How to Protect Your Health and Well-being During Times of Stress

Sometimes, life is coasting along smoothly, and a curve ball comes from nowhere and disrupts things entirely. This is a situation everyone experiences at times. These curve balls could come in the form of a relationship breakdown, the loss of a job, or money worries. When these situations strike, it can be hard to know what to do for the best. You may feel like simply hiding away from the world, or you may try to keep as busy as possible to distract yourself. No matter what curve balls life throws you, it’s essential that you protect your health and well-being during this stressful time. 

It’s so easy to neglect yourself when life feels challenging. Simply making it through each day can feel like a lot of effort. However, neglecting yourself is only going to make you feel even worse. Actively seeking ways to protect your physical and mental health can make a vast difference to how you feel, even if it doesn’t feel like it right now. With this in mind, here are some of the ways to protect your health and well-being during times of stress:

Seek Support

Going through stressful times can impact every area of your life. You may feel more withdrawn, and not as keen to socialize with your loved ones. Hiding away may seem like an easy option, but it’s often better to reach out to others for support. Talking through your worries with a friend from your church, confiding in a relative, or even seeking out professional support from a trained therapist can make a huge difference to how you feel. 

Often, speaking to others about your worries can reduce the burden they place on you, and even help you to see things from a fresh perspective. Knowing that you’re not dealing with your problems alone, and that a listening ear is always available, can help you to take care of your well-being during this difficult time.

Stay Active

Exercising may be the last thing you feel like doing when going through a stressful time. While it may be tempting to raid the refrigerator and spend your evenings comfort eating, this is only going to make you feel worse both physically and emotionally. 

Staying active, even during times of stress can make a huge difference to how you feel. Finding the motivation to get started can be the biggest challenge. To overcome this, it could be helpful to commit to a form of exercise, as this will make it far more likely you will stick with taking regular exercise. Signing up for fitness classes is an excellent way to do this, and provides a simple way to make staying active a normal part of your weekly routine.

Being active is a really positive way to take action when you’re going through a tough time. This is because physical activity is well known to help decrease stress levels and boost mood. Exercise is also a helpful physical outlet for all the emotions you may be dealing with. After working out, you’re more likely to feel in control and more positive about your situation.

Nourish Yourself

What you put into your body and surround yourself with will heavily impact how well you cope mentally and physically during this stressful period. Nourishing yourself with healthful foods, staying hydrated and avoiding unhealthy habits can help to energize your body and keep your mind clear when you’re dealing with large amounts of stress.

Resisting the temptation to spiral into a cycle of emotional eating or using unhealthy habits as a crutch during this time will make it so much easier for you to bounce back to feeling like yourself again once this stressful situation has passed.

Safeguard Your Energy

Protecting your energy may sound simple on paper, but when your life is feeling stressful this can feel almost impossible to achieve. Protecting your energy can seem challenging, but taking small steps is the best way to do it.

Safeguarding your energy often requires a multi-pronged approach. Firstly, it’s helpful to identify the things in your life that are making you feel worse right now. This could be spending hours scrolling through social media, comparing your life and situation with others. Doom scrolling in this way is always unhealthy, especially for your mental well-being. So, limiting the time you spend on social media at the moment is really worthwhile.

As well as avoiding mindless scrolling, be aware of how the people you spend time with make you feel. Being around people that make you feel worse about your situation, or disregard your feelings can be extremely detrimental. Minimizing the time you spend around people like this is advisable, and will help you to protect your precious energy.

Stressful times can have a huge impact on your sleep. While you may feel physically and emotionally exhuasted, you may find yourself staying up through the night thinking, or simply watching television. Trying to make sleep a priority is so important when you’re going through a difficult time. You may find it hard to drift off to sleep, but trying to stick with a regular bedtime routine can help.

Along with protecting your energy, it’s also helpful to think of positive ways you can make a difference to your situation and take control of the circumstances you’re faced with.

Final Thoughts on Protecting Your Health and Well-Being During Times of Stress

Carefully choosing how you spend your time and who you spend it with is hugely important when you’re trying to protect your health and well-being during stressful times. Being kind to yourself and taking the best care of yourself is absolutely vital. Making this a priority is essential to prevent your mental and physical health from being compromised by the stress you’re facing, and will make it much easier to cope with the challenges you’re dealing with. You will come through this tough time stronger than ever, and protecting your health and well-being plays a essential role in making this happen.