When I first started learning to manage my stress I don’t think I really even knew how stressed out, overwhelmed and burnt out I was. I just knew I felt like shit. I was angry, resentful, exhausted, and didn’t want to feel this way anymore. 

I was just barely getting through my days. I felt like I was in a constant haze.   I couldn’t remember anything which only added to my frustration. 

I packed my schedule every day because when I slowed down I would literally crash. There were lots of tears in those days. Anything could throw me off and I would end up in a  puddle on the floor. 

It wasn’t until I started peeling back layer after layer that I could see what was going on and how bad things really were. It has taken me years and is still a work in progress. I’ve failed many times while constructing new sustainable habits. But those failures have helped me figure out how to structure my habits to be successful. 

I started by changing one small thing at a time so I didn’t get overwhelmed. It was stuff like only drinking coffee in the morning instead of all day long. It still felt  hard but was also something I knew I could stick to most days. 

Being less caffeinated allowed me to get better sleep at night. Being more rested gave me the energy  to cook healthy meals. 

The habits continued to layer on top of each other. The layering made it so I barely had to think about what to do next, it just happened organically. 

When you are as stressed out, overwhelmed, and exhausted as I was, the less brain power your activities require the better. 🤦🏻‍♀️😂

It has been a slow but steady process. Like I said earlier, it is still something I work on to this day. Our lives and our culture encourages the go-go-go mentality. Everyone else is doing it so we feel like we should as well. Lots of unlearning and relearning. 

I didn’t always notice the effects of my new habits right away because they were such small changes. I always kept in mind how I wanted to feel and that’s how I stayed on track. 

I have slipped up many times. When I start to feel better I often get lax with my habits and slowly the stress, overwhelm, and exhaustion creep back in. Sometimes I haven't really pay attention until I felt like total shit again. Over time, I realized I didn’t want to wait until I felt that bad and started paying attention to the warning signs. 

Learning how to manage stress is a long game. But you will never learn how to do it if you don’t start. It doesn’t matter where you start, just that you start!