In January my first ever wellness book will finally be out and I am beyond excited. It’s called How To Calm It and it’s essentially a guide packed full of information and tools on how we can all live a less stressed and more calm life. Let’s face it, we are all trying to juggle a million and one things which has now resulted in a society full of overstimulated and overworked nervous systems. Whether its anxiety, lack of sleep or a constant feeling of overwhelm, these are all manifestations of poor self care due to stress. When we’re stressed our bodies cannot function in a normal way and the impact of this is detrimental to our overall wellbeing. So, how do we find more calm? How do we actually change the trajectory of our lives and put ourselves first? Here’s how…
Believe You Are Worthy Of Rest
In order to make tangible change and put your own wellbeing first, you actually have to believe you are worthy of said change. So many people – especially women, really struggle to slow down and chill because we are taught to put everything and everyone before ourselves. It can often be deemed selfish to go and get a massage, have a lie in or say no to your boss but if we don’t start resting just as much as we work and socialise, we will end up mentally drained or physically unwell. Rest is also productive, but you have to change your perspective and believe that you are worthy of it.
Prioritise And Schedule In ‘You’ Time
You can’t have you time if you haven’t factored it into your schedule. So when planning your day or week, make sure you dedicate hours or a day that’s all about YOU! Your you time could be to cook yourself your favourite meal, have a long hot bath whilst watching a movie, or it could be curling up in bed with a hot chocolate and a good book. ‘You’ time needs to be self defined and something that you enjoy doing – not your Mum, or your boyfriend but YOU! This is the time for you to come to yourself, decompress, process and just breathe. It’s about resetting, recharging and renewing so you can begin again feeling full, instead of drained and empty.
Connect To How You Feel And Release Those Feelings
We need to get to know ourselves so that we are be able to look after our wellbeing and be able to see when we are on the brink of burnout. Knowing the signs of stress and how they manifest in us individually, will help prevent things getting worse. Being honest about how we feel and connecting to our feelings will then allow us to release them – especially all the emotions and feelings we have been suppressing. Sit with your feelings, write them down or say them out loud (for some reason this makes them feel more real and valid) and then let them go. Cry them out, share them with someone you trust, go on a walk, dance, scream – do whatever feels right for you.
Of course, leading a calm and balanced life takes time, effort and consistency, but these are a few things to get you started. If you would like to learn more, you can purchase my book How To Calm It here.
