Perfection- Friend or Foe?

I think that one of the hardest things is about growing up is what we think were suppose to be. Forever, I always had this picture in my head of what I needed to be, and it caused me so much stress. I always felt like I needed to get good grades, look good, look the right ways, hang out with the right kind of people, listen to the right kind of music, and I always putting so much pressure on myself to be that right person. What I never thought though was that this was causing me more stress, I just thought I was making myself the best self I good be- I meant that doesn't sound like a bad thing right? But for me it was. I put wayyy too much pressure on my self and it ended up causing me to become really stressed and even depressed for a little while. But it wasn't until my depression got bad enough that I needed to get help for it that I realized what I was doing to my self.  The idea of achieve perfection was literally doing the opposite- it was making unhappy and unhealthy. While I use to think I was one of the few that felt this way, I have found that a lot of my friends  have felt that way, and even went through a similar stage in their life. And I have to say that was one of the most helpful thing in dealing with my perfectionism. So thats why I wrote this, is so if someone else out there is stressed out because they feel thus way, maybe it will them like it helped me to know that theres someone else out there who went through this. Also, if you want more information i've attached some links below that I think have some helpful information on how to help fight perfectionism

• Heres a good one:
• This ones good too:

Big Time Stress

Thats a back handspring for those that don't know ^ :)

Sometimes its not multiple things, but one big event that can make your stress level rise.  For me, this type of stress came when I had to learn my back handspring. While it seemed like relatively simple thing, I was so  terrified to do it and trying to do it caused me so much stress. I was ALWAYS thinking about it; what could go wrong, what if i wasn't doing it right, etc. It was sooo frustrating! It even got to the point where I wouldn't even attempt to do it because I was just so stressed and nervous about it that I would just freeze mid way through. But with cheer tryouts approaching I knew I needed to figure something out. I tried everything, muscle conditioning, doing basic drills, using extra matts for protections, everything, but something was still preventing me from doing it. It wasn't until I finally thought about changing my attitude that I was able to achieve my back handspring. At first, I just tried channeling all my energy to motivating myself; I stopped saying that I couldn't do it and exchanged my all negative thoughts for positive ones. I also tried not to focus on it, or how scary it was, all the time. Instead,I just keep it off my mind with distractions, and when I did think about it I tried to remain neutral, not scared, not upset, just neutral (which is harder than it sounds, it defiantly takes a little practice- the trick is to just breathe when you start thinking about it). The last thing I would do was visualize my self doing it. And, eventually, it paid off. I got my back handspring. So thats why I shared this story, sometimes if something is stressing you out, the best way to deal with it is not nit picking the thing to death, but fixing your stress instead. 

Foods that Fight Stress

I'm writing this blog as part of my last food and stress post. Last time I talked in general terms about how eating right can help you combat stress, but this time I thought I'd share some specific examples, make it easier and limit some stress :) So heres my list of the best stress fighting food- I got much of the informations from here! 1. Oatmeal. Besides just being yummy oatmeal can increase serotonin levels, and help you relax. Add that with some vitamin c enriched strawberries and you'll feel better and have a super scrumptious meal. 2. Off my last note, fruit is great at fighting stress-the vitamin C is helps improve your immune system. (My personal favorites are oranges and pineapple. Yum!) 3. Avocados. Wipe up some fresh guacamole and add some chips and veggies, and you'll have a appetizing snack that will also give you some healthy fat and potassium, and lower blood pressure. 4. Fish. We all know fish is a healthily choice, but did you know that the omega three in fish can actually prevent stress hormones? 5. Tea. Not only is drinking a hot up of tea relaxing but in a study people who drank tea four times were able to better recover from stressful situations. So thats my list, enjoy!

Stress Check: The App

Now I know I've done an entry like this before, with the Take a Chill app, but whenever I come across an new app that interest me, I always think its fun to explore them. So, this week, I checked out the app Stress Check, which does exactly as the name says. By monitoring your heart rate it estimate your stress level. The super cool part though, is that the app uses your phone camera to measure this! You just put your finger on your camera and it measures your heart rate! So cool! And, while its detecting your heart rate it even shares helpful stress facts. Bonus! Finally, after about two minutes, it uses your heart rate to calculate your stress level. You can then save this information and use the app to track your progress over time (if you use the app frequently). Overall, I thought that the app was very easy, provided a great resource for managing stress, and, best of all, it was FREE! So give it a try, you have nothing to lose!