Stress Management

Today i was given the chance to give a presentation on stress management. This for me is a area i am very passionate about so given the opportunity i was so excited to share my thoughts on the topic. I suffered so bad with stress in my first year from leaving my husband but i didn't realize was happening and it wasn't until i had gained 6kg, disrespected myself, neglected people who love me, got myself into a lot of debt and took on so much work so i was up until midnight that i realized i wasn't in a good place. To everyone else i was fine, i was happy and carefree. On the inside i was filling my life with so much to switch off from what was hurting me. I needed to grieve for the loss of my relationship. I had done the right thing but a loss is a loss and you still need to follow the stages. I didn't know anyone who had gone through a divorce and i didn't know i could of gained support. I just went along my way dealing the best i knew how. Would i change things ? No i don't think i would, the journey has been long but i found everything i need along the way and i did that by myself. I have found my true supporters and i have let them into my heart because they saved me. People who i thought were my friends left my life either because i was going down a rough road and they didn't know what to do or i was finding my feet and i was no longer the party animal.

Stress and anxiety all come back to our genes, we are genetically wired to protect ourselves and our loved ones from danger. We experience all of the physiological affect such as increased heart rate, perspiration, dry mouth, loss or increase in appetite, muscular tension ect ect these things were to allow us to fight or flee the well know ' fight or fight response' . The majority of the time now our stresses are not of physical danger they are situations which we will survive from. An example may be the feeling you get before you do a presentation. You are threatened by it and you will have doubts arise in your mind, you judge yourself and the people in the audience. If you have prepared for the presentation what is the problem ? you lose you trail of thought and go blank ? its OK find ways around it . Involve the audience or just be honest with them and refer back to your notes. We put added pressure onto ourselves because of our expectations of ourselves or what others put onto us. We are who we are, we can try our best and that IS good enough. We are all different with different stresses and different backgrounds. Don't judge people, love them and help them to grow.

There is so much to stress and it is so complex that i would need a few hours to even scratch the surface, but the main thing is that we need to try to be mindful and live in the moment. We stress about the past but it is gone, we worry about the future but it doesn't exist. We need to be in this moment and connect our soul and our body. Listen to your mind but don't be controlled by it. It is trying to protect you from pain by expecting the worse so you avoid uncomfortable situations. Just know you are valued and you are more than you know. Don't let yourself be judged by others, if you try to always do the right thing and have compassion for other and yourself you can be at ease to trust in yourself. You are capable to get through anything, be ready to adjust to a situation because the outside world is out of your control, but your mind and actions are not. You choose how you want to display yourself to the world, you choose your thoughts and your actions. Stay positive, stay compassionate and stay strong because it is contagious and this is what we need in the world.

Love D xx