Cough, Cough

Growing up people has always told me, stop wording so much or you'll make yourself sick. I never really though anything of it and just figured it was on of those old wives tales, but did you know that being overly stressed can actually make you sick? Being under constant stress causes your body to suppress immune system response, making you more susceptible to getting an infection. One study even showed the individuals under stress were twice as more likely to catch a virus if they were under stress. Yet, as much as we'd like to avoid  it, we can't always keep are lives stress free. So what are we suppose to do? Basically, all the same old other silly wives tales our grandmas told us; Get lots of rest, drink your orange juice (the vitamin C will help your immune system), drinks lots of water, and eat balanced meals.

Expectations

As a teenager, one of the things that stresses me out most are the expectations that people have for me. My parents want me to be their perfect, AP, straight A student, while my friends want me to just be like them, carefree and fun-loving. All the while I'm just trying to find myself! Its one of the most stressful things I deal with on a duly basis. Whatever I do, I will end up disappointing someone, even if that someone is me! I try hard to be all these ideas, but they don't really mesh well. I just end up feeling like I'm getting stretched to fit all these different people, which I can never quite fit anyway. Unfortunately, I have yet to find any tips to deal with this problem yet, but I can say that balance has been working for me so far, at least part way. So, I have this theory that no one fits in a single box; you're not just a jock, or only a nerd, but you can have one foot in each box; you can be a nerdy jock. So, instead of just trying to be my parents perfect straight A student or my friends carefree teenager, I take my favorite aspects of each, and make it my own. Heres what I mean: While sometimes its nice to just go with the flow and enjoy time with friends, I defiantly not the type of person that can be completely carefree. I tend to over think the future if anything. And likewise, as much as I want to get good grades and be a good student, there's other things out there that are also important to me. So, I try to find the balance between the two, an aspiring to be a good student, who gets decent grades, but also enjoy the carefree time that I have now. No extremes for me!  I take the more "middle of the road" approach.

Hello? Its for you

As a teenager, I'm attached to my phone; I don't think there's a place I don't bring it! But, this got me thinking, how does being so connected to my phone affect me? Well after doing some research, I found some upsetting new, being heavily connected to your phone can actually increase your stress level! After several studies, researchers found that people who used technology frequently lacked sleep and were often displayed more symptoms of depression. ( You can read more about it here.)This news was startling to me, but after thinking about it, it made A LOT of sense. I charge my phone next to my bed, so its constantly there to distract, whether thats from notifications, calls/texts, or just an excuse to distract myself. No matter what it's there, disturbing my sleep. Likewise, one of the main things I use my phone for is social networking, Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, and everything else. And while these sites can be great for catching up with friends, they can also be dangerous; they are often places of online bullying and  reminders of what were not, with all their displays of the "perfect" person. So, with  me always seeking ways to limit stress, that in mind, I've decided to limit my phone use by turning it OFF at night and to only check of social media to once every hour. Wish me luck!
P.S. I forgot to post it in my last post, but yes, I was able to stick with my goal :D… And I've kept it up!

VAY-K

Right now I'm on a beautiful (surprise) vacation in Hawaii, and other than enjoying my  time in the sun (and later the burn :( ) I got to thinking about stress and vacations. I don't know if its just me, but after a good vacation I always come back feeling recharged and de-stressed. I find that having time in a new place and on a new schedule gives me a change to really step back from everything going on at home and allow me to truly relax. Likewise, the extra time with family and friends, while it can get frustrating, always puts me in a good mood.  Also, I've noticed that it'd not just the bigs things, like having a change of scenery and a whole week with family, but the little things too; allowing yourself to get dessert, having extra time to get ready, the chance to wear your summer clothes, getting to eat out, buying souvenirs, etc. Something about these little things always lift my mood, and help me transition from "rush mode" to "relaxation mode". So, thats about it, just thought I'd share my little input about vacations. If anyone has anything they wanna share PLEASE feel free to add!

YUM! Dessert pleaseee

  

The End of Spring Break :(

I'm sure the right now many of you are on spring break (like me) and hopefully have had a very stress-free week. I know I've been able to try out many relaxation techniques this week(including last weeks "winging it" and "acting like a kid"!). I've even been able to do some yoga and running in my spare time, bonus!  But with spring break coming to an end, I'm no longer going to have plan-free days to relax and leisurely spend my time :( , instead i'll be back in the swing of balancing work, school, friends, and whatever else comes my way. But i'm going to change it up and make a goal for myself in this coming week. I plan to do at least two relaxing things in this next week. I know its not the biggest goal, but I think that even something as little as this is really going to help keep me calm throughout the coming week. (I know that by Tuesday I'll already be looking forward for any kind of free time!)  So, I thought I'd share it with you to see if A, I can keep the goal (maybe posting it will make sure I commit to it- fingers crossed!) and B, that maybe some of you will also try it achieve this goal or a similar one. Well I hope that everyone has had a good break, or will be having a great one soon!

Stress and Relaxation

So I know I've stressed (how pun-ny!) how important relaxing can be in dealing with stress, but this week I came across some great tips and I didn't want to pass up the opportunity to share them. Like I said, while searching for a topic this week I came across a great website with tips on how to relax at home. Not only did I think the tips were great, but they weren't the same "everyday" ones that you hear- some are even a little quirky! Overall there's fourteen tips ( check them out :) ) but, like last week, I thought I'd just recap my favorites.
#1- "Wing It"
Every once in a while its nice to have a day not filled with stuff to do, so they recommend you plan one. I know I personally love days like this, nothing's better than getting a day to ourself to do what you want, but at least by planning it you have something relaxing to look forward to and you won't have to stress about making things up if you've planned ahead.
#2- Rub Down
While this one wasn't my favorite (i'm not a big massage person) I liked their tip on how to do it: two tennis balls in a sock. Very clever.
#3- Act like a Kid
I LOVED this one. I never even thought about it before, but something about doing things you loved from childhood can really brighten a day. The website mentions gardening, but for me this was swimming. Something about being in a pool brings me back, and the extra bonus of being in the sun and exercising makes it even better! Likewise, on those winter and fall days, when the weathers not quite right for swimming I love to do "crafts". When I was little I loved to do anything crafty, sewing, baking, coloring, redesigning my room, building models, doing makeup, etc. So whenever I have the chance I always dive into these activities to brighten my mood.
#4-Blasting Music
Simple yet effective, blasting some favorite "happy" songs.
#5-Random Acts of Kindness
They suggest giving your coupons to someone else in line, but I think giving back in anyway lifts the spirit. I know that especially right now there are tons of great random acts of kindness on the web that would work great, so you can always google those, but my go to's are always donating old clothes ( plus I love spending the extra time cleaning my closet), pick up trash, or pay for the person behind you at Starbucks.

Okay, so at this point, I released that so far I'm I can limit my list down from twelve (yeah their list is that good) so I'll just leave you with these ones and you should check out the site yourself! You won't regret it!

Stress is Universal

This week, while going through the web I came across an interesting piece from Health Magazine. The piece explains how different countries deal with stress. I just thought that some of the ideas were so interesting that I'd share them here. One of the interesting tips I came across was the Russian practice of going to a banta (a hot sauna). While most of us don't have ready access to a sauna, we do have access to a hot shower, and I think that hot showers are some of the most relaxing things. In both Argentina and Sweden people use a more social approach to deal with stress; in Sweden people often take coffee breaks with friends and in Argentina its common to partake in the sharing of mate, an herbal drink. Both of these practices are great because the sharing of food with friends release oxytocin into the body.  In India, many practice laughing often- the surge of endorphins can help raise anyones mood. So I suggest calling up a funny friend or watching a great comedy every . In Ireland people often go for a walk- the brisk activity will produce endorphins, lower anxiety and the sunlights will help boost your mood. And in China, many practice zu  yu, placing feet in hot water for  about 15 minutes. This is easily replicable and well help improve circulation. So those were my favorites, but theres lots more, so click the link above!