10 Things a Woman Can do to Eliminate Stress

I was recently speaking with a friend of mine who has health issues for certain reasons.  One of them being her job. And it made me realize, this is a common thing anymore. Women are so stressed at work for either trying to keep up with home, kids and work. We try to prove we can do the job just as well as a man. Or, we are trying to make up for the fact that we are women.

Issues that arise from all of this stress that, yes, we place on ourselves, but, society doesn’t help with, include:

• Going back to work too soon after giving birth
• Gut health
• Migraines
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Weight Gain
• Low Motivation to do anything outside the home

I’m not saying these are just women issues, I understand men may go through the same things, but, a greater part of our population that experiences this is women. Women tend to take more on their plate for various reasons.

So, we were on the phone talking and she said she had a scheduled pick up of her groceries for three that afternoon, but, forgot and she was running out to get them.  This made me SO happy knowing that she was taking things serious and taking steps to reduce the stress in her life.  Here are things that we could be doing to help ourselves to reduce the stress in our lives:

• Scheduling a pick up of groceries – Grocery stores offer the option of having their employees do your shopping for you.  If you have kids?  You know how a trip to the grocery store can turn into a nightmare. Shopping for the week or, trying to do the major shopping trip for the month can take you two hours or more, depending on your household size.
• Hire someone to clean your home – This may seem like the hardest thing to do. Having someone come in for a few hours or longer every week isn’t necessarily an invasion, it may seem more of you viewing it as a failure on your part.  It’s NOT!  It’s smart.  It helps you to gain control back in your life. It allows you to spend more time with your husband/wife and children without feeling like you have other things you should be doing. And honestly?  If you find the right person? That relieves half the pressure in your life. Hire either a cleaning service, or, if you have a friend or family member that wants to make a few extra bucks, bring them on!
• Mental Health – This is a two parter:

There is NO SHAME in asking for help. Courtesy of Young Minds.

•  Talk to a Counselor/Psychologist/Psychiatrist. THERE IS NO SHAME in doing this.  They are trained to help you to get through the darkest times.  They are a third party, unbiased person who can help you sort out not only what is going on in your mind. They know the questions to ask that will delve into the darkest thoughts you are dealing with.
• Take a day just for  you. Send the kids off to school. Kiss the hubby goodbye for his day at work. Then, go back to bed for a few hours. Binge on Netflix. Watch Jerry Springer to see that your life isn’t all that bad. Have a spa day. Get a massage. Get a manicure and pedicure. Get your hair done. Go hiking and get in touch with nature. There are so many things you can do before the kids get home from school. And do NOT feel guilty. Mom’s are on duty, 24/7. They are usually the one’s who wake up, get themselves ready. Wake up the kids, get them ready, fed and out the door. Go to work. Come home and get dinner on the table, the kids bathed and put to bed. By that time, they’re ready for bed themselves, but, usually end up spending the time cleaning up. Now, if you have a husband that you split these responsibilities 50/50 with?  Kudo’s to your man!

• Stress Reducers – Here are a few ways to help reduce stress. They take time in your day, but, you need to take that time.:
  • Exercise
  • Yoga
  • Meditation

• Hobbies – Find something that you would be happy doing. Photography, painting, refurbishing old furniture, making jewelry, crocheting a blanket for your child who can keep it as a keepsake. There are a number of things that you can do. Find one that would make you happy and allow yourself a few hours each week.
• Hire a babysitter – This can be for a date night to reconnect with your spouse. Or, for both of you to just go out and do your own thing. Preferably the former a majority of the time. You and your spouse lose yourself in work and kids, that you don’t take time to keep up with one another. Having that time to talk about home, work and what’s going on in general. without the pitter patter of little feet running  towards you when they hear talking. We know how that all goes!

When you realize that there are issues affecting your health and overall well being, you need to take steps to get past them. We teach our kids about needs and wants, and for the most part? Everything listed above is a NEED. You need to take care of yourself because no one else will. You need to recognize that steps are needed, because no one else will.  Only you know how you feel and only you will be able to take the steps needed to get you back on track for a healthier and happier you.

Have you been in this situation? What have you done to try and eliminate stress from your life?