Stress management for resilience

According to, well, every psychological study I've come across lately, our stress levels have skyrocketed. When we face more challenges, we become stressed. And when we're stressed, it can feel very difficult to navigate challenges. Isn't it ironic? To disrupt this cycle and lean into resilience, stress management is key. Let's talk about three ways that you can manage your stress levels. First, develop a mindfulness practice. Stress tends to catapult you into worries about the future or regrets about the past. With mindfulness, you bring yourself back to the present moment. I'm not going to sugarcoat it, though. Mindfulness is so much easier said than achieved. It requires practice and dedication, but you can start just by taking three slow, intentional breaths whenever you find yourself stressed or overwhelmed. There's a reason why breathing is so synonymous with mindfulness. Observing your breath and being intentional about it is the easiest way to bring yourself into the present moment. Try incorporating five minutes of meditation into your morning routine. Maybe just before you jump into emails or right after you brush your teeth. I promise it will pay off in times of stress. Next, prioritize physical activity, healthy eating, and sleep. Regular exercise releases endorphins and reduces tension. When you're stressed, you'll be amazed by how helpful it can be just to go for a walk, fuel your body with healthy food and give it the regenerative break it needs through sleep. I know these sound like obvious suggestions, but these habits tend to be the first to go when we're stressed. Finally, write down your thoughts. Writing down your thoughts and feelings, create space between a trigger and your response. Have you ever felt like you had 100 things to do, but then you made it to do list and realized your workload was more manageable than it seemed? When we're stressed, we tend to have an unrealistic idea about the severity of a situation. Get in the habit of writing just a few lines every day and you'll identify unhelpful thinking patterns and give yourself space to respond with resilience. Commit yourself to strengthening one of these three stress management practices. You might meditate right now for just two minutes, or go for a walk, or write down everything you're thinking and feeling in this moment before you keep watching. The more you invest in these practices when you're not stressed, the more useful they'll be when you are.