Managing Self-Care and Reducing Stress
Self-care can be defined as an act done by oneself that amplifies health and happiness. It can be an essential part of maintaining healthy relationships and stress. Stress can play a large part in your physical or mental well-being. It can affect you psychically such as a decrease in energy or the inability to sleep. The amount of stress you have can affect your mental health as well such as anxiety or depression. Here are tips that can help in stress reduction:
Sleep Techniques
When attempting to sustain a busy schedule sleep can be put on the back burner. With having little to no sleep or interrupted sleep it can be challenging for many people. Luckily techniques have been developed to help end restless nights. A strategy that can help is learning the correct breathing techniques. By slowly inhaling and exhaling this lowers your blood pressure and heart rate. When taking a slow deep inhale, this raises your oxygen level enabling your body to not work as hard to run.
Guided imagery is a technique used to reduce stress and promote a good night’s sleep. This strategy helps relate your unconscious mind to your conscious mind. Spending time imagining yourself on the beach surrounded by palm trees can help distance you from the stress at work to the peaceful image in your mind.
Putting Yourself First
At times we feel that taking time for ourselves is seen as a selfish act. Without self-care, you can have outcomes that can add more stress to your life. This can include arguing with your spouse because your emotions are hard to control due to your lack of sleep. But to help others we need to make sure our needs are met first.
Women who are juggling a career and family can feel overwhelmed and selfish for taking time for themselves. The key is to stop believing your selfish for putting yourself before other’s needs. To make yourself a priority, schedule a time each day to focus on your health and well-being. This can be simple tasks such as going for a walk after work, reading a favorite book, or taking a bath before you go to bed.
~Katelyn Carow