It is impossible to escape life's stressors. Whether they are financial, emotional, mental, or physical, it is impossible to live stress-free. As a form of protection, the body creates distractions from processing the stressor. These coping mechanisms can come in many forms. Of course, alcohol, eating disorders, gambling, stealing, lying etc. are examples of unhealthy coping mechanisms that find their way into peoples lives. These can quickly become habits.  We wanted to delve a little deeper into healthy ways to cope with stress. We also want to address the power of shifting our thoughts about stress. 

The first step is to acknowledge that these unhealthy coping mechanisms stem from fear. The longer that these unhealthy habits remain in your lifestyle, that fear continues to flourish and expand. When you are strongly rooted in self-love and acceptance, fear melts away. 

We know that it is easy to say that you should love yourself more, however it is much more difficult to actually put into practice. Self-love can develop from learning how to surrender and relinquishing the need to control. Maybe you feel that someone that you work with doesn't like you. First, ask yourself if you have done anything that could have been harmful to that relationship. If the answer is yes, deal with that first. If the answer is no, than that situation is out of your control. Let it go, love yourself for that decision, and remember that you aren't responsible for another person's thoughts.

The truth is that most of the traumas and stressors that we experience are outside of our control. The ability to accept the inevitable opens us up to possibility and love. By actively stating acceptance of your current situation, your brain can then open up and learn how to process in a healthier way. 

In addition to learning how to surrender and accept the inevitable, you can learn to replace your current coping mechanisms with healthier options. The beauty of these new mechanisms is that they will continue to promote your openness to the universe and ability surrender further.

Here are a few options for healthy coping mechanisms. Give them a try! See what works well for you. 

1) Talk through your stress. Everyone needs a friend or confidant who they can trust to listen without judgement. Cultivate those relationships in your life and treat them with respect. Appreciate the fact that you are also a support for them when they need you as well. 

2) Move your body. This may be in the form of exercise, but it doesn't have to be. Exercise and movement release endorphins which help to elevate your mood. We don't mean that you need to pound your feet on the treadmill. This could mean that you go for a hike, take a dance class, try a self-defense workshop, pilates, or yoga class. Finding new ways to move the body continually opens us physically and emotionally. 

3) De-clutter your space. If we are bound-up in physical stuff, it is that much more difficult to clean up our emotional stuff. What we mean by this is that by dealing with physical clutter, you are able to open up the bandwidth to tackle emotional traumas. If you'd like to hear more on this topic, we recommend The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. 
 

4)  Create a vision board! This idea may seem like a go-to for many of the self-help gurus today, however we still think it is a great idea! This is a simple way to develop a visual and physical guide to creating the life that you want. Maybe you don't have a 5 or 10-year goal. Maybe you don't have a goal for next week, and that's okay. The exercise of developing this board is helpful in guiding you to identify what your values are. Start by going through magazines and cut out pictures of everything that you like. This can be as simple as a color, a picture of an office or living space, the ocean, the mountains etc. After you have a created a large collection of these images that are comforting or motivating for you, affix them to a poster board. This is like a scrap book for your ideal life.  Take your time as you organize the images. The act of creating the board helps to set your intention. After it's created, you can keep it to look back on as motivation, centering, or refocusing. 

5). Go for a walk. This is the easiest of these coping mechanisms to put into practice. When you are feeling stress creep up on you, go for a walk! Not only are you getting the benefits of movement, but you are taking yourself into a different environment. Allow yourself to appreciate your surroundings and let your mind wander. 

6) Practice gratitude. When you are feeling overwhelmed, remind yourself of the pieces of your life that you are grateful for. These can be large and small. You may state that you are grateful for your job, family or friends, or it could be as simple as appreciating the breakfast you had this morning. Actively making an effort to appreciate the different facets of our lives helps to reaffirm those pieces and make it easier to cope with the more difficult pieces of our lives. 

7) Volunteer! Take the time to get out of your own head and appreciate other people and their circumstances. This is not only a gift to those that you are helping, but we guarantee that you will also be helped in the process. Open your heart to others and you will be filled in return. We could also say, do good and good will come to you. :)