Stress is something that can feel impossible to escape in society today. Many of us have dealt with stress from a young age due to social pressures and homework demands in high school. Moving into adulthood, it can feel as though there is always another hurdle to jump. Maybe you are struggling at work; maybe you have an ill family member; maybe you are going through a difficult time in a friendship or relationship. Sometimes it is not a specific problem that is causing stress but is the feeling of having constant responsibilities and obligations that mentally wears you down – the feeling of hopelessly needing a break. A week off isn’t always a possibility, though, so one of the best things we can do to manage our stress level is figure out what allows us to escape reality for a few minutes a day so we can feel refreshed as we handle our responsibilities.
With so much research on how to manage stress, there is endless advice available on how to reduce your stress level. We’ve all heard, for example, that activities like exercise and meditation have been shown to reduce stress. However, what works for one person, or even the majority of people, will not work for someone else. That’s why it is key to find your own outlet. What activity immediately calms your mind? What activity leaves you feeling more relaxed about whatever challenges you are facing? What distracts you from reality and allows you to completely focus your mind on something else for a while? The answer is different for everyone. One of my personal favorite escapes is reading a book – reading not only takes my mind off the stressors in my life but absorbs me in an entirely different world through the lives of the characters. I also love to cook or bake as an escape. There’s something calming for me about being in the kitchen and creating something delicious, especially at the end of a long week.
But it doesn’t matter what works for me – what matters is finding something that works for you that you can find a little time for every day. If you find writing to be therapeutic, you might try journaling for twenty minutes each day. If you enjoy being outdoors, you might go for a daily run or walk to clear your mind. If you have a creative personality, you might find an artistic or musical outlet to incorporate into your routine. Whatever activity you are drawn to, try to make it a positive part of your daily routine, maybe at the start or end of your day. We’re all tempted to say that we’re too busy to take time for ourselves, but we all have fifteen to twenty minutes each day to do something we enjoy. The need to constantly be productive is ingrained in our culture today and in each of us individually, so we have to retrain our minds to recognize and respect our need to recharge.
Contrary to our instincts, the feeling of recharging through twenty minutes spent “unproductively” will actually make you better able to take on your responsibilities and your sources of stress. Having a hobby or activity that is entirely your own has been connected to innumerable benefits, from better sleep to reduced stress and depression to greater success at work. In the short term, it’s true that there are plenty of other things you could be doing with those twenty minutes, but the long-term benefits of taking time for yourself are invaluable and can serve you for years to come.
Sources:
https://oregoncounseling.com/article/how-hobbies-benefit-our-mental-health/