Life is tough. Life is stressful. There is no avoiding it. Even with the right diet, lifestyle, habits, attitude, or whatever else, there will always be space for unexpected and unwanted stress to creep in.
We’ve tried to-do lists, or prioritization charts, or expensive calendar and task-tracking apps, but they can’t account for the unexpected – and life is full of the unexpected. Not only that, but our to-do lists never end; there is always more and more and more to do. It can get quite overwhelming.
The remedy? A de-stress day – One day of the week that you can just decompress, relax, and hit the reset button.
I like to do my de-stress day on Sunday. It’s the one day of the week that I use to plan out my week, re-evaluate all of my goals and progress on each, and practice a ton of self-care.
You can make your own de-stress whatever you like and whenever you like, but I’ll give you some guidelines that I think are essential to an effective day of resetting.
The crucial elements to a de-stress day:
No Social Media
This is huge to a successful de-stress day. Social media is one of the worst subconscious stressors in our lives and it’s so easy to get lost in it for hours. I don’t want to spend my day comparing myself to others and being jealous of their lavish lifestyles, I want to go create and live my own amazing life. On your de-stress day, stay off of all social media.
- If you run an active social media account, plan your posts the day before and schedule them to be posted on your de-stress day.
Want to try a full social media cleanse? Try the Blissful Mind’s 7-Day Social Media Detox Challenge!
Find Stillness
For at-least 30 minutes, sit in silence. Meditation is one of the best tools to counteract stress and the brain’s bias to hold onto negative energy.
Don’t know how to get started? Try this:
- Sit in a comfy position
- Close your eyes
- Focus on your breath, the sounds around you, and the feelings in your body
- If your mind wanders, bring your focus back to the breath.
Check out my post, The Present Moment, to learn more about meditation and mindfulness.
Exercise
Along with completely sitting in silence, on the other end of the spectrum it’s also incredibly beneficial to move the body. When you keep your body in peak condition, you feel lighter and more energized, leaving you prepared to manage any stress in your life.
I use calisthenics for my weight-training and body movement. If you want to get some of my workouts let me know in the comments, or check out my e-book, Eat Your Way To Abs!
Smile
The mind-body connection is real. Even a phony smile will help you handle stress – if you’re looking for a way out of stress, you’ll need to smile more 🙂
Gratitude Practice
Gratitude is one of the most powerful forces to expand your happiness, improve your health, and — cope with stress! Studies have shown time and time again that those who practice gratitude experience greater emotional well-being and physical health than those who don’t.
I’d recommend my Free Growth Journal as a starting point, but if you want something tangible and quick, The Five Minute Journal is just for you!
Stop Should-ing Yourself
Do things because you want to, not because you should. Don’t let any judgments cloud your gut feelings. Pay attention to the universe’s signals and that deep voice within your soul.
As long as you’ve incorporated these things into your de-stress day, the rest is all up to you. Go hammock, go for a hike, read a book, spend time with your family – do whatever makes you happy.
Before You Start…
Identify your stressors
Not all stress is bad: In fact, most stress is actually really good. It kicks in to protect the body in times of need and gives you a sense of focus when you’re about to take a test or give a presentation. It motivates you to rise to the occasion.
Then there’s the bad stress. The stress that causes physical, mental, and emotional aches. It causes the mind to overreact to situations and over-produce hormones that over a long-period of time cause digestive problems, weight fluctuations, heart disease, depression and tons of other issues that no one desires or deserves.
Recognizing where this bad stress comes from is an important first step in managing it. Understanding what stresses you out, and in what ways, will give you the necessary information to work on solving the underlying problems.
Take five minutes right now to jot down the situations/people/responsibilities that are currently stressing you out and think of how you can respond or alleviate those things.
Identifying the sources of the unwanted bad stress and forcing it into balance with your good stress through a de-stress day is crucial to living a happy, healthy life.
What kinds of activities do you guys do on your de-stress days? Let me know in the comments!
If you’re interested in going paleo, I wrote a tutorial that will explain everything and help you get started right now. In college? I’ve got a super detailed guide on how to maintain your diet and find the resources you need to stay healthy ! Have any questions about anything? I’m happy to help!
