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Three Ways to Balance Your Life

When your life seems out of control and you’ve got endless demands tugging at you from all directions, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, fatigued – and just plain stressed!

Believe it or not, balancing your life does not require massive changes.  You don’t have to quit your job, abandon your family and escape to a remote retreat in order to feel peaceful and happy.  In fact, true balance is something that starts within you first and foremost – no matter what else is happening in your outer life circumstances.

Below you’ll find three simple ways to begin building a greater sense of inner peace and harmony:

1)  Quiet time

One of the first things we tend to sacrifice when we’re busy is our personal time.  Instead we devote all of our energy and attention to caring for others, multi-tasking, meeting responsibilities and “being productive.”  Over time this depletes our energy and we begin to feel more and more burdened by our responsibilities.

To live a more balanced life, quiet time to yourself is crucial.  You may believe that you don’t have any time available for yourself, but something amazing happens when you consistently make time; you find yourself feeling happier and more energetic, your focus improves – and you still get plenty done!  Just a few minutes spent sitting quietly in meditation or reading a book can do wonders in transforming stress into peace and happiness.

2)  Self-care

Beyond making time for things you enjoy, there are other ways to nurture and love yourself on a daily basis.  Getting a full 8 hours of sleep (or as much as you personally need) is a great start, as well as eating nutritious food, exercising daily and speaking kindly to yourself.

Have you ever noticed that when you’re really tired or stressed, even the smallest problem can seem like a nightmare?  On the other hand, when you’re feeling well-rested and centered, you’re much better able to handle upsets.  Caring for yourself is one sure way to consistently replenish your energy, inner peace and joy – which means you’ll have the strength to handle whatever comes your way.

3)  Flexibility

Did you know that one of the biggest causes of stress is rigid expectations?  We all do it from time to time; get a mental picture of how our lives “should be” – and get really annoyed when our outer circumstances don’t cooperate.  One of the biggest gifts you can give yourself is a flexible state of mind.  In other words, learn how to detach from unrealistic expectations and go with the flow.

When you have a flexible mind-set, you’re able to deal with crises and problems much more easily because you’re not working against a preconceived notion of how things “should be”.  You’re able to tap into your creative problem-solving skills and move through challenges without all the drama and frustration.  Be like the tree that bends with the breeze – and you’re much less likely to break!

These inner changes can make a dramatic difference in your state of well-being, but you may also want to examine your outer life circumstances and see if there are other small changes you can make to help support your inner work.

For example, you might choose to let go of certain obligations that are no longer meaningful or enjoyable to you.  Just because you agreed to host weekly meetings for a support group three years ago doesn’t mean you have to keep doing it forever – especially if it’s become a drain on your time and energy!

Be willing to let go of activities that no longer complement the lifestyle you desire, and you’ll create a space for greater fulfillment, joy and peace.

Are your daily life issues causing you stress? NewVision Counseling of Charlotte NC offers professional counseling to help you reduce and eliminate stress.

NewVision Counseling and Consulting Services, PLLC

1945 J N Pease Pl Ste 204

Charlotte, NC 28262

What is Stress?

Stress is a response produced by your body when you are subjected to various types of demand, whether physically, mentally, or emotionally. Contrary to what most people believe, stress is not associated with the negative only since excessive positive emotions can result to stress as well. When something that takes place or is about to take place in the environment is producing stress in a person’s body, it results into the release of certain chemicals into your bloodstream.

On the positive side, these chemicals can be utilized to produce more energy or added strength. This is helpful when the cause of your stress is something physical. But when you are dealing with emotional stress, it can cause a negative effect on your body since there is no outlet for releasing that extra boost of energy and strength. Therefore, stress results to various types of emotional or physical responses because each individual’s body respond differently to the stimulus.

Types and Causes of Stress

Whether you admit it or not, stress is a part of everyday life. Whether you are at school, at the office, or just about anywhere you are forced to deal with people and the environment. Hence, the types of stress is closely associated with its cause. And because your physical body is closely connected to your emotional and mental state, you will notice some connection to their effects when you begin to experience stress. This is also the reason why it is important to combat the cause of stress since it affects several vital aspects of your body in order to function.

Here are some of the most common sources of stress that must be dealt with on an everyday basis.

Internal Stress

There are times when you constantly worry about certain events without having enough control to determine its outcome. Internal stress is also one of those kinds of stress that needs to be addressed quickly. Most of the source of stress is rooted in the person’s mind, which makes it difficult to manage and would entail more work to get rid of. Oftentimes, people suffering from internal stress subconsciously puts themselves in stressful situations or feel stressed out about things that aren’t stressful to begin with.

Survival Stress

This type of stress deals with the danger, mostly physical, that an individual is subjected to. It can be prompted by an attack made by either human or animal that could potentially hurt you in the process. Therefore, your body releases this burst of energy that you need to utilize to respond quickly about the situation at hand whether to confront it or escape from it.

Environmental Stress

This type of stress is your body’s way of responding to changes or activities in your environment that could produce stress, such as extreme levels of noise or pressure from work. As compared to the other types of stress already mentioned above, this one is a lot easier to deal with. The best way to get started combating this stress type is to determine the source. Once you have identified the source of environmental stress, find a way to avoid them.

Stress Due To Work and Fatigue

Another common type of stress and probably the most prevalent. This one though does not happen in an instant, but rather builds up over time. When you are spending too much time working or forced to deal with excessive amount of work, then it can take its toll on your body. To deal with work stress, you need to make sure you have enough rest and relaxation in between so your body can recover from the tremendous amount of work. There are relaxation methods that you can apply in order to find relief from stress.

Are your daily life issues causing you stress? NewVision Counseling of Charlotte NC offers professional counseling to help you reduce and eliminate stress.

NewVision Counseling and Consulting Services, PLLC

1945 J N Pease Pl Ste 204

Charlotte, NC 28262

The Many Faces of Stress

Stress affects each individual differently, according to the cause and its effects. Therefore, there are different kinds of stress as recognized by clinical and research studies. It is important for an individual to recognize the cause of stress in order to know how to deal with it, and hopefully reduce stress levels. Each type of stress have different approaches to treatment.

There are three known types of stress: acute stress, episodic acute stress, and chronic stress. However, a fourth kind – psychological stress – is also becoming more prevalent and is considered as a legitimate type of stress.

Acute Stress

Acute stress is the most common form of stress. Acute stress results from the pressures you are subjected to in your everyday life. Small amounts of acute stress can actually be beneficial. Think of athletes that are about to compete in an event. They experience acute stress, which triggers the production of adrenaline and giving them a burst of energy needed to perform their best.

The symptoms for this type of stress are easily recognizable and mostly affects a you in the short term. Common symptoms include back or neck pain, muscular tensions, headache, rapid heartbeat, sweaty palms, cold hands or feet.

Episodic Acute Stress

As mentioned above, acute stress is quite common to most people. However, there are some who experience it more often than others. These people are the ones who are so focused on achieving organization and yet always fail when it comes to performance. Therefore, it is not surprising that they often become irritable, if not with themselves,  then with their initial environment. This also explains why they find the workplace quite a stressful environment.

Other forms of episodic acute stress occur in people who worry excessively. They have become so pessimistic about the environment that they always project something wrong would happen. Hence, they end up feeling awful, tense, or anxious without having clear reasons for feeling that way.

Chronic Stress

This is the type of stress can wear you out. And, it builds up over time and can produce long-term effects, whether emotionally or physically. Most forms of chronic stress are caused by trauma that is difficult to let go. Consequently, chronic stress can continually disrupt your everyday life.

One problem with chronic stress is that people often believe that it is something that is innate to them and that they cannot get rid of. It makes treating this condition difficult because it is often ignored by the person affected by it. It can, however, be treated through stress management, behavioral treatment, and counseling.

Psychological Stress

Stress has its own set of complexities. With the different types stated above, psychological stress reflects a person’s ability to respond to a given situation. During dangerous situations, your body produces hormones known as adrenaline and cortisol that prompts the body to make a response.

Compare this to charging a battery that produces high voltage that must be discharged. In the case of a person suffering from psychological stress, the body fails to discharge that burst of energy that is produced. The continued raise in your heart rate and the production of adrenaline could result to fatal problems in your heart.

There are several reasons as to how one acquires psychological stress but it can include trauma suffered from an emotionally disturbing event in the past or other emotional anxieties. People suffering from psychological stress tend to make decisions that place them in even more stressful situations.

Are your daily life issues causing you stress? NewVision Counseling of Charlotte NC offers professional counseling to help you reduce and eliminate stress.

NewVision Counseling and Consulting Services, PLLC

1945 J N Pease Pl Ste 204

Charlotte, NC 28262