I’ve been thinking about stress a lot recently. As a mum who tries to get that elusive work/life balance, any days where you feel like you’re not achieving this balance can make you feel a horrible mixture of guilt and stress. Trying to be the best mum you can, the best employee you can, and keeping on top of life admin is exhausting. The ever growing piles of clean washing stacked up on my kitchen table makes me feel stressed. Remembering to buy friends’ birthday presents makes me feel stressed. The fact my husband cooks dinner nearly every night makes me feel guilty. My desk at work being really messy because I don’t have time to tidy it makes me feel stressed.
But what I need to do is…. stop. Just stop putting pressure on myself to be the best at everything. It doesn’t matter if my house is a bit messy, my friends would understand if a present came late, my husband is lovely so I’m sure he understands having to cook lots, I’m good at my job so having a messy desk isn’t the worst fault. I need to repeat these things as a mantra, to control my feelings of guilt and stress.
Five ways to control stress
1. Reduce the stressors by cutting out unnecessary tasks and refusing to take on unnecessary chores.
2. Good communication with the family is a big help in cutting problems down to size. Share a problem and it will be halved.
3. Modify lifestyle – the use of alcohol, coffee, tobacco and food can lead to more problems.
4. Exercise and self-help relaxation techniques (yoga, transcendental meditation, self hypnosis) can reduce the sense of being stressed and improve all the symptoms of stress.
5. Most importantly of all, to look after our own stress effectively, we must look after ourselves first. The aim is always to find a way to regain control of our lives.
This actually all seems really manageable to me. One way of looking after ourselves is scheduling in some me-time (something, you may have noticed, I’m a huge fan of) and AXA PPP Healthcare have come to the rescue with an amazing competition. Get this…
One lucky winner will get a luxurious stay for two for 2 nights at the five-star Stobo Castle in Scotland – organised by Visit
Scotland. Not only will the winner and their guest receive a complimentary back massage, but they will also have unlimited use of the spa facilities, access to guided country walks, evening activities and optional fitness classes. Meals will be provided from dinner on the day of arrival to lunch before departure and £200 spending money, as well as £200 towards the cost of travel, is also part of the prize. *faints at the idea of it*
I’ve never stayed in Stobo Castle myself, but many of my friends and family have. Trust me, this is somewhere special and I’m pretty sure it would be near-impossible to feel stressed out there. Enter the competition now!
This is a sponsored post but all views are my own.
Oooh tea does solve everything !