The Six Best Gifts To Give Yourself Before Stress Has Gotcha In A Mess
A Guest Blog by Jacquie Bird
We’ve all seen those articles about how bad stress is for our health. How it makes our adrenal glands fire adrenaline, the fight or flight hormone. We’ve read how it can cause head, back and stomach aches, raise blood pressure, cause fatigue, depression and lower our immune systems. We know it makes for many a sleepless night and can possibly lead to heart disease because of the amount of epinephrine that gets pumped into our systems. And we also know that constant habitual stress can lead to a whole host of other health issues. Not to mention that being stressed-out just doesn’t feel good. And when you don’t feel good, you don’t make others feel good either. But because everybody is stressed-out, we take it to be the norm, that it comes with the territory of being alive.
Um, but did you just read what stress does to us???? You don’t have to emulate a stressed-out lifestyle because everybody else is doing it. You, and I mean YOU can break the chain. Doesn’t mean you won’t feel stress but if you crown yourself with The Six Best Gifts on a regular basis, you won’t be quite the mess when stress comes your way. You’ll be able to go with flow better, recognize solutions much faster and become even more productive, creative and efficient.
So just before you feel your eyeballs are about to pop out of you head…
1. Tell Yourself To “Go To Your Room!”
(The room I’m referring to is the one in your head where there’s a quiet space amidst the buzzing of The Chattering Mind). Give yourself ‘Time Outs’ periodically, step away from your desk, go someplace you can grab a moment to take that Time Out. Close your eyes, cup your hands over them to temporarily block out the glare of the lights and take a deep inhale through your nose then exhale slowly through the nose. Take another hit of air slowly, feel yourself filling your ribcage up, (imagining a balloon) exhale slower. Repeat if you have time. Remove your hands, give ‘em a shake and you’re ready to slay again! Repeat throughout your day, a little goes a long way.
View taking time out to “go to your room” as an Ubër-Mini-Express Staycation.
Similar but to be done at another point in your day…
2. Take MHBs (Mental Health Breaks)
Step away from social media, the news, any and all screens, don't talk about the state of the world or of anything you fear or find aggravating and do something enjoyable! Not because you have to, but because you want to, even if it's just staring out the window holding a cup of coffee. Especially challenging if you have small children but employ creative means to make it happen, perhaps having them join in. Children learn so much from observation, establishing wellness practices while they're young shows them the importance of being mindful custodians of their well-being, as they will take note of the changes they see and feel from you.
Practicing Self-Love IS being your own BFF and...
3. Saying Yes Does Not Mean No When You Really Mean No
NO MEANS NO. Saying yes when you mean no gets you into soooooooooo much trouble and aggravation, it isn’t worth it! I hear people say things like, ‘I really didn’t want to, but even though it was inconvenient I said yes and it turned out to be a nightmare’ or ‘I hate doing things for that person, I always feel taken advantage of. I hate myself for always saying yes, but I feel like I have to!’
Um…no you don’t. That is one of the most self-destructive, stressful things we do to ourselves is agreeing to stuff we don't wanna do. People Pleasing makes everybody happy…except YOU.
Unhappiness is a stressful state of being.
Say no when you mean no the next time Mr. or Ms. Take Advantage comes around and asks you to do something you don’t want to do and they give you that pleading or menacing look. Say NO. Then stick to it.They may try to impose their opinion upon you, your critical inner voices will try to dis you to make you feel bad but don’t give them a room in your mental space! Say no and keep on keepin’ on. When you get the hang of it, you’ll thank yourself profusely.
And remember: you have every right to act on your own behalf, saying no when that’s what you mean will set You FREE!
Did somebody say free? Another gift that keeps on giving’ is to…
4. Exercise Appreciation
Becoming more appreciative every day is one of the most Soul-stirring things you can do and boy does it lift your mood, your Vibe, your OUTLOOK. The more you recognize and look for things to appreciate, things begin to shift in your Life—solutions appear that seemed to elude you, people come seemingly out of nowhere to assist you, doors open and your way of looking at things shift for you cannot be Positive while focusing on the negative. They are two completely different frequencies. The Positive Frequencies come over the airwaves clear and crisp, while the negative frequencies flood the airwaves with mucho static and distortion.
And while I’m at it, remember to say nice things about yourself to yourself.
Appreciate YOU, Your Body, Your Life, FOR IT IS A GIFT!
Rule of thumb: more Appreciation = less aggravation, less anxiety
Making time to Appreciate can help you to…
5. Be More Present
Pay ATTENTION. Actually be in the room with yourself as you engage in activity, and have your MIND in the same place as your body. When you are Present, you are an ACTIVE participant in Your Life, don’t just ‘phone it in’ and you won’t feel like Life is too short. Show up for every moment. Even the painful ones. All experiences contribute to the fabric that is the evolving You, whether you can see them as they occur or not. Becoming more Present deepens your connection to The Whole of which you are a part.
Become Present more often and You will be more Aware of what
Your stressors & triggers are before they dig in to take hold…
6. Begin or Deepen A Meditation Practice
I know. I know you know it's good for you ‘cause you read those articles too, and you have tried to meditate thank you very much but you just. can't. get into it. I hear you, quieting the mind can be a gargantuan undertaking, even the thought of it is like SAY WHAAAAAAAT? But if that practice eludes you, consider guided meditation to help you get going. It’s like an express train with food service taking you directly to Calmer, Grounded and more Balanced—provided you employ the Gift of #5, Being Present. We are sooooooo busy doing, thinking and entertaining our chatterbox minds that being still for as little as five minutes can serve as a respite, a pause button, a direct line to our Deeper, Knowing Selves. And that’s where Peace lives and the good thing is…
Stress is not allowed through that door.
Slowing down momentarily allows our overworked adrenal glands a moment to chill, our blood pressure to lower, our jaws to unclench. There are many resources out there, you owe it to yourself to Gift yourself with oodles and oodles of presents to Connect to Your Inner Peace and Well-Being. Especially during these uncertain times. It may sound like attempting the impossible—learning to become more calm, less stressed, less anxious in these most stressful of times. But think of it this way—learning to reduce stress and anxiety now is akin to depositing an extraordinary sum of money in the bank—you’re depositing into the Bank of Well-Being. The Gift of Your Life. A healthy lifestyle is not only being mindful of eating and exercise habits, but to really live our best life includes becoming acutely aware and attentive to our mental health and well-being.
It is a game-changer.
About Jacquie Bird:
After many years in the performing arts as a dancer, singer, and actress on Broadway, TV, Film and stage along with being a writer, choreographer and teacher of dance, I began to step away to blend and combine all my experiences and knowledge into creating my wellness platform. Jacquie Bird, Spiritual Wellness offers products and services that support, guide, and empower the individual. My entire platform and intent is upon mindfulness, personal growth, stress and anxiety relief, anger management, depression relief, self love and self care—my tools are guided meditation, aromatherapy, movement, gemstones, sound, breath, the written word, dance, and my Intuitive Energy.
Learn more and find me at: www.jacquiebirdspiritualwellness.com
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