10 Ways to Deal With Stress Naturally

Let’s talk about stress today! What is stress?  The dictionary says that it is “a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances”.

That’s a fun subject right?  I’m not writing about this because I love stress.  I know, my blog is called The Things I Love, so why are we talking about stress? Recently I have felt pretty stressed out in my life! I have so many things going on in my life and last month I felt like I was about to break.  Thanks to my husband who sat me down and help me to reprioritze my life and change the way I have been feeling.  

There are many reasons that stress may arise in our households.  Many of us have loads of things that need our attention daily. We as mothers have children to take care of, a house to clean, errands to run, the list could go on. Stress comes from how we react to each individual situation.  Some people might not stress as much as you in the same situation, because we react to that event differently.  For example, I have to decorate a table for a special dinner for my church next week, it is stressing me out because I honestly have no clue what to do for it.  Last night I was telling a friend about my stress and she offered to do it for me!  You see, what stresses me out doesn’t stress her out. 

A little stress is not bad for us, and can actually be good.  But we do need to learn how to cope with our stress and figure out what our stressors are. Some days it’s the kids, other days money, or keeping the house clean.  Those things aren’t going to go away over night or ever really, so think to yourself what you can do to feel less stress in those situations.  I’m no doctor, but here is a list of ways I deal with stress naturally.  

10 ways to deal with stress naturally

Get enough Sleep: This is a hard one for me.  I love to stay up late. I always have.  Even when I do go to bed I have a million things on my mind and I find it hard to relax and fall asleep. A few things that have helped me this past month to get enough sleep is to turn off my electronics an hour before I go to bed.  The next thing I do is grab a notebook and write all the things down that are on my mind that I need to get done the next day.  Then I like to pull a book out and not think about anything but the book. My mind usually gets tired and I am able to fall asleep a lot easier!

Exercise Daily: Exercise offers our minds and bodies a release from the pressures of the day. Finding time to exercise each day can be hard.  Life is busy, and for me starts pretty early with work and my kids waking up.  I love to exercise though.  It makes me feel happier, and helps me get a good jump start to my day.  But some days I am too tired, or have too much going on that I just don’t.  There are plenty of excuses for me not to exercise.  I have found though, that the days that I exercise my mind is more clear and I feel like I can get through a lot more each day.  

Set Goals: As you know, I am a big goal setter.  I set yearly goals and monthly goals, but often forget to set daily goals.  If you feels stressed out about a lot of things in your life, write them all down and set goals as to how you will accomplish them.  We can’t bite off more than we can chew, we have to do things little by little.  Take it a day at a time and pretty soon things that seem hard to accomplish won’t be hard anymore and you will feel like you can take on a little more.  

Eat Healthy: This is huge when it comes to stress. We all have those days when you have so much going on you forget to eat, or you just grab a snack here and there.  Eating junk food does not lesson the stress in my life, in fact I feel like it might add to the stress.  I love a yummy treat every so often, but I have found when I snack to much and fill my body with too much sugar I don’t feel good about myself and I tend to not deal with things as well as when I have eaten healthy.  Also drinking a lot of water is a huge part of healthy eating! So on those busy on the go days, make sure you find the time to eat healthy. And if you don’t have time, make sure the snacks you grab are nutritious. 

Change: If something is stressing you out find a way to change it. This one has been the biggest thing for me to do to help me feel less stressed.  I have found that I don’t have time in my days to get all I want accomplished.  This is where my husband stepped in and helped me figure out what I needed to change.  I am going to bed a lot earlier, I’m not putting my kids in as many extra curricular activities, and I am waking up early to get the things I need to done!

Be realistic about what you expect of yourself: For some reason I sometimes feel like I can do it all.  Ha!  Yah, I can’t.  I used to put so much on my plate each day that by half way through the day I just wanted to be done.  Don’t put too much on your plate.  I’m a mom, a wife, a blogger, a homeschooler, a nursery teacher, a soccer mom and more.  I could let all those things overwhelm me, but I don’t because I have priorities set on what is most important in my life. 

Laugh: Laughter is the best medicine.  My husband always trys to get me to laugh when I am mad or frustrated and feeling stressed.  Everytime he does I feel a huge load lifted off my shoulders.   Laugh, and laugh a lot. Laugh when something goes wrong, laugh when you see something funny, laugh at your child’s silly joke!  Just laugh. I promise you will feel better!

Get out of the house: I have had so many days when the demands of the day seem overwhelming to me that I just have to get out of the house.  Those are the days I load my kids up in the car and we head to a park, go on a hike, or go visit friends or family.  Figure out a place you like to go that helps you feel less stress. For some parents that drive around all day long maybe staying home is better for them. 

Talk to a good friend: Sometimes all you need to lesson your stress is a good friend to talk to.  Most of the time for me it’s my husband, but when it comes to some stressors in my life he just doesn’t understand. Find a friend that understands what you might be going through when a stressful situation arrises. Talking it out with them helps relieve that stress. When I am feeling overwhelmed with homeschool I love calling up my mom and talking to her about that part of my life.  When I am feeling stressed out about my blog I have some blog friends that I love to reach out to that help me refocus and not stress.  I also love moms’ nights out with my friends who are parents and we all need to de-stress!  

Enjoy Life: Life is to be enjoyed.  One of my favorite quotes is “In all of living, have much fun and laughter. Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured.”Gordon B. Hinckley.  Don’t put so much pressure on yourself.  Find joy in your life every day! 

I wanted to add one more tip which can fit in with a lot of these, and help relieve stress naturally.

I’m big on natural supplements.  I don’t like taking medication to relieve my stress if I don’t have to.  Recently I discovered RESCUE, an all natural and homeopathic product that is gentle, safe and non habit-forming with no side effects.  They have been around for generations and used by millions worldwide.  

 

They come in a variety of forms: RESCUE Pastilles, RESCUE Sleep Liquid Melts, RESCUE Pearls.  They also have a stress relief Gum that I want to try.  I tried the RESCUE Pastilles this last month and really liked them.  Whenever I started to feel like I might loose it, I would pop one in my mouth. It seemed to help.  RESCUE stress relief products are available now in the US at CVS, Walgreens, Whole Foods, Sprouts and wherever you find natural products! Don’t forget to download your coupon HERE!

Now wasn’t that fun?  Stress doesn’t have to be a bad thing!  Just remember to enjoy life and don’t overdue it!

I would love to know what are some ways you deal with stress?

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.