April is Stress Awareness Month
Stress Awareness Month began in 1992 as a campaign to help Americans increase awareness of stress and its consequences on our health and emotional well-being.
Americans list work stress as their number one stressor, followed by time management, financial stress and relationship stress. Below, Dr. Healy shares some effective ways to prevent and manage stress.
Stress Management Tips from Dr. Healy
First, I am NOT an expert on stress management! I have more stress some days than others, just like all of you. Some days I manage it well and some days well…there is room for improvement! I have found some things that work for me, and I hope some of them are useful for you.
Proactive Stress Reduction:
One of the best approaches I have found to reduce stress is to identify potential sources of stress and act ahead of time to reduce them. With some planning, some stress can be reduced or eliminated.
Proactive Stress Reduction Tips:
Identify your most stressful days of the week and remove things from your plate. E.g. Wednesdays are busy at my house, so it’s leftover night. I do not try to fit cooking into my day.
Allow extra time for big assignments. If you have a task with a deadline, estimate how long it will take, then add twenty percent. This provides some built-in grace for hiccups (which ALWAYS happen), and if you get done early, you will feel extra accomplished.
Recruit help! When you know a stressful week is coming, ask trusted colleagues or family to take things off your plate. Be directive, like, “Mom, it would really help me if you could do soccer car pool this week because I have to work late.”
In the Moment Stress:
Recognizing and reducing stress in the moment can help you stay focused. If you feel your stress level increasing during a trying moment—like a presentation, a confrontation, or a meeting or project not going as planned, taking a moment to re-set can be useful.
Tips for reducing stress at the moment:
Set a dedicated time for things you know will cause stress, with time before and after for easier tasks or breaks.
Take a meditation break! When you are feeling panicked in the moment, open up a meditation app and take a 5 minute break. There are so many good ones: Headspace, Ten Percent Happier, 3 Minute Mindfulness, and more.
Get focused before the stressful event. Take a couple of minutes before something you know will be stressful to stretch, talk yourself through the steps, or envision things going well.
Self-Care
Maintaining a good self-care routine so you’re in a better place to deal with your stress is critical. I am talking about more than the basics of adequate sleep, eating healthy, or going to your wellness exams (though this is a challenge some weeks). I mean things that are restorative, relaxing or fun, and are for YOU!
Restorative self-care activities:
Yoga
Reading
Monthly massage
I hope all of you can take some time to think about how stress affects your day to day, and ways to reduce it this month. WCJC is here for you along the way! Our goal is to help the women we care for be their best both physically and emotionally.
Please see your provider if you feel that we can help guide your stress management strategies (or if you just need to catch up on the basics of self-care with your annual exam!) We care for you.
To book an appointment, call us at 913-491-4020
Wishing Dr. Holmes a Speedy Recovery!
Dr. Jessie Holmes will be out on medical leave to recover from unplanned shoulder surgery for the next few weeks. We wish her a speedy recovery and can’t wait to see her back in the office in June!
We are working to reschedule everyone who had planned visits with her during her leave, and although we know that nobody can replace Dr. Holmes, we will do our best for you while she is out.