When we are stressed making changes in our life can be the last thing we want to do. But it is a necessary thing to do. It is better to engage in making small habits changes to our lifestyle during this time instead of bigger ones.

Make Sure To Chose Small Habits.

Habits, if small and manageable enough, plus some planning, will enable you to achieve the same goal. For this to work you also need to be consistent and have some patience with yourself. It does take time to implement any new habit, up to ninety days, for it to become a permanent lifestyle change.

But if we do persistent and are consistent those smaller actionable habits are something we can manage. Just choose one habit at a time to introduce those changes you need to make. Make sure to base them on holistic approach of looking after your mind, body and soul. That way you are also helping yourself to become more centered.

You could start with making sure your basic self-care routine is in place and add other habits later. That way you are making sure to meet your basic daily needs. Something we are likely to forget to do when we are stressed. This will bring stability to your mental and physical health. Plus we can use our basic self-care routine on bad days and still feel we are achieving something for ourselves.

Why Do We Let Go Of Our Basic Self-Care Routine?

When we look at why we don’t have a self-care routine we usually find that:

1. We were not taught to do so
2. Have low self-esteem
3. Don’t set healthy boundaries with others
4. Have forgotten that loving ourselves just that little bit more than we do another is important.

Of course for many of us the idea of creating a self-care practice might seem selfish. The concept of self-care has become distorted down the years. So much so that we don’t realize that it is through having a basic self-care plan we are more accepting, compassionate and are better able to help others.

Self-Care Habits To Support The Body.

I discussed small habits for the mind last week, check them out here. Remember only pick one habit to introduction at a time in order to not overwhelm yourself. Make sure that the habit you pick also fits with your current lifestyle. You can always go back and add other habits as your lifestyle changes.

1. Hug someone. Please make sure you follow current guidelines though where you live. Hugging is great at reducing your blood pressure and decreasing the stress hormone norepinephrine and produces a sense of relaxation.

Hugs will raise oxytocin levels in the body. Oxytocin (can be called the love hormone) is often associated with sex, birth (causes contractions), and breastfeeding. We need at least a 20 second hug needed to get the benefits. Men don’t have as much of this hormone as women, they need more of it!

Also men don’t get enough hugs on a daily basis so encourage to kids to give some hugs here. It is one of the tips we give to men to help lower their stress levels and help their mental health.

2. Watch some comedy. Or get the kids to tell you some jokes. We all need a good laugh each day to let off steam and reduce the stress and anxiety. So take some time to watch or listen to something funny.

3. Get Up and Get Moving. If you are feeling stuck with a task, or feeling anxious, fearful, and angry, etc., then get moving. When we feel stuck (or get caught up in our emotions) we can get caught up in our thoughts as well. This will feed and perpetuate the negative cycle.

We are getting caught up in the freeze, fight, flight, cycle we need to move our bodies to get the energy out and things moving again mentally as well. Walk away from what you were trying to do for a few minutes. Go look for something quick to do instead. For example: tidy your desk, run the hoover around one room, put a wash on, dust a room, unload & load dishwasher, just make one corner of the room tidy, or head outside for a ten minute walk.

Get up and get moving. Then come back to what you were trying to do at the beginning. If you still can’t get the original task done or are still feeling whatever emotion it was, you have to ask yourself some questions.

1. What was going on? Or what were you doing when you felt the emotion?
2. What was the outside trigger?
3. Is this is related to a specific task? Then check to see if the original task is too big? Is it overwhelming you? Can you break it down into smaller tasks? Is it really your task to complete? If it isn’t, then you will not want to do it and will resist it. Can you be honest and hand it back?
4. If you can’t hand it over to someone else and still can’t get started with the task then make a to do list and start with something small on it. Pick one item off your to do list or a smaller step from this original task to begin with. Once you begin to do something, no matter how small, the momentum will come back and you will complete the task you have been putting off.

4. Check for tension in your body by doing a quick body scan.

1. Start with your feet and toes and work your way slowly up your body. Have you noticed where are you holding the emotion and tension already in your body? If you have, focus on that area in particular. Try to tense that part of your body and release. Do this a couple of times to let relieve the tension.
2. Now check: How are you are breathing? Is it shallow? When we are stressed, tense or anxious our breath becomes shallower. We are not receiving enough oxygen into our body as a result. Take some deep breaths or do the 3 minute breather.

A further aid you can also use for 1 to 2 minutes is to imagine each deep breath flowing to the body part where you are holding your emotion/tension/stress. As you breathe out imagine the tension, etc., flow out of your body with your breath. You can also repeat this process as you move your focus up your body, paying close attention to sensations you feel in each body part.

5. Use your sense of touch and smell to self-sooth. If you are feeling stressed, or find the negative thoughts starting to build, rub hand lotion in to your hands. Allow yourself to focus on the sensations in your hands or the smell of the hand lotion.

Use this as a healthy means of distraction to re-balance/re-centre and calm yourself. This is something you can practice on the go also and no one will know. So while waiting for an appointment, meeting to start, or sitting in your car for example.

6. Take a cat nap. Set the timer on your phone and take a 20 minute cat nap. Doing this once in awhile is okay especially if you have a bad night’s sleep.

If you are a new mother, or have a child that is ill or teething, then sleeping when they do is okay. Ask others for help with the housework or meals. If you are also working take a nap at lunchtime. It’s better than reaching for the caffeine mid-afternoon as that will only set you up for an another night of bad sleep.

7. Massage out a tense area (knotted area of muscle) using a tennis ball or hand held massager. Be careful though and seek advice from your doctor first. Or follow any advice you have already received from your physio or doctor.

Massaging the area will help ease the tension that has been created by stress or anxiety. This will also help you make a better connection between your mind and body. Do this yourself as someone else might place too much pressure on the area and cause injury. Make sure to not apply too much pressure as you massage the area, build up the intensity slowly.

Work With Me.

Remember you are allowed to ask for support. No one is an island. If you need extra support then you can also work with me. We all struggle with stress and overwhelm from time to time. If you find this has become a problem for you and you’d like some support then schedule an appointment with me.