Stressed Out? It's Not About What Happens To You. It's About How You Respond.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, we busied ourselves with too much work, too many social activities, and too little self-care. Then, due to quarantining guidelines, most of us were suddenly forced to spend less time with others and more time with a person who had, somehow, become a stranger to us: our selves.

Connection to Yourself. When you're truly connected to your authentic self, you'll never feel alone. But, without realizing it, many of us had spent a great deal of time trying to run away from ourselves. We've over-emphasized pleasing others while forgetting to please ourselves. And, now, due to the pandemic, we've become more isolated than ever before — isolated not only from our coworkers, family, and friends but from the person who matters most: you.

There's a difference between solitude and loneliness. If we're in tune with ourselves, if we've learned to love ourselves, then we're never alone. Solitude provides us the opportunity to get in deeper touch with our inner selves. Loneliness comes from an over-reliance on others to make us feel good. By learning to be at home in ourselves, we're better equipped to be at home by ourselves. Ironically, feeling at home within ourselves and loving ourselves is what enables us to love others more completely.

Stress Prevention. Feeling stressed out has less to do with what happens to us and more to do with the way we choose to react to what happens in our lives. While many of us try to control our lives, the truth is that much of what happens to us is beyond our control. However, we can control our response to what happens to us.

Stress Management Techniques. The management of stress should soothe four aspects of ourselves: physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual. We can and should customize our stress management routines to reflect our personal natures. No matter what techniques we choose — meditation, yoga, focused breathing, journaling, self-compassion, gratitude, walking, mindfulness, shinrin-yoku, music — self-care requires that we make time for stress-relieving leisure activities that float our boats.

What's Holding You Back?! As a life coach, I help clients examine what holds them back from acting in their own best interests. Most typically, clients know what's healthy and what's not; I help them answer the harder question: why aren't I doing it? By making self-care and stress management a priority, we build our resilience, so that we're better equipped to handle life's inevitable challenges. We're worth it; aren't we?