A key part of stress management is making regular exercise part of your daily life. It can be addictive if you choose the right activity. Joining a club or class should make it more fun and if you enjoy the company there is a better chance you will stick with it.
Stress management means taking time out of a busy routine for yourself, especially at work. That may be hard at first, especially if you seem to be surrounded by chaos. Work out what domestic chores or business responsibilities should have top priority and require your personal input and be prepared to delegate the rest, even if it means lowering your standards.
Train yourself to relax. If effective stress management seems like an impossible goal, this is something you will probably have to learn from scratch. Start by choosing a quiet moment in the day when you are unlikely to be interrupted and allow yourself 10 to 20 minutes to listen to your favourite soothing music. Don't let outside worries intrude: instead concentrate on your breathing. We can make ourselves feel calmer by breathing more slowly. Also try out more structured relaxation exercises and consider enrolling in meditation and yoga classes.
If you feel that everything is getting on top of you, it may help to keep a worry diary. By writing down details of events that were especially challegening, it may help you to identify the factors that trigger an anxiety state. This could enable you to develop new strategies to help with similar problems in the future, and many find that the physical act of writing down the details of a worrying concern is in itself a mental release.
Keeping your sense of humour is also important because it means that you're retained your sense of proportion. Sometimes that means mentally standing back from the problem that is confronting you and allowing yourself to look at the bigger picture. Laugher in itself can be excellent therapy. Like exercise, it is something we all need to make time for in our lives.
