Field Guide to Overcoming Stress Every Day

Living Stress-Free for Better Health

What is stress? A quick Google search will tell you that it’s being overwhelmed and feeling like you can’t cope with mental and or emotional pressure. We’ve all had those days where everything just feels like too much to handle and, in many cases, this causes psychological and physical strain. Stress is known to cause such physical maladies as upset stomach, pains, headaches, and insomnia. Mentally, stress causes anxiety, depression, irritability, and a laundry list of other possible symptoms. Overcoming stress is never easy at first, but as we learn what to look out for and how to recognize things that stress us out, the better we’ll be able to manage it. Learning how to live stress-free is not only good for our mental health, it has physical benefits as well.

The Unpredictable Frequency

In life, we can prepare for many things like a vacation, a doctor’s visit, and what we want to wear for the day. What we cannot plan for are those unexpected things that create stress in our lives. Some days may go smoothly, and we find ourselves cheerful, well-rested, and living stress-free, and other days can leave us feeling overwhelmed and suffocated. This unpredictable nature of life is the fuel that feeds the wildfire of stress. Unfortunately, we all live with some level of stress as a baseline and rarely recognize when it’s started to affect us negatively. Consider the parable about frogs slowly being boiled alive and not realizing they’re in danger because of their slowly changing environment. Stress works similarly, and we often don’t realize how worked up we are until it starts affecting our day-to-day lives. Overcoming stress is not easy, but there are things we can do to help manage and live a stress-free life.

How to Live a Stress-Free Life

The question we’re all having right now is: How to live a stress-free life? In truth, there are many ways to navigate, avoid, and alleviate stressors with the ultimate goal of living stress-free. Start overcoming stress by recognizing what seems to trigger a stress response and avoid those triggers in the future. If these triggers are unavoidable, be mindful and aware until the triggering event has passed. To help with day-to-day stress and its impact on our lives, it is crucial that we eat well, exercise, and get plenty of rest. All these activities help our body, and our mind recover. In many cases, it is advised to talk about our stressors with friends and family and even seek counseling, which can provide more helpful ways to live stress-free. It is also possible to find wellness centers in many cities, which offer treatments to benefit the mind and the body and can assist in overcoming stress.

Wellness Centers & Living Stress-Free

Why should we consider wellness centers in learning how to overcome stress? Simply put, a wellness center offers us something that we as humans rarely do for ourselves. They offer us a place to feel safe and relaxed, which is the first step to living stress-free. Information and stimuli are constantly bombarding our brains. We rarely want to take breaks as many feel guilty that we aren’t getting something done. Treatments such as floatation therapy and sitting in an infrared sauna are ways to force our minds to shut off and relax our bodies so that we can recover from the daily grind. Making regular visits to a wellness center can help rewire our brains and body to better focus on overcoming stress and remind ourselves that taking breaks is paramount to our overall health. If you’re learning how to live a stress-free life, your local wellness center can be a valuable resource.

Overcoming Stress: Food For Thought

The unhappy truth is that stress is often unavoidable and working toward living stress-free is an ongoing practice. How we choose to respond to stress, however, is entirely within our control. Remember most importantly that there is help out there and many paths to overcoming stress to lessen its impact on our lives. Do research about how to live a stress-free life, seek out a wellness center, and, most importantly, practice mindfulness. Check in with yourself often and ask yourself how you’re feeling. Overcoming stress doesn’t need to be crippling; it can be managed and relief can be found.