I’m a mother of four under 10 and married, let me share how I manage stress.
I’ll give a little list with some explanations. If this helps someone I’m all for that.
Breathe – no, I’m serious. Like stop what you are doing and do some intentional, deep breathing. In through the your nose, hold for like 3-5 seconds, and release through your mouth.
If I am in a moment I do that almost immediately to calm myself down while patting my chest.
2. GET RID OF STUFF – many people are oblivious to how heavy stuff is. Your home, your environment, it plays a huge role on your well being. Some say it’s a reflection to what you got going on, on the inside. “If you find yourself constantly cleaning/organizing that’s good indicator to get rid of stuff.”
I am so big on this. This is so simple too. Donate, give away, you will feel relief every time. And also a good rule is if you buy something new, get rid of something old.
3. Say No – say no, and don’t feel bad about it. The friends and family that truly love you are not going to hold it against you. Know when your plate is full and just say no. Whether it be a party, a dinner, a favor, a hang out. It’s okay to say no when you are feeling depleted and exhausted.
4. Make time for your hobby – whatever that may be that gives you some peace. I enjoy doing yoga. Some people like painting, running, hiking, crafts, gardening, just sometime that is for YOU. And make that a priority.
5. Let Yourself Get Angry – it’s okay to feel those emotions. You need to cry, cry. You wanna yell, yell. You feel like screaming, just scream. You’re going to feel better. Then go back to number 1. Breathe. Don’t break stuff or doing something reckless. But again, it is okay to shout. And to me truthfully, if you are crying or yelling that is the ultimate sign that you need to get your stress in check now. That means you let it get too far.
6. Talk To A trusted friend/family member – and just vent it out. Sometimes I will call a friend and literally say can I just vent real quick to you. And then I’ll vent and they listen and truthfully that is enough. Sometimes when we speak it out loud we receive clarity just by talking about it.
Anyways, that’s what immediately came to mind for managing stress and I hope it helps.
Less is moremy friends, I’m telling you.
Dive into a minimalist lifestyle and you will get it!
What app eats up most of your screen time — and do you even feel bad about it?
Instagram most likely.
And truthfully it’s like the same stuff over and over again. And rarely do people show rawness it’s all so strategic.
But yet, it’s so easy to get sucked in. Sometimes I really hate it.
Sometimes I hate it all. Sometimes I legit just hate my phone.
Everything is so connected and not in the good way.
Sometimes I just want to delete everything. All my social medias. Yet, the attachment to memories and nostalgia is real.
The phones, the internet, the apps….sure there is some convenience but also……I don’t need to be so reachable.
It’s like wanting to be seen and wanting to share things but at the same time not wanting anyone to know what the heck I’m doing.
And yes, I know I could deactivate social media but it’s not the same. There’s still an invisible chain.
Also I don’t feel bad when I am on instagram. I do feel I have pretty good awareness on the whole thing so I don’t allow it to consume too much of my time. Most of the time I may go to share something and then immediately get off so I don’t become distracted by other people’s posts.
But again overall, I do have some envy towards those who never opened the pandora box of social media.
Which outdated technology do you miss the most, and why?
I just want to say that this has been a wonderful writing prompt.
Reading many responses to this question has legitimately made me want to cry.
So many people experiencing nostalgia with this one.
Many say they miss old fashion letter writing and the cassette tape.
And many long for the slower pace of things.
Someone said we’ve come so far but along the way we have lost some of the human touch.
With letter writing and cassette makings it took time and effort. There was someone on the other end that truly cared and was putting the time in.
Makes me sad reading some of these……
How do we slow down?
I will add I miss disposable cameras. I don’t know if that truly falls under outdated technology but I miss the excitement of picking up your photos and being completely surprised because you had forgotten what photos you had taken. It was just so fun. There was no “let’s retake that”.
You took it in the moment and hoped it came out good.
I may write a blog now on how we can really slow things down and get back in touch with our past joys.
Write your guide to setting healthy boundaries in relationships.
Respect.
Knowing your worth and truth.
Loving yourself.
And one of the biggest things is if someone ever makes you feel bad about yourself….to me, that’s an immediate red flag.
If you do not work on yourself it’s very easy to get caught up in your own insecurities and into the web of people pleasing. As well as allowing someone to have control over you.
You should love the people that surround you, you should be able to be your one hundred percent self – no filters. The people around you ACCEPT YOU – flaws and all.
Be comfortable telling people no.
Be comfortable with disappointing others.
Be comfortable standing up for yourself.
Be comfortable with the fact that you may loose that relationship or friendship. And truthfully, it may be for the better.
Why are you trying so hard and they aren’t?
Some people can’t handle confidence in others, some people can’t handle when someone actually speaks up, some people have too much pride.
I believe in giving others grace, I truly do. However if someone cannot do the same for you that’s another friendship or relationship you may not want to be in OR that’s when the boundary is set.
For example, I have people in my life I no longer reach out to. However if they came to my house and needed help with something I would absolutely help them. But I know longer go out of my way for them. It’s unfortunate, but in a way it’s freeing. Because before I would try really hard with these relationships and now I recognize it’s really not me, it’s them.
What is something you wish you could tell your 20-year-old self?
If I was to go back and tell her something I may completely change my life course. And when you have kids you don’t want to change your life course because then you wouldn’t have the children that you have. Makes you grateful for all that you’ve been through. “God blessed the broken road that lead me strait to you”.
I think if I was to go back right now and speak to her I would just comfort her and give her a very long hug. I’d probably even start crying and she’d be like why are you crying…..and I’d be crying for the joy that has yet to come but also the hard moments and just let her know that everything with be okay. I wouldn’t provide specifics but I would give her some hope.
Now aside for this, I wish my 20 year old self was more confident in who she was. She was very insecure, let others treat her badly, didn’t stand up for herself, her self worth was low, her self respect was low, she was also lonely. I would tell that girl how beautiful she was and how loved she is. I would tell her that she is deserving and that she can accomplish anything that she wants.
It’s funny, sometimes I think my favorite season is summer. Schools out, the weather is warm, the sunsets are gorgeous, swimming is nostalgic, it’s a time of reminiscing and simply being carefree.
However now that I’m in summer, I feel I am longing for fall. I’m looking forward to the shift in the weather. The whole energy just feels slower. I imagine sitting on the porch with a light sweater on, drinking my coffee, there’s a brisk in the air, and it’s quiet.
Fall feels a little less busy compared to summer. It feels cozy. Summer is the day and to me fall is the feeling of crawling into bed after a long day. Once your head hits that pillow there’s that long *sigh*.
Fall is that long sigh of satisfied relief after a fun filled summer.
So while I am enjoying summer so much with my family and kids I look forward to fall.
So then, if summer is the day, and fall is the getting in the bed moment what is spring and winter?
Well, I think winter is the deep sleep. And spring is when you first wake up and you get to drink your coffee. It’s short and savored but one of your favorite quick moments.
Kinda rambled there as I normally do with these writing prompts. But I read somewhere a long time ago when writing like this you just write. You don’t delete. Let the words be messy and original.
Have I broken a bone….no, not really. My arm popped out of its socket a few times when I was younger but technically that’s not really breaking your bone…so hmmm
I started reading some answers and someone mentioned breaking their toe and then I was like,
Wait! I guess I have broke something! My toe!
So a few years ago we were camping out on the lake and we stay in our RV. It’s not like a super fancy RV but it’s decent. I was standing on the bed. Let me try to give you a visual.
Imagine a table, booth style. And this booth style table you can turn into a bed. Now, at the time we had a baby. So my husband made this little wall and turned this bed now essentially into a little crib. Can you see it?
So I’m standing on the bed (“the crib”) because I was getting something in the cabinet above. I stepped over the wall/board onto the floor, instead of a step more like a jump and when I did that my other foot, my baby toe to be exact, when it came down my baby toe caught the trash can (I kid you not) and my baby toe was literally poking out the side of my foot!!!!!
It hurt so bad and I looked at my foot and was like, “oh my gosh!!” My kids saw it and began all laughing uncontrollably! I cursed at the trash can and sat there for a bit but I was laughing too.
Long story short I tapped it to my other toes and after a few days my toe was back to its right position.
But look at your feet and picture your baby toe completely 90 degree angle with your 4th toe.
In my current season or phase of my life I do feel I am a leader.
I just don’t think the same anymore at all. I question, I ponder, I wonder, I don’t mind being uncomfortable.
People’s opinions about me are out the window. Not that I’m not curious of their perceptions but it’s like….I’m not loosing sleep over it.
Younger me was definitely a follower. Hardcore. I constantly wanted to fit in. I cringe just thinking about it. If they were doing it I wanted to do it, if they had it I wanted it. The truth is I desperately wanted to be seen in my teenager years. Rejection of any kind was painful. I became a people pleaser.
This I believe mainly roots to abandonment issues/being adopted. This void inside myself that I just couldn’t fill no matter what I did.
I am so grateful I have overcome that or at least that I’m aware of it. With all that I have learned through my own experiences I am teaching my children to be leaders. And they will be. I make sure that the biggest thing is that they feel loved. I don’t want my kids to ever question that.
I had a diary that I found a few years ago. In an entry I wrote, “all I want for my birthday is for my mom to tell me that she loves me.”
I was 11 years old. I read that and I was just like wow. Sometimes our younger selves literally reveal to us all that we want. And I just wanted to be loved.
My children are so smart for their age. I tell them often how intelligent they are and to not look at grown ups and think they have it all together. Grown ups are looking to them.
I tell them to ask lot of questions, to not accept everything they hear, to research, stay true to themselves, highly encouraging them to learn their bodies language and how to listen to their instincts and intuition. And like I mentioned earlier I remind them often how love surrounds them. And not just from me, but from nature and God.
This path was for me though, it brought me to my children. I don’t know who I am raising yet but I know they are meant for beautiful things and will do great things.