alert and focused. So, when you need a little brain boost, a bit of chocolate might do the trick.
While chocolate isn’t a magical cure for mental health issues, it can certainly have a positive impact on mood and well-being. From lifting our spirits and reducing stress to boosting brain power and promoting natural feel-good chemicals, chocolate offers a sweet refuge for mental health.
Your homework for this month is to “spring clean” your thoughts and beliefs - identify and separate what no longer serves you, counter your negative thinking patterns with positive or neutral statements and concentrate on what brings you joy and meaning in life.
Afina wants to remind you that it’s important to get enough sleep every day so you can adequately function at work and in social situations.
