Ways I am trying to reduce my stress

I’ve had a fairly relaxed day today. I was in bed early last night and slept in this morning, plus I haven’t been sick for 3 days. It’s good in a way because obviously I’m not being sick, but it’s bad because it is currently looking like it IS the food intolerance. Only time will tell!!

I’ve done a lot of research into stress causes, symptoms, effects etc and I am starting to make plans to try to reduce my stress levels to avoid anything like that ever happening again. Certain things can’t be avoided but I can try to learn coping mechanisms to deal with them better.

Here is my current plan!

# Eat better.
I’ve never really been one for breakfast but I have some non-dairy yoghurts in the fridge and there is plenty of fruit in the bowl so I am going to try to make sure I eat something in the mornings even if it is just a yoghurt & banana, and take at least *something* to work with me to keep me going during the day. This should help increase my energy levels so I am not flagging by mid afternoon and less prone to get snippy and irritated from tiredness! It'll only be good for my general health and well being anyway!!

# Delegate more at home.
My stress levels are lower when the house is clean and tidy and I can’t sit and relax in a house that is a pigsty. I know this and the entire household knows this, which is why I work so hard to try to keep the place reasonably tidy. I’m quite happy to do the majority of the housework because in a weird twisted way I do enjoy it, as long as the rest of them just pick up after themselves and hub gives me more help. This will give me more time during my day to do things other than cleaning and stressing about the state of the place!

# Get some help at work.
The business can’t quite afford it yet, but in the run up to Christmas there is no way I can do it all by myself without suffering from complete burnout. I think I need to get someone in at least 8 hours a week to help with the work load that will just increase more and more as we get closer to Christmas.

# Relax more.
I’m not really sure quite how I plan on doing this, but I do want to try to pamper myself a bit more. Maybe once a month I should treat myself to a neck & shoulder massage, as that won’t cost the earth, or get a facial or a pedicure … or something! I’m a classic “type A” personality at the moment and that isn’t healthy. I need to relax more. I’m going to buy some essential oils and use aromatherapy in my bedroom in the evenings and try to get “me-time” for privacy and quiet every day, even if it is only half an hour with my book upstairs before bed or a bath at night. Maybe also take one day a week where I finish work early and visit a friend for a couple of hours.

# Procrastinate less.
If I need to do it tomorrow, I should do it today. If it needs doing today I should do it right now. I make lists of things to do every day and will be starting to prioritise more.

# Compromise more.
The world wont fall apart if the house isn’t spotless and some things simply aren’t worth doing “perfectly” – that was very hard to say!! We live in an imperfect world and some things I simply need to compromise on and try not to get so wound up about.

# Hobbies.
I need to spend more time doing things that give me pleasure (no dirty sniggers please!!) I haven't had the ooomph to make any cards or scrapbook for ages and my photography has gone by the wayside. I need to do more of these things. My mum bought me a new christmas rubber stamp today in an effort to get me off my ass and start making Christmas cards :-) She knows me so well!

# Go back to the doctor.
I think it's a given that I need to talk to somebody about what happened on Saturday and I'll probably be given a lecture for stopping taking the anti-depressants that I was prescribed before. In my defence I took them for several weeks and there was no real noticeable difference and I just kinda forgot to take them anymore. I'll probably be prescribed more ADs but that's something I am happy to accept. If taking some tablets can help to sort out the chemical imbalance shit in my head while I work on the other stuff, then I'm all for that.

I’m sure there is more, but that’s certainly a start.