What Causes Stress

and What You Can Do To Minimise It

Stress, I feel, is a common problem for modern adults. Many people struggle with work-life balance. External demands on people’s time and resources are growing, and people might feel guilty for taking time for themselves.

Each person has his or her own unique stressors in life, and stress can come from a variety of different sources.

Some common stress factors are:

Noise

For many people, noise pollution is an underlying stress. I am one of those people. If the radio is too loud and my kids are too loud, I feel very uncomfortable. Driving in the car with the radio on and my kids talking is nearly impossible for me – it’s just too much.

Mind Chatter

Often, when people over-think issues in their lives, they are troubling themselves needlessly and centering themselves in their heads instead of in their hearts. Non-stop mind chatter can cause people to feel anxious because they cut themselves off from the Universal flow of love.

Planning/Organizing

Do you love to organize meet-ups and plan coffee mornings months in advance? Oh yes, I used to be that way, too. My calendar was always fully booked with meetings, and every morning, I would wake up and think, “Oh, today I have to do this, this, this, and this.” Then I would go on and plan for the coming week, thinking to myself, “I have to do this. Don’t forget that. Remember this and that.” I had a full list of tasks daily. Constant planning and being “in the future” can be stressful, too.

Electro Smog

Some people are sensitive to WIFI and other forms of electronic emissions (electro smog). The constant exposure that modern people are under can lead to heightened levels of stress. Electro smog can also affect the sleep of those who are sensitive because their sleep is not really restful anymore.

Constant availability and social media

Many people carry their mobile phones with them – even to bed –and check social media constantly. The expectation of being available and reachable all of the time can cause stress that people don’t even realise is happening because they are accustomed to it.

Crowds

Being in a crowd can be highly stressful – not only for introverts and Empaths – but also for pretty much everyone.

Driving

Driving a car requires many senses to work together and can be very tiring and stressful.

Travel

All form of travel can be stressful, even if a person is going on vacation. The queues and crowds at the airport check-in can be nerve-wracking, lugging around heavy luggage can be exhausting, the stress to be on time or missing a flight or connection can make a person anxious, and delays can be unnerving.

There are many other situations that can have a negative impact on a person’s nervous system.

What is causing your stress?

Think about some situations you have encountered lately. Make a list of the things you’ve found most stressful in your life. This is the first step to help you understand the roots of your stress.

How do you realise that you are stressed?

Often, you don’t even realise that you are in stress mode. You only realise how stressed you were when you look back from a more “normal” state.

Of course, that is a normal reaction of the body: the fight or flight response. When you are in danger and there is no time to do anything else, you have to either dash or fight. Alas, constant dashing is unhealthy. Your body produces too much adrenalin, you sleep poorly, and you don’t find time to relax and rest.

Modern people seem to be constantly running away from themselves or their problems, so to speak.

How can you tell if you are in stress mode? This list is what I feel within myself when I am stressed. You may have some other symptoms/triggers as well:

I realise I plan too far ahead
I am constantly thinking
I feel I have no time for my meditation
I wake up in the middle of the night or have disrupted sleep patterns
I have a hard time falling asleep because my mind is still running
I feel bloated
My stomach hurts
I have acid reflux
I feel my blood pump through my arms and legs (like when I had too much coffee)
When I am stressed out, I feel like I have a coffee rush in the morning, even though I haven’t had any coffee!
I am more exhausted
I push myself
I have 10 things I don’t really want to do the next day and feel like I need to drag myself out there
I feel like a robot, or like I am on auto-pilot
I keep saying, “Once this is over, then….”
I feel I need a glass of wine at the end of the day
I desperately need a cup of coffee in the morning
I miss fun, joy, and laughter in my life

What can you do to alleviate stress?

Meditate (you can find my guided meditations in the healing shop)
Concentrate on breathing
Drink herbal tea instead of coffee. This will also help you not to need a glass of wine in the evening.
Get out into nature
Take one step at a time
Discard unnecessary burdens
Free your calendar
Take time for yourself every single day
Just be
Do something you love
Be mindful (concentrate on the current moment, and not on the future)

Remember: “You should sit in meditation for twenty minutes every day — unless you’re too busy. Then you should sit for an hour.” -Zen proverb

Stress has many causes. In order to lead a healthy life, it is important to identify your own stressors and minimize them as quickly as you can. Make a habit of checking in with your body a couple of times every day. (Read my blog post on this here). This way you will be able to feel when you enter stress mode and you can take steps to alleviate it earlier. With stress, just like everything else, it takes practice to learn to identify it and make the necessary adjustments quickly.

[bctt tweet=”Remember you only have this current moment. Live in the now.”]

The tips in my blog post, 16 Ways to Reduce Lower Energies, also help with reducing stress. You can read it here.

I wish you lots of peace, freedom, and “you time.” Talk to you next week!

Warm hugs,

Here is a little extra Anti Stress Tool:
relaxing your ears, and helping you to arrive at a peaceful state within yourself. Enjoy this youtube tip: