Stop Just Powering Through and Actually Reduce Your Stress

When something is stressing you out where does your mind go first? I think it's common for it to swing one of two ways:

1 Deal with this thing pronto! At all costs! If it's done, then the stress will go away!

2 Avoid it and pretend it doesn't exist. It's not real. Stress isn't real. Everything is fine.

Neither of these things are healthy responses to stress. But you're not alone!

Here are 5 examples of what I've done that I'd convinced myself would ultimately help me reduce stress...(spoiler alert...they didn't)

1 Push through and keep working because at least it would be done, right? Even though the quality of my work was crap because my brain was goop and needed a break 🫠

2 Eat because I knew my brain needed a boost, BUT I'd go for whatever was the quickest and most handy because there's no time to stop for sitting down and eating! Which ultimately led to a short burst of energy quickly followed by a tank in energy. This is what we call the blood sugar roller coaster. Not a fun ride to be on. It did nothing for my productivity.

3 Take “a break” but just scroll socials so long I became one with my couch. Then I felt drained from so much scrolling, guilty for so much scrolling, and had no creativity from so much scrolling. Productivity tanked. Stress just kept going up.

4 Overanalyze my schedule to see where I could fit more work in instead of…just getting things done. I thought if I scheduled as much work in as possible, I could get more done and make sure my bills were paid. Yet the amount of time spent on overanalyzing and overthinking just kept me right where I was at- stressed, tired, and frustrated.

5 Drink way too much caffeine because I told myself if I was more alert I could get more done! Of course I'd just ignore the inevitable scattered, anxious, inability to focus that usually follows. OH and I'd also ignore the fact that I'd had 2 oz of water all day and it was already 2 pm.

These are centered around the idea that "if I just keep pushing harder and don't stop, I'll get to the end faster". And whether this is a project for work or caring for a sick loved one or some other long-term stressful thing, trying to power through without ever taking care of your needs isn't going to make the stress go away. If anything, it's going to compound it and make you less resilient so it FEELS even worse than before.

Your perception of a stressor has a big impact on how well you can handle it.

Ignoring your mind and body's cues to recharge and forcing yourself to power through is going to wear you down and make your perspective on things get super cruddy. A super cruddy perspective is going to make the stressor more stressful. HOWEVER, taking care of your own needs is going to help you have a better perspective. Having a better perspective is going to help you handle the stressor better.

The key thing to keep in mind is that taking care of your own needs doesn't have to be a huge undertaking or eat up a lot of time. A few minutes will truly make a big difference. And it could save you an hour of redoing something or struggling with compounded stress.

Here are 5 examples of how to stop just powering through and actually reduce your stress:

1 Take a break when you start to feel yourself not being able to focus- just a few minutes of stepping away (and NOT getting on your phone) can be the recharge you need.

2 Plan ahead so that you have meals that will give you true lasting energy to support the function of your body and mind. These are going to be foods higher in protein, fiber, healthy fats, and complex carbs. So, a quick muffin or granola bar ain't gonna cut it. If you need a quick snack try cottage cheese with fruit or yogurt with granola. If planning meals ahead seems too overwhelming check out my post Overcome Overwhelm Around Meal Planning to help simplify the process! It may be a little wonky at first, but I PROMISE the more you do it the more efficient you get and the better your body will feel! Not to mention your brain functioning better as well.

3 Take intentional breaks like a walk outside, sitting with your eyes closed for a few minutes, coloring, listening to music, etc. This is how you’ll truly recharge yourself. Over time they'll become a normal part of your flow, and it won't even feel like you're taking time away from whatever you are working on. It'll feel essential and you'll be able to see how it actually improves your ability to show up!

4 Stop wasting your time on overthinking. Pick something and get started. It doesn’t mean you have to actually finish. I'm going to repeat that. It does not mean you have to actually finish. We build things up in our heads because we feel like we have to get it all done now. No you don't. Allow yourself that flexibility and you'll find getting started is a lot easier. You may still finish it. You may not. And that's okay. Set a timer if it helps and when it goes off if you want to be done- then be done. If you found a flow, then keep going!

5 What you really need is more quality sleep. Instead of having caffeine on an IV drip work on optimizing your sleep space, having a nighttime ritual, and getting your face out of your phone. Don't aim for a perfect 8 hours of sleep. Aim for better sleep than what you're getting now. You'll be mind blown by how much of a difference sleep makes in how you handle stress.

Chronic stress will wreak havoc on your mind and body. Even when you finally finish that project or the family member is better. The impacts are still going to show up physiologically and psychologically. It's incredibly important to have intentional recovery practices, to ask for help, and to give yourself grace.

Sidenote: Funny thing is I actually had to take my own advice while writing this blog post because I almost powered through instead of taking a short break. I realized what I was doing, had a good ol chuckle at myself, took a break, and the blog is much better for it 😎