Six Week Health Challenge: Week Three
Hi everyone. This is my entry for the health challenge contest by @healthsquared and @sweetsssj
Stress is the body's mechanism to respond to danger of any sort. It spurs the body's sympathetic system (fight-or-flight response) into action. This is effective when the stress is short-term. However, when stress is long-term, it could lead to different health conditions and that becomes a problem.
Being a government worker in a hard country such as Nigeria, relieving stress is of the essence in order to prevent a nervous breakdown. So these are a few things I do to de-stress.
TAKE A BREAK: Actually, I call it taking a break from life. Whenever I'm stressed at work or at home or just with my thoughts, the first thing I do is to pause what I'm doing and try to smile and just chill. If that doesn't work, I'll just STOP EVERYTHING I'M DOING AND CONSCIOUSLY SHUT MY MIND AWAY FROM THE WORLD. This could involve just closing my eyes and thinking about absolutely nothing, or even sleeping. It works wonders...try it!
COOKING: Being a mom, cooking is one of the things I do constantly. Cooking doesn't at all seem like a chore for me, so it's one of my go-tos when I'm trying to de-stress. It helps take my mind away from the actual stressor.
EXERCISE: It's general knowledge that exercise enables proper circulation of blood. With the whole vigour that comes with stress, there's a sense of relief and refreshing that floods the body. I usually just take a walk when I'm stressed, and I'm at ease.
MUSIC: On a normal day I love listening to good music. When I'm stressed, I listen to very slow, cool music. Music is a very powerful medium that helps to soothe pain and brings a fresh feeling of wholesomeness.
I also love a nice cold cup of fruit blend. My daughters always make me smoothies and refrigerate them. Usually when I'm stressed, I take cups and cups of smoothies and I feel so refreshed.
I suggest that you guys try out a couple of these.
Once more, thanks to @sweetsssj and @healthsquared for this initiative.