Copyright © 2022 Lee Spirit

My last blog post was about managing our time and getting things done. The next week something stressful happened, and everything came to a halt for a week. That’s what stressful situations do to us, oftentimes for longer than a week! We sometimes need to stop everything just so we can get through the difficult time. Perhaps what comes to your mind now is the death of a loved one, or the war in the Ukraine. Our usual routine is disrupted, and our energy goes only to our recovery. That’s what today’s post is about. Recovering from stress, and learning to reset, and recharge our batteries.

Recovering From Stress Starts Here

Let Go and Give Yourself Space

I mentioned that when something stressful happens, we have to stop some or all of the things we normally do in our daily routines. This is one way to manage stressful times because it gives us more time, space, and energy to handle the situation.

Ideally, we want to avoid exhaustion and burnout, so be sure to give yourself this space, and learn to let go of the things you feel you “have to” do. Self-care becomes critical to your wellbeing, especially when you’re going through a hard time. Part of self-care is the ability to let go.

Breathe and Meditate

It’s good to take some long, deep breaths whenever times are stressful. We are breathing naturally everyday, but when there’s stress, we often hold our breath, and it gets stuck deep in our chest, or our neck and shoulders. This is the beginning of muscle tension and soreness. Yes, stress does reside in the physical body!

To loosen this tension, make sure you take time out of your day to consciously breathe deeply into the belly and chest. Then let that go with some long, audible sighs. This does help move the stuck energy in the body!

Through a regular practice of breath work and meditation, you can learn to calm these frazzled nerves of yours. Then, when something stressful does happen, you have the tools that can help you rebalance, reset, and recharge.

It’s never too late to start a regular practice. If you haven’t ever done any breath work or meditation, it’s a little harder to get into that peaceful, calm space. But you can always start by taking a few long, deep breaths. This will clear your mind of negative thoughts, so recovering from stress is easier.

Try my free guided meditation on Overcoming Trauma!

Get Plenty of Rest and Sleep

When something bad happens, it may be quite difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep because your mind is racing. Recovering from stress is a lot harder when you can’t shut off your negative thoughts about the situation. That’s why breathing and meditation is so important to clear the mind space, and afterwards, you’ll find it a lot easier to get to sleep too.

Recovering from stress is easier when you get the rest your body and mind need. To help you sleep, you may want to stop looking at the news or social media at least 1-2 hours before bedtime. This is a great time to reset through meditation rather than endless scrolling on social media. You could also try sipping a warm herbal tea that’s good for sleep instead of alcohol or caffeine that will only keep you awake.

Exercise, Eat & Drink Healthy, and Spend Time in Nature

Part of healthy healing and recovering from stress is getting enough fresh air, inhaling the healing benefits of nature, drinking plenty of water, and eating healthy foods. These will all nourish your mind-body-spirit so that you can recover more quickly and easily.

Eating unhealthy foods and not getting enough water will dehydrate you and make you feel even worse. So try avoiding sugar and carb over-loads. Eat fresh fruit, vegetables and beans, which will give you energy, vitamin C, and iron. Also make sure you know your water requirement based on your body type, age, and activity level. Try this calculator to determine how much water you need daily!

Fresh air will help clear your mind of stressful energy and negative thoughts. Give all your troubles to Mother Earth and she will absorb it all for you, and replenish your positive energy stores. Nature is always my go-to when it comes to stress and anxiety.

Give Yourself Some Alone Time, or Be With Friends

I know that when I’m feeling anxious and full of stress, I either crave a good laugh and music with friends, or I crave alone time. It’s important to make this time for yourself if you’re stressed out or burnt out. Do whatever your heart and soul are calling for. If being surrounded by good friends helps ease the stress, do that. If being alone allows you to recharge better, do that. Listen to yourself, your soul, and your body. You’ll know what you need. Extroverts tend to need people more than introverts, so get to know yourself and do what’s best for you.

Take a Vacation

Recovering from stress is easier if you’re able to step away from the situation or your job for a while, and take a vacation to somewhere you’ve always wanted to go. Vacations can be stressful, but if planned carefully, it can take your mind off things, and allow you some time to reset, reboot, and recover. It also gives you a lighter feeling of something to look forward to, especially if it’s somewhere you’ve never been before.

If you aren’t able to take a vacation, find a new place in your own city or town that you’ve never been before and try it out! It could be a park, a restaurant, a store, or anywhere you’ve never been in your own town. Just try something new, and feel refreshed and alive again!

For more ideas on how to recover from stress, click here for Resilience Tips When the World Turns Upside-Down. I sincerely hope these tips will help you reset as we enter into Spring on this day of Equinox. It’s a great time to plant the seeds of what you want to manifest in your life. So let go of that stress, rebalance, and recharge. I wish you all the best in recovering from stress!

Lee Spirit is an avid outdoors adventurer with a love for nature, photography, health & fitness, wellness, and spirituality. She helps those who suffer from anxiety & negative thinking to become healthier in mind-body-spirit. Her own personal journey has led her to the  study and practice of mindfulness, health, wellness, yoga, spirituality, sound healing, meditation, and personal development for over 20 years. Get mindfulness, meditation, and personal development tips in her Free Natural Mind Healing Report.