Life is hard. Be kind to yourself. Here are some easy inspired suggestions to better help manage stress and anxiety. Enjoy.

Stuart Cline

•  Create or work on an art activity.

A study showed that doing art helps reduce anxiety. Bring more color into yours life. Art helps our minds stay in the moment. It helps us focus on what color to put where. We are not thinking about our to do list, the past or future but the now. We are creators. Let go of the stress and create. This can include coloring in a coloring book, knitting, scrap booking, painting, pottery, cooking, sewing, dancing, acting, writing a gratitude letter and sending it to a friend or family member.

• Bekind to yourself. Life is hard and sometimes we make it harder by our expectations we put on ourselves. Acknowledge your success’s and how far you have come. give yourself a break. Sometimes we feel we are never enough. Today focus on what you need to and do not make it perfect. Sometimes we can just say the dish’s for today… are good enough.

• Move

One of the best ways to get stress and anxiety out of your body is through movement. Yes, exercise. Even if it is for 20-30 min of walking a day. Something that gets your heart rate up. If that does not sound doable. Try making it easier on yourself and just park your vehicle farther away from any store you go to. Doing this will have you walk more miles in a week then you would nave normally.

• Avoid Caffeine:

This included caffeinated tea, coffee, energy drinks and soda. Caffeine can stress us out and cause unnecessary anxiety. What brings our energy up like a stimulating caffeine drink must bring us down and wear us out. More stress more anxiety for a lot of people.

• Avoid Alcohol

Alcohol is not a health food. It literally reduces blood flow to certain parts of the brain. Unlike Caffeine Alcohol is a depressant. What brings you down must stimulate you when it is leaving your body. Think of a rubber band when pushed down (think depressed). When let go it springs back not to its original position at first it overshoots. This is the anxiety part. Alcohol can affect peoples moods different as well. Alcohol dehydrates use as well. If we are dehydrated so is our brain. The best thing to do is drink Water to hydrate your brain and body.

• Sleep 7-8 hours.

People who sleep less then 6 hours have more ADHD symptoms. (attention deficient hyperactivity disorder). People with less sleep start projects they do not finish. They get more irritated quicker. They do not think as clearly, and their productivity rate the next day is as if they drank 2-3 beer. Sleep is like medicine. Make it a priority.

• Meditation for 20-30 min

There are so many different forms. Look on YouTube, app’s, the internet or even on my site under Audio. I have a visualization I talk you through. Transcendental meditation has been studied and have found many benefits including reducing the activity in the amygdala which is the fight or flight part of the brain which can add to making us anxious. Meditation calms down the emotional part of the brain so we can manage stress and anxiety better.

• Eat a healthy diet, less sugar.

High sugar content can increase anxiety and depression. Instead choose foods with colors from the rainbow, foods that are green, red, yellow. Hydrate and drink plenty of water. Eat out less. We are what we eat. The healthier we eat the less stress and anxiety our body feels. Eating better will help our brain work better so we can think and feel calmer.

• Practice deep breathing and be mindful

The phrase “breath of life” is no joke. Without it we are dead. The deeper we breath the more oxygen in our blood stream and system and our brains and body’s work better. Take time to breath when stressed. It helps us be in the moment. Often anxiety can be due to insecurities or fearful stories we tell ourselves by thinking of the future. The “what if…this bad thing happens”.  If you focus on what is before you. Just trust you can handle whatever comes your way. You have been doing it all your life already. You will manage the stress again.

• Try Aromatherapy

Perfume company’s have spent millions of dollars trying to associate their smell with a feeling and memory that will have you coming back for more. The smell center is by the memory center of your brain and can be a powerful tool to relax you. There are some Aroma’s or smells that natural bring more calm such as:

• Lemon
• Jasmine
• Bergamot
• Lavender
• Clary sage
• Grapefruit
• ylang ylang

• Drink Chamomile tea

It does not have caffeine. And can help bring calm. Chamomile tea can help with sleep and a study suggests it can help with generalized anxiety as well.

• Avoid people who stress you out.

Yup, sounds obvious but some of us have stressful people in our lives that suck our energy and stress us out. Limit your time with them or clear the air with them if they would respect your needs.

•  Avoid watching the news.

A study showed people who watched the news for 15 minutes had increased anxiety. Focus on something more uplifting or do art like coloring, scrap booking.