Stressed? Here's Some Techniques to Manage That

I haven't written a blog in a long time because, to be honest, I haven't really had much to write about. So I was sitting at home (as I have for the last month) and thinking about what I could possibly write about when I'm doing nothing. Then it hit me. I've seen a lot of posts on people's timelines and social media - and I can totally relate - about how anxieties have been rising and mental health struggles are exacerbated. I figured that even if it isn't much, a post filled with positivity and ideas for how to destress in a time of high anxiety could come in handy!

**As a note, it is useful for all of these methods to find a quiet or peaceful place to practice these in, but I know with whole families at home that can be hard sometimes so that is not a necessity.

543231 Grounding Technique:
One of the first techniques I ever learnt about is this grounding technique useful in combatting panic attacks and general stress. In your current surroundings identify:

5 things you can see

4 things you can touch

3 things you can hear

2 things you can smell
1 thing you can taste

This technique is supposed to ground you to your current environment and encourage thinking to stay within the moment.

Square breathing:

This is one of my favourite de-stressing tools that I was shown at Youthline. Imagining your breath as a square, you follow it around for a count of 4 seconds (or however long feels comfortable) alternating between inhaling, holding, exhaling, holding, and repeating this pattern until you feel calmer. 

Other things that can be helpful in destressing are things like:

• Yoga or mediation (Insight Timer is a good app I've used for this)
• Journalling - it doesn't have to be full sentences, just brief descriptions of how you feel
• Exercise - this can be hard right now with quarantine, but even small things like doing a guided in-home workout or getting up to stretch every couple of hours can be helpful in reducing stress hormones
• Talking to somebody who you trust or by reaching out to a hotline (numbers are below)
• Try an anxiety app:
• Moodpath
• Calm
• Headspace
• Mindshift
• Sayana - this app has an interactive interface that allows you to type what's on your mind and receive a response from their system. It offers different techniques to try depending on how you're feeling

I know this post did not provide too much information, but I did not want it to be overwhelming. Later this week I will also be writing a post with more information about my self-care toolbox that was mentioned in my relapse post so keep your eye out for that! This is a fun project and is incredibly helpful on days when I'm feeling down or need to destress! Please take care of yourselves and let me know if you have any questions or need more suggestions. Here are some cute pictures of baby animals to hopefully brighten your day just a little!

  

Thank you for taking the time to read through this post and I hope that it is able to help at least a little in these very stressful and uncertain times!