Work Personal Time into your Schedule

 Sit down and think about what’s most important to you. In today’s hectic life, things can just get out of control. Work, home, social commitments, school for kids, church, appointments, unforeseen medical emergencies, and the list just goes on and on. It’s no wonder that people are damaging their health, both mentally and physically. Heart disease and cancer have both been related to stress. Either it worsens the disease, or has a direct causal affect, either way it’s not good. Road rage is another sign of the times too. Just getting to work can be stressful, and people are acting out their uncontrolled feelings. Life shouldn’t be lived this way, and there are things that you can do to help yourself.

So it’s time to take on another task – but this one is good for you. This one just might save your health and sanity. Taking on this task should be your number one goal, with no excuses acceptable.

Below are a few actions and tips that you can take to reduce stress, and to find an enjoyable life.

Find a support group. It’s good to talk about relieving stress. Finding others with like concerns about living life and dealing with it’s stressors, and knowing that you’re not alone, will in itself make you less stressful.

Seek the advice of a religious or spiritual counselor. It’s an ironic thing to think that if most people would just seek a spiritual life to begin with, life would be much easier to accept and cope with. A spiritual life brings balance and harmony, and leaves you with an inner peace of happiness and fulfillment.

Talk with a mental health professional. Face it, we all just might need some serious counseling, or help at the different times in our life. If you feel that your life is just too out of control, take the time and effort to seek a professional and talk. They are trained to help you cope – that’s their job. If you’re strapped on cash seek out the free available resources in you community and use them.

Speak with a medical doctor. Often your physician can prescribe medications that will help you cope with stressors. They will often need to test for any condition or disease that might be causing a problem. Don’t be ashamed, go and get tested. Diseases such as diabetes and low thyroid can make you feel tired and irritable. This makes you much less likely to cope with the everyday stressors of life. Often there are chemical imbalances that can play havoc with your emotions, and if necessary they can provide medications. A reliable and competent physician can give you direct referrals to mental health care workers too. Don’t neglect using them, it’s worth it.

There are other things that you can do in your everyday life to help eliminate stress, and to find some personal time for you.

Learn to say “No.” There are only so many hours in the day, and there is only so much others’ should expect from you at home, and even at work. Sometimes the consequences for saying no might not be that easy to accept, but at some point the line has to drawn. No shifting or changing can be done except in cases of emergencies of course, but basically you have to find time for you.

Delegate some work. Asking from others for help is not a sign of weakness, or a flaw in your character. In fact it’s working smarter instead of harder. Make sure to define your instructions carefully, so others will know what expected of them. That applies to work and at home. The last thing you need is to sit and worry if the job is being done correctly or at all for that matter. Learn to delegate.

Reward yourself. Be good to yourself by taking some time to do the things that you enjoy. Read a good book, go shopping, tinker in your garage, go to bed early, wake up later, or just take a few minutes and talk with a good friend or family member over the phone. You decide what’s best for you to do on your time off.

Take the time to take care of your mind, body and spirit, which is the key to finding happiness. It’s a life time of work, but one that is for your benefit, and even for the ones around you. No one likes being near a stressed out over bearing person. So take a deep breath, and begin to take the time to find you.