Stressed Out

by: Jevon Armstrong

We live in a world where stress is a normal thing now. If you aren’t stressed out about something then you are doing something wrong. There are so many demands put on a younger generation in this present world. As soon as graduating high school it's off to college, then it's right into the job field. Then the job demands so much more than it should. All because of cutting budgets and keeping that overhead low so that the big bosses get a really great paycheck after two weeks of doing minimal work. Meetings, that is what they are doing. Meetings to then go and demand lower paid employees to do the back breaking work. Then there is keeping a steady and happy relationship, a happy home, staying happy yourself. After some time of constantly running this way, you are bound to get burnt out. Not just with the job, but it interferes with the most basic of things. This stress begins to eat away at your normal thinking patterns and causing you to think that there are things there that aren’t really there. It can cause a state of paranoia. Is something going to happen at work? Is something going to happen with my significant other? Am I happy in my current state? What am I doing with my life? Where have the last 4 years gone. Last I checked I was 25 years old and living life and things were great, or at least I thought.

If we keep going at this rate, we are all going to be locked up in padded rooms within the next 10 years from pure exhaustion. So how can we change this behavior before we are all living in the same facility? Here’s a list of a few things that are cheap or free to help with that burnout.

1, Take a shower/bath. Turn the heat up or if you enjoy cold showers, as cold as you can make it. Stand or sit there and just let the water engulf you for a few moments. Close your eyes and just enjoy that moment. Take a few deep breaths and clear your mind as much as possible. Put on some relaxing music.

2. Set aside an hour a day to focus on just you. Not your significant other, children, pets….just you. Within that hour, do something that you have been wanting to do but have refused to give yourself time to do. Get caught up on that show on your favorite streaming device. Read a book. Listen to that new album from your favorite artist. Sit back and just scroll through your favorite social media app to see how your friends and family are doing.

3. Go for a stroll or a drive. Enjoy the breeze that brushes against your cheek. Let your hair fly as the wind blows in through the open window now that the cold weather is breaking. Put on some headphones/crank some tunes if you don’t like the silence, I am very guilty of this. Or just enjoy the sounds that are around you.

4. Get organized. Even the most organized person can get a little messy sometimes. Take a few minutes to get re-organized. Write down what needs to be accomplished. Make a check-list of your to-do list. That will help to see progress as things are completed. Make a list of goals and a timeline to reach those goals. No matter how big or small add ‘em. Seeing it written out does something magical in the brain. Yes it can be daunting at first, but as you accomplish those little hurdles, it will feel amazing.

5. You know you better than anyone else. You know the warning signs that may be approaching. Know when to stop and say no more. Whether it be a big project at work, a big dinner party, an extra volunteer shift, whatever it may be. That doesn’t mean that you can’t tackle any one of those items down the road, it just means that right now you need to take care of you. That is the most important thing.

The Myssfit team hopes that some of these will help you live the best possible life that you can live.