Have you ever read the quote “what worries you, masters you”, (John Locke). Neither had I until today, but it resonated deeply with me and aligns perfectly with today’s article about learning to let go. It is not healthy for us to hold onto stress, this energy literally eats away at us from the inside. What’s worse is it can lurk around in the shadows, unseen and invisible, and most of the time others don’t notice the effect it can have on you.
Stress and worries can originate from things that happen in our lives, but more often they hold us back emotionally. Take a moment to imagine if you had a way to let go, how would you feel, lighter? Freer? Often we can’t even imagine how we would feel because a constant we have experienced in our life has been stress.
Self-care exercises can help us to manage stress and helps us to release some of that stress. Letting go of worries and stress can be helped by taking the time to go for a walk, take the time to catch up with a friend. For situations where we feel greater stress, we might need to speak with a mental health professional.
Each of these activities are designed to give you the tools and skills to manage the day to day stresses and prevent them from getting on top of us. Sometimes we need a little bit of help to break the stress cycle.
Today’s self-guide tips are:
- Take the time when you feel anxious or stress to take a breath and slow down your heart rate and collect your thoughts.
- Get moving and get going for a walk outside even if it is for 15 minutes.
- Get enough sleep, 6 hours a night minimum!
- Turn off your phone – social media can cause added stress!
- Have a cup of tea or warm milk.
- Try to slow down and take a moment, life can rush you but is it really worth your mental health? Take the time to slow down and focus on being effective.
It’s important to try to be as stress-free as possible. There are always going to be stressors and worry in your life, its apart of being human – what matters is how you manage and deal with them, and helping your mental health throughout the long term.
If you think you need to talk to someone or are having a tough time and aren’t sure how you can be helped, contact https://www.mentalhealthcarersaustralia.org.au/ today. This is an anonymous and free service.
