Stress is an inevitable part of life, particularly in the modern world. Most people don’t have the same stressors as our oldest ancestors, whose stress responses were sparked by the scarcity of food or the risk of being eaten by a wild animal.
However, we have plenty of other anxiety-inducing moments, from accidentally double-tapping a picture your ex posted three months ago to deal with an especially chaotic project at work. The side effects of stress are far from healthy but the anxiety-ridden among us are in luck—there are plenty of methods to manage and relieve stress.
Connect with yourself more deeply.
Stress is both visceral and emotional—it’s difficult, if not impossible, to ignore. One way to help manage your stress, though, is by tuning into your bodily and spiritual reactions to your distress. By extension, you can develop a deeper understanding of yourself and your situation, preparing yourself to confront and ease all kinds of stress.
A strong believer in tarot, for example, might turn to their tarot deck and begin reading cards whenever they’re feeling especially anxious. The tarot reading can’t defeat whatever is stressing them out, but interpreting the tarot cards will let them connect with their deepest self and better understand how to conquer stress and its side effects.
Make bedtime the best time of your day.
A good night’s sleep—and a night of restful sleep, in particular—can do wonders for your stress levels. However, many people dealing with severe or chronic stress also face poor sleep and sleep issues like insomnia.
Set yourself up for better sleep by creating a nightly bedtime routine. You might want to diffuse some lavender oil or turn to cannabidiol (a cannabinoid more often referred to as CBD) as a natural sleep aid. Better still, the same qualities offering CBD natural sleep aid effects can go beyond your insomnia or other conditions and help ease your stress, too. If you’re considering using CBD for sleep or stress, be sure to consult your doctor to ensure you do so safely.
Reward yourself for overcoming stressful situations.
From schoolwork to that report your boss asked you to prepare, you’re likely to find that stress is unavoidable. When you can’t avoid a certain stressor, you can find ways to reward yourself once you’ve conquered that stress. If you have to read a certain number of chapters for an exam, try strategically placing gummies (you can even use CBD gummies for some extra oomph) at points throughout the text.
Once you’ve made it through that portion of the reading, you can treat yourself to gummy candy. Promise yourself a cup of chamomile tea or an after-work nap once you’ve met a certain milestone in your project at the office. Just as there’s no limit to the stressors you might encounter throughout life, there’s no shortage of rewards you can implement
Control what parts of your life you can.
A major cause of stress for many people is the inability to control their circumstances. Even with mindset work, adjusting your thoughts and feelings around those circumstances, there are some stressors you simply can’t avoid.
To help ease this strain, turn your focus to those parts of your life you can control. No appetite? Figure out a nausea relief option that works well for you. Can’t get a good night’s sleep? Talk to your doctor about sleep aids like CBD or melatonin to drift off blissfully. Dealing with chronic pain? Take your medication as directed and implement suggested lifestyle changes for the best results. These efforts won’t fix stressors that are out of your control but they will make them much more bearable.
A life without stress wouldn’t be a life at all, but that doesn’t mean we have to succumb to those feelings. Instead, make what changes you can, like getting better sleep or working to understand yourself and your mindset, and watch as your stress becomes that much easier to manage.