Feeling Stressed? How To Cope:
April is Stress Awareness Month, and after this past year, it’s more important than ever to address the silent, but often debilitating, impact that stress can have on mental, emotional and physical health. Chronic stress can lead to fatigue, headaches, stomach problems, depression and anxiety. High levels of stress can affect everything from our sleep to our relationships to our work performance.
Luckily, there is help. If you’ve been feeling that dreaded “burnout effect” or increasingly stressed, there are steps you can take to alleviate your situation. While there’s no quick fix, we hope that these tips can help ease some of the pressure you might be feeling. Grab sip of water, take a deep breath, and find what works for you.
Prioritize your health (both mental and physical)! Exercise helps boost endorphins, feel-good hormones that fight stress. The best workout is the one that you DO - so choose movement that you enjoy! Try out a class at Orangetheory Fitness, Lakeshore Sport & Fitness, or Power Sculpt Fitness. Work one-on-one with a personal training session at Evolve Fitness, Spindle Fitness or LEAP Chicago. Incorporate low impact workouts like Pilates - Reach Pilates, Pilates & Coffee, or High Bridge Pilates can help you nail the moves. Feeling breathwork or looking to connect spiritually to your physical body? Opt for a yoga sesh at Five Keys Yoga or Move Therapy and Wellness. Find what works for you, and stick with it regularly to help relieve some of those stress symptoms.
Give bodywork a try. Energy and body work, like reiki, massage, and acupuncture have been proven to help alleviate symptoms of stress. Local businesses Healing Foundations, Suvarna Chiropractic, Truly Chiropractic, Hand & Stone Massage, Community Chiropractic, and Journeys to Wellness offer such holistic approaches to stress management.
Tune into your mind. Your mental health is just as important, if not more, than your physical health. Working with a therapist like those at Embrace Sexual Wellness, Innovative Counseling Partners (they offer sliding scale!) or Light on Anxiety can help you to identify what activates your stress levels and provide you with tools to manage appropriately. Remember: you are not alone.
Relaaaax. Turn off your screen. Make a nutritious meal. Pop some CBD (we love the products from HuxHemp, Discover CBD and Cubbington’s Cabinet). Get a good night’s rest. You deserve it.
