Stress Reduction

My sincerest apologies, I said I would have this up a week ago, and it's been a bit longer. Life is crazy and I have been taken a moment out to practice what I preach. Thank you for your long deserved patience. I promise this article won't disappoint you.

Let’s be honest, staying quarantined is making us all go crazy. We probably all have cabin fever by now and our own families might be driving us a little bit over the edge. Sussex county, DE is opening up in phases and we are all rushing to the stores and beaches that just have begun to open up. This might not be safest idea, use your own best judgment of how to be safe. With this in mind here’s a few techniques to keep safe and sane all at the same time. Here’s a list of things you can choose from for a happier life:

• Make a conscious effort to smile frequently, even if it's fake.

  • Our brains do not know the difference between a fake laugh or a fake smile. It just says okay and releases all of those happy chemicals in our brain. Awesome, right?!

• Listen to the news for no more than fifteen minutes a day.

  • It’s important to keep yourself informed with the news, but it’s as equally as important to keep yourself from going batty. The news purposely only tells us the negative side of things to hold on our interests; too much of it and you will start spiraling down with your emotions.

• Reduce your time spent on Social Media

  • Social media is flooded with opinions, news, and negativity

  • Find new hobbies and/or ideas on Pinterest. I will admit that I am addicted to the scrolling and quick reading on Facebook. I found I was much happier when I switched my interest to Pinterest. There's a lot less complaining, sad posts of someone missing, and politics. You can check out my board https://www.pinterest.com/fieryrosepetals/boards/ You will be entertained for hours on end. Don't be upset if you get lost; you have been forewarned.
    

• Surround yourself with positive people

  • Go Virtual

    • Connect with close family and friends often

    • Again, stay away from the ones that upset you.

    • There’s a few great books you can read to help out on difficult situations "Toxic Parents" by Dr. Susan Forward (Not that all parents are toxic, but some just are more harmful than good, and "Boundaries" by Dr. Henry Cloud & Dr. John Townsend for everyone else explaining why boundaries are important.

• Increase your daily Exercise

  • I know I said this in my last blog, but besides helping you sleep better, it also releases endorphins, serotonin, dopamine, and other natural chemicals; making you a happier person in general.

• Eat/Drink healthy

  • Increase your water intake

    • Drink 4oz of water as soon as you wake up

      • Believe it, or not, it’s not coffee your body needs to wake up. It’s actually H2O. Our brains need this for the elastic parts of our brains to function well. Keep yourself well hydrated and you will feel better for it.

  • Reduce your alcohol intake

    • Alcohol is a depressant. We forget this often, and when we over indulge we wonder why we are in a cruddy mood. It also dehydrates you which again doesn’t make us feel as great as we should.

  • Cut out Saturated fats

    • Your skin is screaming in agony from those potato chips! Try tortilla chips or even better a handful of various nuts.

  • Reduce your caffeine

    • Caffeine can dehydrate you, gives you a boost of energy, and can quickly bring you down. It can also be the reason for your nasty headaches, irritability, and many other terrible symptoms.

    • Choose one cup off coffee instead of two cups a day.

    • One cup of coffee has 95 mg of caffeine sourced

    • Switch to Decaf

      • Decaf still has caffeine it, but about half the amount that regular coffee has.

      • Most decaf has only 2mg of caffeine, unless it’s Starbucks. They have 20mg of caffeine.

    • Tea anyone?

      • Tea has only 8 mg of natural caffeine in it.

        • Teas, especially white teas and green teas, are filled with antioxidants.

        • Chamomile tea is a great tea to put you in a relaxed mood with no side effects. I often drink this during the day when I feeling a little anxious, and it isn’t potent enough to put you to sleep.

Sourced by https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/285194 and

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/5-benefits-of-chamomile-tea#section8

• Ten minutes a day outside

  • The sun is the only way to get natural Vitamin D. Often our bodies crave it. Make sure you’re not taking any medications that say to avoid sunlight before taking this advice though. Even some herbs like Kava Kava and St. John’s Wort caution you on going in direct sunlight.

• CBD Oil

  • As many as you know, my father owned a hippie shop, and we sold CBD. I researched, sampled, and still sell some. I must say it definitely reduces anxiety in a big way. Make sure you know what you are buying. If you have any questions you can simply ask me. It is great to keep calm and carry on. Also, talk to your doctor to make sure it is right for you. Some medications won’t mix well with it.

• Vitamin B

• Magnesium

  • We don’t talk about this enough. We used to farm often for our vegetables, but we don’t farm as much. The vegetables we are buying are not as fresh as they could be. The soil isn’t as enriched in magnesium as it should, and so our vegetables aren’t getting enough, and so therefore we aren’t getting enough magnesium. Double up on your greens my friends.
    

• Check your bank account regularly

  • Spend less

    • This sounds silly, but the less you spend, the more your bank account grows, the less stress you will feel financially.

    • Take 10% and give that money towards a charity

      • I know you’re thinking I told you to stop spending, but putting ten percent of your income to help someone else leaves you with a great feeling. You can always help a random person too that you might see struggling.

        • Research the charity you choose. Sometimes charities will only give a small percentage of what you give them towards the organization and the rest they make a profit off of; including non-profit organizations.

• I suggest the following:

• St. Judes Hospital

• Ronald McDonald House

• Local Charities

• Solid Ground Church

• Jim Martin Shepard’s Office

  • Take 10% of your income and put it into your savings

    • Again, this will make you less stressed for when you do need the money.

• Create achievable daily tasks, and/or routines

  • Vacuum for ten minutes

  • Wipe down a counter top area

  • Play with your child for ten minutes

  • Learn Something new

• Moderate your Self-care

  • Create a gratitude journal

  • Take one hour solely for yourself

  • Clean and organize a place that is your own

  • Play a video game

  • Do a puzzle, Word problems, Suduko, Solitaire,

  • Meditate and Pray frequently

  • Take a long, and relaxing bath, or shower

    • Add Candles for ambiance

  • Connect with nature alone

    • Step outside early in the morning, or later in the evening. Sit silently, and watch the wildlife come out.

• Garden

  • Get flowers and/or vegetables

  • Make a raised flower bed

• Buy/Make a bird house and/or feeder

• Paint

  • You don’t have to paint anything particular. The feeling of moving around a paint brush can be quite zen while listening to some music.

• Play a video game

  • Because sometimes we just need to take our aggressive behaviors out on a video game

• Have a random Pet day.

  • Make it all about your pet.

    • Make cookies that s/he can eat.

    • Take a long walk

    • Play with him/her for a half an hour

    • Take pictures and film him/her

    • Spruce up their area

• Spend quality time with your children

Believe it or not your kids are just as stressed as you. They most likely went from seeing a hundred kids a day to seeing only their classmates and teaches on their zoom meetings, and that’s if they’re lucky. They’re surrounded by you and maybe their neighbors. That’s not enough attention for them. They are going, as equally, stir crazy as you.

• Go for a walk

• Throw the football, Frisbee, or ball around

• Have a water balloon fight

• Play board games or puzzles

  • Add a delicious snack like popcorn

• Get out all of your art and craft supplies

  • Create macaroni art together

• Play video games together

• Watch a new movie or go with a timeless classic

  • Outward

  • Wonder Park

  • Trolls on Tour

  • Never-ending story

  • Labyrinth

  • Princess Bride

• Read a book together

• Listen to an audible book together

We listen to an audio book often on long car drives. We get the pleasure of a Sunday drive, creating memories together, and learning all at the sem time. It is one of our favorite past times.

• Right now Audible offers free books for children to listen to.

• We really enjoyed the following books as a family:

  • Narnia by C.S. Lewis

  • Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

  • The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

  • Seraphina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty

• Create a themed dinner

  • Italian, Mexican, Chinese, Thai anyone?

  • Decorate the house for a fiesta!

  • Add music to the occasion