R.E.C.I.P.E.S For life – S is for Self-care and Stress Reduction

R.E.C.I.P.E.S

Part 7 of 7

S…as part of the recipe for life programme is all about self-care and stress reduction. These go hand in hand and are vital ingredients to ensure a happy healthy mind and body. Each week you get an exercise, task or a reminder to do something for you to make you feel good. As I said for P (Practicing what you know and planning it), when you actually practice it, that is when you feel and notice the difference.

I’m sure we would all agree life is hectic and go go go all of the time. However, we are responsible for taking care of ourselves and there are so many free and easy things we can do for ourselves to make us feel better. Things like deep breathing, getting fresh air, having a good old chin wag with a friend, going for a walk, running up and down the stairs, lying down, listening to soft relaxing music, lighting candles and so on. I have proven time and time again with my clients it is always the simple things, which work best as they are less demanding on you. The basic things are the things we forget to do when we are stressed. List out three things you can do which make you feel better when you are stressed. Write them down, stick them onto your fridge, put them into your phone, and put them onto your calendar so you can be reminded when stress takes over.

If you read my articles regularly you will know the impact stress has on your health and your body. This is when it becomes damaging, we all suffer stress and there is no way of going through life without it. In a way it makes us and shapes us into who we are today, nonetheless we need to manage our stress levels just like we manage other parts of our life.

Often people will say to me they are not stressed yet their bodies will be very stressed. Many of us do not actually know when we are stressed or recognise the symptoms. Listen to your body. Do not push it to extremes. When the body is tense, sore, stiff, swollen, inflamed etc., it cannot work as it is meant to, you will feel exhausted and ill health takes over. The only answer is SELF-CARE, take care of yourself, see you next week!