4 Changes To Make To Improve Stress and Mental Health

 

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We all have stress in our lives and it looks different to each person. For some, it is stress that is directly related to work. For others, it might be a financial strain, family issues, weight gain, or even a messy house. 

 

No matter the reason for your stress, it is not healthy to harbor it, hold the stress in or let it build up because it can cause a strain on not only your daily life in general, but your mental health, as well.

 

I am a huge believer in reducing stress and managing (in order to improve) your mental health because I believe that it leads to a happy and healthier life for yourself and for the people around you. 

 

Because of this, I wanted to write about four manageable changes you can make in your day to improve stress and mental health. I hope these tips are simple things that you can add to your daily life, in order to make your mental health a priority from now on. Let’s dive right in:

 

Wake up on the right side of the bed

Waking up on the right side of the bed is easier said than done, but it is so beneficial to at least try. Psychology Today says, “A recent study by Nancy Rothbard and Steffanie Wilk published in the Academy of Management Journal provides evidence that the way a person feels when they start their work day can have a significant impact on how their day unfolds.

 

In the study, customer service representatives who started their work day with positive emotions handled calls more quickly and more competently and were less affected by negative customer behavior. CSRs who started the day with negative emotions experienced the opposite effects.

 

In short: a negative start can make it hard to part the clouds for the rest of the day, making work and healthy interactions more of a challenge. Starting the day on a positive note can lighten up your whole day and help you to perform demonstrably better.” 

 

So, in order to make your overall day better, you need to try to wake up on the ‘right’ side of the bed. A few tips to help you with this is to go to bed at a reasonable time so that you are not exhausted, don’t eat foods that will upset your stomach before bed, and when you wake up, make sure to incorporate things that make you happy such as coffee, hot tea, or even something as simple as good music while you are getting ready. 

 

Get in the gym

Exercise has been known to produce and increase endorphins in the body which relieves stress, improves your mood, and makes you feel better about yourself in general. 

 

When I am in a negative mood, I know that sometimes all it takes is a good workout. If you do not have a gym to go to, don’t worry - you can do basic workouts from your home, without any equipment. Try squats, lunges, running, doing sprints, pushups, and/or sit-ups. 

 

There is one gym in the Metro-Atlanta area that focuses on happiness - they say that their goal is to help you do what you love easier, by strengthening your body and your mind. It made me think about the mind-body connection and I realized that how you feel on the outside is exactly how you feel on the inside, and vise versa. Strengthen your body, in order to strengthen your mind.

 

Get help

There are so many creative ways to get help out there. Talk to a friend, go see a counselor, or try something different, like hypnosis. Sean Wheeler is an Atlanta hypnotist at Pure Hypnosis | Sean Wheeler. Hypnotherapist, Sean Wheeler, uses proven methods to solve your problems not only quickly, but permanently, too. Sean has been featured on Star 94.1, Nancy Grace, CNN, The Bert Show, Chrisley Knows Best, and more. In fact, he has hypnotized radio personalities such as Jenn Hobby, Jeff Dauler, Bert Weiss, and more. His list of clients includes professional athletes, CEO’s, political leaders, medical doctors, scientists, college professors, and many others. 

 

“Sean Wheeler is a Licensed Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming™ by Richard Bandler (co-founder of NLP) and the Society of Neuro-Linguistic Programming™. He is a certified member of the National Guild of Hypnotists, widely acknowledged as the number one association in the field of hypnosis.” He is able to help his clients stop smoking, lose weight, overcome fear, heal broken hearts, and more. He has helped over 1800 people stop smoking!

 

He has performed more than 12,000 sessions with clients since opening up his practice in 2003 and also offers free consultations to new potential clients, which is a huge perk. His reviews are phenomenal and you can tell that he is not only a hard worker, but WANTS his clients to feel better.

 

Take time for yourself

At the end of the day, you well being is what matters most and you need to do what it takes to make yourself feel good mentally and physically. This means that you need to take time for yourself. At some point throughout each day, make sure you set aside time for yourself. This will allow yourself to focus on yourself, without any interruptions and decompress. Let your stresses melt away and relax for once - you deserve it!