5 Tips on How to Handle Stressful Situations

How to Handle Stressful Situations and Relieve Built up Anxiety

Hi, I’m back!

I don’t care who you are, at some point you have had to deal with a stressful life situation. Whether it’s buying a house, a death in the family, or even the laundry piling up. Stressful situations happen to everyone and it is the exact reason why I’ve taken an absence from blogging lately. I thought it would only be fitting to give you my best 5 tips on how to handle stressful times, since I obviously need it. I have had a lot thrown at me in the last month and a half. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining! Some of these things have been positive for my life, but none the less stressful. It all started with Nick and I buying a house (before and after pictures will be coming soon!). I’m beyond excited to be a home owner and it’s been a wild ride so far. I’ve spent the last month and a half, painting, laying floor (well, Nick did), cleaning, putting in new vanities, pulling weeds, power washing, and SO much more. On top of that, I started my student teaching this fall. I’m just that much closer to having my dream job and I can hardly believe it. Student teaching for anyone that doesn’t know what it is, is the last part of my training to become a teacher. I basically teach in a classroom and get experience, only I don’t get paid for it (yay…). My husband and I have also had to endure two deaths within three months of each other. We lost two people we love so very dearly and it was a hard time. Nick lost his grandfather, Pappy and I lost my amazing Aunt Sue. They were both blessings to our lives and we will miss them dearly. My Aunt Sue created a blog after she was diagnosed with kidney and lung cancer. It was a way for her to journal about her situation and it’s truly inspiring. If you wanted to take a look at it, she would be smiling down from above. My car finally quit on me too. When I say quit on me, I mean it took a one way ticket to the junk yard. It was about time I got a new one though. It was a 2004 Ford Explorer that I have had since high school. It had no air conditioning, the windshield wipers were broken, it would shake when I drove it, I had to take the horn out because the alarm would go off every hour, and well it was just falling apart (I love Ford by the way, that car has just been through the ringer). I told Nick I was going to drive that car until it died and I did just that. We’ve been spending the last month searching for cars for me and we finally found one! I’m the owner of a brand new (well, not completely new), Chevrolet Equinox. As you can see, I’ve been pretty busy. I’ve missed blogging and cooking though, so I’m back! Lets get into this guide on how to handle stressful life situations.

Stressful Situations, Ain’t No Thang! A Guide on How to Handle Them.

1. Keep that routine going

This is one tip that I did NOT follow the last couple of months and I wish I had. I understand when things pop up, a routine can go out the window. You need to come to terms with the fact that life is unpredictable and sometimes you just need to go with the flow. With that being said, trying to keep your routine as normal as possible can help ease that anxiety from stressful situations. People are creatures of habit and having that routine gives a sense of normal.

2. Manage your time

Chances are that your stressful life situation is due to having a little too much on your plate. The best way to stay on top of this is to manage your time. A lot of people when faced with a stressful situation, find themselves pouring all their time into those situations and then other priorities come later. Unfortunately, the first things to get kicked from our priority list are the ones that help with these stressful situations. Such as, exercise, self-care, or even family time. Make sure you get out your planner and put it to use. Write in some time for yourself and the things you love to do. It will keep you sane, I promise.

3. Realize You Can’t Control Everything

I think this is a problem a lot of us deal with, including me. When you’re an organized over planner like me, it’s hard to wrap your head around the fact that you can’t control everything. I’ll tell you what, about a year ago I decided to just say, “It will all work out”. I had to let go of my anxious feelings in situations that I couldn’t control. It could not feel better! This didn’t just work over night, it took some practicing. Anytime a situation I couldn’t control would come up, I would just all together say, “Eh, it will work out”. I put it out of my mind and tried to focus on the things I could control, which brings me to my next topic.

4. Focus on the Situations You Can Control

This relates back to keeping your routine going. There are a lot of things in life we cannot control, but there is another end to this. Look at the things you can control and be pro-active. When I feel like life is getting a little stressful I pull out my journal and focus on those things I can control. I talk a little about this in another one of my blogs, How to Love Yourself. “I especially find it useful when I have stressful events going on in my life and need somewhere to analyze my feelings. It’s basically my personal counselor that I don’t have to pay and yes, it works. Lately, what I have been doing is starting off by writing down my most recent feelings. This isn’t meant to be anything detailed. I usually just write down something such as stressed or happy. Then, under my feelings I write a small paragraph on what might be causing those feelings. Once I locate the exact events that might be causing me stress, I write them down on the next page labeled, “How I Choose to Be Proactive”. I take each stressful event and describe how I’m going to tackle each challenge. This helps me to keep in touch with my feelings and decrease my stress level. It’s a great way to get ahead of your challenges and face them.”

5. Whoa, Whoa, Whoa! Slow Down a Minute!

You guys, just slow down a minute! Life is already too short to spend your time worrying, take some time off for yourself. Especially make time for activities that you love and take care of your mental health. Go for a walk, meditate, read, journal, or cook and if none of those are your thing, pick something else! The whole point of this tip is to not spend your entire life rushing around and in constant chaos.

You guys, I’m so excited to be back! I’ll be taking a lot of my own tips from above, so I can keep bringing you guys fun posts like these! Look out for a yummy fall trail mix recipe, coming soon!