5 Healthy Ways to Deal with Stress

These last few weeks have been incredibly stressful for my partner and I. We’ve relocated to another state, had to rent a room, bought a house, and have been working on fixing up that house. I’ve started a new job and he’s dealing with the stress of a job search. We also had to drive 30 hours in three and a half days to pick up our pets. There’s been so much going on that, honestly, sometimes it’s been hard to cope. So how did we deal with all this stress?

Dealing With Stress

There are healthy and unhealthy ways to deal with stress. My biggest struggle in dealing with stress is trying to avoid stress eating. I’ve done a fairly decent job of it, but man this week was rough! We just got back from our long weekend drive to Georgia (15 hours in the car with 2 cats, 2 dogs, and a small child – good times!) and I had to go straight back to work. I took advantage of the first of my allowed restaurant trips in February (Remember I allowed myself 2 per month in my No Spend Year Challenge!) and went to a Hibachi place for dinner.

And I ate all the food.

Have you ever been to Hibachi? They give you boatloads of food. You usually have enough for dinner and lunch the next day. But oh no, not today! I cleaned my freaking plate. That’s never happened to me before (but it was delicious). However, I know that eating two full meals worth of Hibachi probably isn’t the healthiest way to deal with stress. Time to try something different!

5 Healthy ways to Deal with Stress

1. Eat Healthy

Instead of binging on Hibachi, try eating fresh fruits and vegetables. After my shameful dinner experience, I went to the store and bought bananas, cucumbers, carrots, and celery. These are going to be my go-to foods the next time I feel like gorging myself.

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It won’t be easy, mostly because my knives are still packed away, but I think I can make it work. We are slowly but surely getting the kitchen in a usable condition and unpacking our cutlery, so I won’t have any excuses to not chose the healthy veggies options, which is important.

2. Get Enough Sleep

One of the biggest reasons that our stress refuses to go away is that we can’t get a decent night’s sleep. Our mattresses have been packed up for over a month (we actually just got them back, yay!) so we’ve been bouncing from air mattress to futon back to air mattress. Those are not the answer for a good night’s sleep. Having our good mattresses back for these last two days has really helped us both feel a whole lot better and less stressed out. It’s amazing what a good night’s sleep can do.

 

3. Support Each Other

It’s wonderful to have a supportive partner that you can lean on when you are feeling overwhelmed. I had a rough few days after getting back from Georgia. I was tired but still had to work and even had to work overtime. There was no time to do any of the house things I wanted to get done and even less time for self-care. Luckily, I have an awesome partner who picked up the slack and took care of my biggest stressors in regards to the house. He’s also always there to give me a hug or make me laugh when it seems like everything else is falling down around me. Sometimes you just need someone in your corner. We do our best to stay in each other’s corners.

4. Exercise

I know that finding time for a workout is the last thing you want to do when you are feeling stressed out and overwhelmed with life. But it’s amazing how clarifying a quick walk around the block can be! So, if you are dealing with stress, get up and get moving, even if only for a few minutes. It will help ground you and help you focus.

My absolute favorite exercise for stress relief is the punching bag. There’s just something so satisfying about being able to punch something for a few minutes when you are feeling down. It’s great workout too!

5. Meditate

Yes, everyone always touts the benefits of meditation for a healthy stress-free life. But that’s because it works! Taking just 10-20 minutes to just be one with yourself is one of the healthiest ways to deal with stress. It may seem unreasonable to take that time when there’s so much that needs to be done, but trust me it’s well worth it. I always come out of a mediation feeling re-energized and ready for anything, and I’m sure it will help you too. Come to think of it, I need to start meditating even more!

Bonus:

Journal! Journaling is an excellent way to deal with stress. You can use a journal to write out the things you are stressed out about, which will help you be able to process the emotions. If you are stressed because there is too much on your plate, a journal can help you do a brain dump to clear and untangle your mind. Overall, it’s a great way to reduce stress.

How do you deal with stress?

What are your favorite ways to deal with stress? Let me know, I need all the help I can get right now!