How I keep my stress levels in check

I haven’t always been good at dealing with stress and managing my life through stressful periods. I’ve learnt a lot since I was 19. I woke up some mornings as early as 5.30am, got ready for the day and attempted to finish my readings for uni as I stood on the train, eyes half-closed, desperate for the first coffee of the morning but my mind drowning in thoughts of all the commitments I had at the time. Swimming in a gloomy fog having had only a small breakfast, not eating well during the prior few days, and not having had more than 6 hours sleep most nights of the preceding week. The glands in my neck swollen from weeks spent fighting a cold, my skin pale, sweat on my brow at 8am. I knew it must have been possible to do ‘life’ better, to better organise myself, to manage my body and my commitments. 

And of course, it is possible to do life better. I’m now 22 and my body and mind feel better than they ever have. I work and study, I eat well and sleep well, I exercise regularly, spend time with friends and meditate. There are a number of specific things I do to make sure that I maintain my wellbeing and support my resilience emotionally and physically, but I think the most important thing I do, more than anything else, is that I take a moment, very regularly, to think about how I’m going and what’s affecting that. This is a part of being mindful. 

For me being mindful means that, several times during the day, I take a moment to feel my body and my mind. Do I feel tired – should I go to bed early tonight? What am I thinking about – are these negative, stress-related thoughts? Am I hungry – do I need to eat? These are just some of the ways I ‘check in’ with myself during the day.

Here are a few other things I make sure I do every day to support myself and keep my stress levels in-check:

Healthy body

• I drink water all the time.
• I eat natural foods and avoid too much sugar and fat.
• I eat enough, and I make sure that I plan my day’s food if I have a busy day. 
• Ideally, I stretch my body twice a day. Stretching is incredibly good for you! I find that it makes me feel like I’m ready to run at any moment. 
• I exercise at least a few times per week (and I usually take the stairs instead of the lift or escalator – this adds up!).

Calm mind

• Sleep is important for body and mind – I’ve set a benchmark of a minimum of 8 hours at this point in my life. Everyone’s sleep needs are different, it’s important to know yours and meet them. 
• I meditate at least every few days, or more often if I feel I need to. Meditation is a different thing for everyone – for me it means time spent focusing on my body and allowing my mind free time to roam my thoughts and eventually clear. 
• I keep two journals. Every night just before I go to sleep I write down what I did that day, who I did it with and where I did it. My second journal is a thought journal that I write in whenever I feel I want to, and in that I balance good thoughts with writing through difficult times.

Organised life

• At the beginning of every week I plan my time, note deadlines, and prioritise my commitments. 
• Most nights before bed I make a to-do list for the following day that’s loosely organised by time. 
• I stay close with close friends and make sure that my ‘commitments’ don’t make me feel like I don’t have time to see them – because time with friends reduces stress!
• I aim to communicate well with the people I live with – my family or my housemates. 

So these are the main things I do to keep myself healthy and well, and make sure that stress doesn’t take over my life. Practices like these have taken years for me to learn about and work into my life, and nowadays I barely think about them – I just do them, because they’ve become part of my everyday. 

Story by Doug