How to Reduce the Stress in your Life

How to Reduce the Stress in your Life

The Stress Problem

A couple years ago, we had some major setbacks in our family, and I got so stressed out that I began losing chunks of my hair. Like, CHUNKS. I had completely bald patches. I was really worried I was going completely lose all of my hair.  The doctors couldn’t find anything wrong with me (and I was only 26 at the time).

During this time, I just kept plugging on with my life, and when I got home from work, or on Saturday afternoons, I would sit in the bathtub and read a book.  When I got out I would lather eucalyptus tea stress relief lotion all over myself.

I would totally lose myself in the book, escaping from the realities of life for a little while.

It wasn’t’ only losing myself in the pages of a novel or learning something new in a nonfiction book that helped me relieve stress, it was also the act of doing something I loved to do as a child.  Going back to our childhood loves is great balm for the soul. 

A Reading Nook

The bathtub is one of my cozy reading “nooks”.  It doesn’t sound like a traditional place to curl up with a book, but it is a comfortable, soothing place, and if I am going to soak for a while, I might as well read!

I also read that taking a bath is reminiscent of being in the womb, so it is great for comfort and stress relief.  If you’re interested in the appeal of baths check out this article from the guardian.  

I didn’t stop losing my hair until our situation we were in was resolved, but it did keep me going and moving forward with life to lose myself in a book every once in a while.

How to reduce stress:

1.    Find a book you’re interested in.  Here are some ideas:

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon 

The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty

The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult

Chasing Slow by Erin Loechner

Outliers by Malcom Gladwell

2.    Run a warm bath

Add mood lighting, a favorite drink, Spotify, etc

3.    Soak and read for at least 30 minutes (or as long as the water stays warm!)

4.    Towel off and lather a stress-relieving scented lotion. Some of my favorites are:

Eucalyptus tea from the aromatherapy stress relief Bath and Body Works line

Palmer’s Cocoa Butter – especially the Massage Lotion for Stretch marks

Plain ol’ baby oil 

  

Your Turn

We all live stressful lives and have periods of intensely taxing situations.  Next time you’re stressed or worried try these four easy steps and keep yourself moving forward. 

Hannah

Slowness, Stillness, Simplicity

This idea keeps swirling around my life. Several years ago, our preacher did a series on having margin in your daily life. Time is precious.  The theme for my moms-of-preschoolers group this past year was rest.  And then I keep coming across books and blogs and products designed to simplify our lives.  To slow us down.

Earlier this year I won the book Chasing Slow by Erin Loechner at my mom’s group. Not only was this memoir poetically written with inspiring pictures and stories (not to mention how I want to live in her minimalistic house with her clothes!), but it touched me at a deeper level.  Why do we hustle so much?  Where are we trying to go?  Once we get there, then what?  Often we just try to go on to the next thing.

I’m not saying we should get rid of goals or to do lists.  Those things are important and oh-so-helpful.  But I think we should take a moment to be in the moment.  Appreciate what we have. Listen to our child laugh.  Try to figure out why they’re interested in that stick.  Feel the sun on our face.  Appreciate that we have 30 coffee cups in the cupboard and a warm pot of coffee brewing.  Delight in the meal we spent an hour and a half making (even when our families take 2.5 minutes to eat it, the toddler throws his on the floor, and the baby cries the whole time). 

I also recently stumbled upon Emily Ley’s 31 Day Simplicity Challenge.  While I am noticing, and being thankful for the abundance that we have in our lives and in our home, I also am realizing 1) how draining it is to be surrounded by clutter and 2) how I could be so generous out of my abundance

Conveniently, I also received a notice in the mail earlier this week from the American Veterans (AMVETS) saying they are in need of household items and gently used clothing, and they would – get this – pick it up from my curb!  AAAAHHH! No more excuses about how it is so hard to drop off my donations because _____ (fill in the blank: I have two kids under two, it’s so dang hot in the summer, I can’t remember to put the bags in my car…) So, I went for it!  I left boxes and bags on the sidewalk this morning, and hopefully they will bless someone in their second (or third, or fourth) life.

(Side note: I’m wondering if it really is generous of me to box up things I’m not using anymore and leave them on the curb.  There’s not much of a pain point in that action.  Should I take clothes that I really like and enjoy and go hand them to someone in person? I don’t know.  I have a feeling that I should up the “pain point” a little in my generosity, but we’re starting with this baby step today)

This week I’m going to try to be still. And slow. And simple.  And just appreciate what is right in front of me.

Here is Emily Ley’s simplicity challenge:

https://www.emilyley.com/blogs/emily-ley/2018-simplicity-challenge

And here is Erin Loechner’s book:

https://designformankind.com/chasingslow/