How many times have you heard someone say that they were stressed out. More importantly, how many times have you felt stressed out? Stress is a fact of life. Work, family, bills, and even recovery can be stressful. Stress can’t always be avoided but the way you handle it is crucial.

1- Take a deep breath. Stress can seem overwhelming but taking a step back and breathing can help you focus. Mindful breathing is a principle of meditation and mindfulness. Deep breathing has been proven to improve your heart and lung functioning. Breathing can also increase your energy and clarity.

Start by:

• Closing your eyes, if possible
• Breathe in, breathe out
• Pay attention to the sound and rhythm of your breathing
• While breathing, clear your thoughts
• Repeat

2- Worry about what you can change, and don’t fixate on what you can’t fix. Stress is inevitable. How you react to stress is in your control. In fact, medical professionals recognize the health connections to positive stress management. Poor stress management contributes to cardiovascular and immune system health.  If you can reduce stress by getting up earlier for work, do so. Recognize, however, that you can’t control the traffic so try to recognize what you can and cannot change.

3-Be patient and kind to yourself. You will be apart of your life forever, so you should be good to yourself. Try not to beat yourself up if you don’t handle a stressful situation ideally. Instead, take note and work on improving your reaction next time. Self defeating thoughts are not good for your mental health.

4- Reward yourself. Go get a massage. Go to the spa. Do whatever you need to do for self-care, just make sure you treat yourself well. Self-care keeps you safe from burn-out. Burn-out is the last thing you need for your recovery.

5- Use your support system to talk about your feelings. Support can include talking with  a counselor, a sponsor, loved ones, and sober friends. Don’t bottle things inside. Negative thoughts and emotions have to be processed. You can’t let your feelings fester up, or this could prove harmful to your emotional well-being.

Positive stress management is critical to your recovery.  At The Kimberly Center, we care about your health. Call us now at 855-4-KCENTER. We are committed to putting you first. At the Kimberly Center, our team can help you learn better stress management skills.