stress and increasing joy

This year, care for yourself by reducing stress and increasing joy

Susan Spina

Do you sometimes feel overwhelmed by the demands of everyday life? Daily stresses and how we handle them significantly affect our emotional wellbeing and happiness. Focusing on your own needs and mental health is important for staying balanced and healthy. We all believe that we will be happier and less stressed when things settle down and our lives are better, so we look toward the future. But it’s so important to take time to live in the present.

These quick tips can help keep you mindful about managing stress.

1. Take a minute when you first wake up to think about what you are grateful for and remain focused on that thought all day. 2. Be kind to yourself and work toward being more mindful of your thoughts and how they impact your mood throughout the day. 3. Are you hard on yourself? If so, identify those thoughts and how they impact you. Focus on your strengths and what you can accomplish in the moment. Remember, everyone has strengths and weaknesses; no one is perfect. Identify and tap into your strengths to change negative beliefs about yourself.

If you have made mistakes, forgive yourself, move forward, and learn from them. 4. Always be kind to yourself and others. Be your best self!

Do not judge others or their circumstances and instead focus on being positive and supportive. By practicing kindness, you will find peace, connectivity, support, and compassion from within and from others. 5. When you are being self critical, ask yourself what you would say to a close friend going through the same situation you are.

Be as kind and supportive of yourself as you would be of a friend. 6. Reduce stress by recognizing what the source is and what you can control. If the news upsets you, reduce the amount of time you spend reading or watching it. If social media causes anxiety, replace screen time with a positive activity such as books, walks, hobbies, volunteering, and spending time with family. If a friend or family member is a negative presence, give yourself permission to set boundaries and reduce interaction to get balance and peace of mind. It’s impossible to change someone’s personality but you can change how you respond to them. 7. Give yourself something to look forward to. Make sure that you engage in meaningful activities every day to enhance quality of life and experience more joy — even if it is just something small that makes you feel good.

Susan Spina is a licensed clinical social worker with Nascentia Health.