Do you feel like some days or even most days you are going to crack because of the stress in your life? Is it getting harder and harder to be hopeful?
If you were honest you only want to be left alone with your thoughts and feelings?
This year has pushed so many people to their limits, and the stress fractures are starting to show physically, mentally, and spiritually.
You probably thought by now, things would have returned to some sort of normalcy, but they haven’t. If anything, we keep hearing we still have some tough months ahead. How can we cope with so much uncertainty and how do we find renewed hope for the future?
I’m asking myself these questions and hopefully, together we can find some answers.
What has helped me during these uncertain times, is to create some sense of normalcy and routine in my days. To not let things that can nourish my well-being slip through the cracks.
I pray it can help you also, and when we get to the other side of all this craziness, we may have some battle scars, but we will also have some victories!
Ready to thrive a little bit more, and get out of survival mode? Let’s start here.
Physically – Nourish your body
When I get stressed, I tend to lose my appetite. Before I know it, my energy level is zapped, and my stress feels worse. I have learned that eating nourishing foods even if I don’t feel like it, can really help me to manage my emotions and stress.
By giving your body and brain what it needs, you can have more energy and think more clearly.
Too much sugar will have the opposite effect and will cause your heartbeat to race, your brain fog to increase, and keep you more on edge.
Mindfully every day make some good food choices to combat the stress and let food be the medicine your body needs right now.
Combining healthy foods with some exercise is even better!!
Sometimes the best thing for stress is movement. Binge-watching tv can be tempting, but in the long run, it doesn’t change anything. Moving your body will. When you do some kind of exercise it releases a lot of pent-up emotions and stress hormones. Releasing all that is going to make you feel a whole lot better! Try and do some kind of exercise daily to keep you healthy and to manage your stress. Don’t beat yourself up in this area. All movement adds up. Baby steps are steps and that’s what counts!
Mentally- Protect your mind and heart from stress
God’s Word says to “Guard our hearts for everything you do flows from it.” Proverbs 4: 25
How do you do that? The heart and mind are connected, and what you hear, and speak will make its way into your heart.
This has been a tough one with all the social media word wars and the constant news feeds that you can hear daily and even hourly! I have had to set strong boundaries on both of these because I realized it was causing stress in my soul. Which eventually affected other areas of my life.
Stay informed, but protect your emotional health at all costs!
This has had a really positive impact and I’m amazed at how much better I feel with a lot less anxiety.
Setting some boundaries for what you read and listen to can mend those fragile areas in your heart and mind. This can help you almost instantly, so if you’re on your phone reading and hearing opinions that are all over the place, start saying STOP. Having a break from it all is truly healing.
Spiritually – Feed your soul
When I feel stressed, I feel it in every area of my being and especially spiritually.
My spirit starts longing for a quiet place, where I can be alone with God and be filled up again with His truth and love. As soon as my hands are around my Bible, I feel calmer. Sometimes it’s just a sentence of scripture that finds its way into my heart, and the light of His word starts to take over. God gives some amazing advice about how powerful His word is.
“For they are life to those who find them, and health to one’s whole body” Proverbs 4:22
His word is life and it’s healing. Where what feels dead inside, can be brought back to life. Where hope is hard to find, and darkness seems to be winning, life can overcome it.
Now and the months ahead, maybe try quieting yourself daily for just a few moments by yourself and let God’s word feed your soul. The same stresses might be in your life, but when your spirit feels encouraged and lighter, those same stresses lose their power and hold on you.
Physically, mentally, and spiritually, you can be made whole again during these uncertain times. Those stress fractures can start to mend, and you can have renewed hope.
With staying home more, the days can blur into one another, and you can lose yourself in the stress and not hear what your body and soul is needing. I pray you can listen to those longings, and nourish yourself daily physically with good foods, movement, boundaries, and God’s truths.
We will get to the other side of all of this. Let’s be whole and well when we do.
Until next time,
~pat
