Dealing with stress

Hey. Lately I’ve been having a lot of stress problems and I’m just wondering if anyone has any advice on how they dealt with stress?
​Brooklyn
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Hi Brooklyn! Thanks so much for sending us in a message. Stress is a natural part of life and it can actually sometimes be beneficial, as it allows us to realise when things need prioritising and resolving. However, stress can also really put a strain on our lives, and too much of it is unhealthy. 

As someone who completely understands what it feels like to have a lot of stress, my top tip is that it's so important to make sure you make time for things you enjoy, and things that help you relax! Even carving out 30-60 minutes a day of you time will have a huge impact on how you feel, because it gives you the time to reflect on the day and calm down. Personally, I enjoy watching my favourite TV shows or reading a book during me time, but you can do whatever you like!

My other important bit of advice would be to make sure you talk to people, if need be a professional. Keeping stress bottled up only adds to the stress, so it's so helpful to spend some time telling others how you feel. If you feel you need more than the support of friends and family, you can talk to your GP about counselling services by you.

As well as this, it's sometimes helpful putting your stress into categories of things you can resolve and things you can't. For instance, if you're stressed about an essay you haven't written yet, you can take steps to resolving this (by doing your essay). If you're stressed about the fact your delivery hasn't arrived, there's not much you can do about that, so you can then work on asking yourself why you're so stressed and helping yourself calm down. I hope your stress starts to fade soon, and that these tips help you! - Emmy x