How I Learned to Combat Stress in My Life

How are you feeling today?

Stressed.

I can't tell you how many times I've either answered or mentally answered this way.  I will admit, with work, planning a wedding, leading Bible studies, and running this photography business, I am stretched pretty thin and can get stressed very quickly.  I've really been addressing and figuring out what is causing the stress and how I can better deal with it, so I thought I would share what works for me :)

1. 5 minute of silence in the morning.

Instead of grabbing my phone right when I wake up, I have started instead to sit up and just spend 5 minutes in complete silence.  I use that time to begin training my mind to relax and resonate on what truly matters, instead of worrying about all the things I have to do.  Reading a Bible verse and just meditating on it is really helpful if you lose focus really quickly - or feel super sleepy.

2. Get more sleep.

So, the key to not falling asleep in my 5 minutes of silence was actually getting enough sleep.  We all know the statistics - at least 7 hours of sleep a night is healthy - but Netflix and Instagram fight against that daily.  I've learned that without sleep, the next day drags... so... slowly.  And yes.  I don't drink coffee.  So, at age 22, I've learned that I still need a bedtime - which I have to plan for ahead of time, especially when making plans with friends.  Now that I'm starting to get more sleep, I've had a lot more energy and have actually gotten more done daily.  

3. Stop the scrolling.

As I mentioned in my first blog post, I began to realize one of my biggest problems was trying to "keep up with the crowd" on social media.  Although social media is a great way to connect with others and an excellent route to promote a business, too much scrolling can actually do a lot more harm than good.  Not only does it provide an easy route to get caught in comparison, it also just wastes a TON of time.  I have started to limit my time on social media and have begun to see how much less invested I am in it and how I don't feel like I'm falling behind when I don't post constantly.

4. Start journaling.

Stress often comes hand and hand with worries that make it hard to address how exactly you are feeling.  I often struggled pinpointing the causes of stress, and my swirling thoughts add to the mess.  I started doing a prayer journal, in which I just have a conversation with God about how I am feeling.  Slowing down to write out my thoughts help me to actually organize them, stops me from overreacting, and lets me release them to someone who can totally handle life WAY better than me.

5. Invest in your relationship with God.

It seems like the first thing that I give up when I'm stressed is my time with God.  It's easy to feel like that time is better spent on immediate things that "need" to get done - but that could not be more wrong.  I realized that as I pushed time with Him out of my life, my stresses kept piling up more and more.  So I started to read more of His Word, chatting with Him in the car to work, and actively listening for Him speaking to me.  By doing that, it's not an instant fix, but I find it easier to focus on more positives and feel an inner peace slowly growing within me.

So there are my few tips to fighting stress in life - feel free to try them out yourself :)

What do you do to combat stress in your life?  Feel free to comment below!