In order to truly get a handle on stress we need to look at it from a holistic approach, looking at all the pieces of the puzzle that make us whole. The six areas include physical space, physical body, social, emotional, mental, and spiritual.
 

Physical Space – De-Clutter and Organize Your Life

 
Take a step back and look at your physical environment. Living and working in a cluttered space, including piles of paperwork on your desk, clothes all over your bedroom floor, and dishes piling up in your kitchen sink, create a cluttered mind and increase your stress. Take time to clean and purge the things you no longer need. I try to go through my closet and drawers at least twice a year to get rid of things and reorganize. It is a freeing feeling! Organize your paperwork and create a system to keep it organized. Organize your bedroom closet and get in the habit of cleaning your bedroom at least once a week. Having a de-cluttered physical space will make room for more positive energy to enter your life.
 

“Clutter is stuck energy. The word “clutter” derives from the Middle English word “clotter,” which means to coagulate – and that’s about as stuck as you can get.” -Karen Kingston

Physical Body – Eat Healthy and Exercise

 
Eating healthy gives our body the nutrients it needs to deal with the daily stressors that can weaken our immune system. Exercising releases the tension in our muscles and our brains allowing us to think clearer, relax, and de-stress. We often believe that we don’t have time for a healthy meal or a workout, but if we purposely make time for this in our daily routines, we find that we genuinely feel happier, and feel more capable of overcoming challenges that we may face.
 

“Those who think they have not time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness.” -Edward Stanley

Social- End Draining Relationships and Find Ones that Give You Energy

 
Stop letting the energy sucking vampires feed off of you! We all know who these people are in our lives and although we don’t want to hurt their feelings, we often minimize really how much they are negatively influencing our lives. Bow out gracefully from these stressful relationships and instead find people that inspire you, make you want to be a better person, give you energy, and help relieve your stress, not give you more. Certain people just feel better to be around because of the energy they project. Ever just feel that someone is in a bad mood, even if they haven’t even said anything yet? That’s the energy they are giving off and it affects us just by being around it. Make an effort to surround yourself with people that bring you up, not down, and watch the stress and anxiety in your life significantly decrease.
 

“Put your energy into building what is creative, valuable and empowering. And you won’t have to constantly fight against what is destructive and draining.” -Ralph Marston

Emotional- Allow Yourself to Feel and Let Go

 
When we are stressed we tend to push our feelings aside so we can continue to try to check things off of our to-do list. The problem is that all of those feelings you are pushing away are still there and they actually are weighing you down from moving forward. We are often scared to allow ourselves to feel, especially when the feeling isn’t pleasant, but the only way to release those unpleasant feelings is to, well, FEEL them. When we allow ourselves to truly feel and reflect on those feelings, we can learn to understand why we are feeling the way we are feeling and then can let go and leap forward into a more positive space. You will feel less stressed when you’re not carrying around all that extra emotional baggage. Cry if you need to, vent to a friend, let it out because it’s way healthier than keeping it bottled up inside.
 

“Cry. Forgive. Learn. Move on. Let your tears water the seeds of your future happiness.” ―Steve Maraboli

Mental- Give Your Brain a Break and Think Positively

 
Our brains are thinking non-stop from the moment we wake up to the time we lay our head to rest. Even when we are sleeping, our brains aren’t resting. We overthink and overanalyze everything we see and feel and a lot of times we let negative thoughts creep into our psyche and make things even worse than they actually are. Try to have moments in your day where you just breathe and allow your brain to rest, even if it is just for a couple minutes. These mental breaks can help decrease anxiety, decrease stress, and help bring you back to the present moment. In addition to giving your brain some rest, boost your mental health by purposely thinking positive thoughts throughout the day. Start your morning by thinking “this is a great day” and make an effort to catch those negative thoughts and turn them into positive thoughts of encouragement or gratitude.
 

“Stop thinking, and end your problems.” ―Lao Tzu

Spiritual- Feed Your Soul and Find Your Purpose in Life

 
What gets you excited to wake up in the morning? What gives your life purpose and meaning? Whatever it is, as it is very different for each of us, you should be doing more of that! I’m not saying to give up on all your responsibilities and just play all day, but you should search for what gives your life meaning and find time for that every day. Some people are lucky enough to find that purpose and meaning in their everyday jobs. And for others it is difficult to figure out what truly feeds their soul. But we need to continue to make an effort to search for it and not let the mundane routine of life distract us from finding our happiness. Try different things, take risks, what do you have to lose?
 

“What if…You knew (really knew) that your heart pulls you to mystery and wonder for a purpose and that this is it’s job? Follow it just once and see….” -M.R. Gilman

 
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