Stay Calm, Stay Independent

Stress affects everyone. In fact, about three-quarters of all Americans had some physical or mental symptom of stress last month. But did you know that stress not only affects your mental health — it can also affect your physical health? Stress can weaken your immune system, give you headaches and stomachaches, disrupt your sleep, and even affect your blood pressure and heart!

Although stress is a universal problem, people with disabilities experience more mental stress than those without disabilities because of the challenges they face in day-to-day life. That’s why it’s so important that you learn how to manage stress, especially when you’re living on your own. 

Your brain and your body are connected 100% of the time!
Your mental health affects your physical health! 

Taking care of your mental health is a life skill that will benefit your overall health for years to come. Here are some ways to keep stress from taking its toll on you.

Practice relaxation techniques

When you feel stressed or anxious, take 10 or 20 minutes to try to relax your mind and body, and make a habit of building this into your daily routine. Here are a few relaxation techniques to try:

• • Deep breathing: Sit comfortably with a straight back, put one hand on your chest and the other on your stomach, close your eyes, and take a deep breath in through your nose, noticing your belly rise as you inhale. Then exhale slowly. It may help to do a box breath, in which you inhale to a count of 4, hold for 4, exhale for 4, then hold for 4.
  • Progressive muscle relaxation: Try tensing and then relaxing each muscle group in your body. Start at your toes — clench for a few seconds, then relax — and work your way up your legs, your buttocks, your stomach, your hands and arms, all the way to your neck and face.

• Mindful meditation: Mindfulness means having an awareness of all thoughts and feelings happening in your body. Try sitting or lying down and closing your eyes, then do a scan of each part of your body. How does it feel? What do you notice? Can you feel the carpet on your feet? Do you feel air from a fan or smell anything in the air? There’s no good or bad; just pay attention to how you’re feeling and what you notice.

• Counting: This is an easy way to calm your mind. Sit down, close your eyes, and quietly count to 100 in your mind. Take your time to focus your mind and try to keep it from wandering.

• Visualization: Close your eyes and imagine a place that you find calming. This may be a porch, a lakeside, a spot on the grass, the forest, a beach, or something else. Go through all five senses, imagining what you see, hear, smell, feel, and taste.

• Yoga or tai chi: Yoga is an ancient Eastern practice that connects the mind and body through movement, stationary poses, and breath. It not only helps with balance, strength, and flexibility, but it can also be very calming and minimize anxiety. Tai chi is another Eastern practice that involves slow, flowing body movements. Try an app or video, or find a class near you that is friendly to those with disabilities. These practices can be very helpful for maintaining your physical and mental health.

Get your exercise

Exercise boosts endorphins, which are the “feel-good” chemicals your body produces. This not only helps to decrease stress, but it also helps to strengthen your body and make it more resilient against stress. It can relieve tension and improve your mood. Any sort of exercise can help, including walking or running, swimming, dancing, yoga, martial arts, playing a sport, or simply lifting weights while seated.

Eat right

When your body is healthy, you are more able to cope during stressful times. This is why it’s important to support your health with a nutritious diet, which can boost your energy and immune system. 

Remember self-care

Self-care is not selfish! Attending to your own needs helps you cope when times are tough, helping to nurture your physical and mental health so that it’s strong enough to overcome difficulties. Make self-care a priority! This may include:

• Taking regular breaks
• Doing activities you enjoy
• Spending time with people you love
• Following comforting routines
• Saying no when you need time or energy for yourself
• Making time for rest and relaxation
• Getting plenty of sleep

Get 7 to 9 hours of quality sleep

Sleep is something your body must have to regulate your emotions and stress response. If you aren’t getting enough sleep, it can actually trigger a stress response in your body, increasing your blood pressure and stress hormone levels. The National Sleep Foundation says that young adults like you need 7 to 9 hours of quality sleep each night in order to function at their best.

Tap into your creative side

Doing something creative like arts and crafts is a form of self-care. It gets your mind into a flow state where you’re deeply focused on an activity, similar to meditation. This can reduce anxiety and quiet your mind. It also provides a meaningful way to express yourself and give you a feeling of achievement, as well as help you get in touch with your emotions. In fact, just 45 minutes of creative activity can help to reduce your stress.

Creativity can look different for everybody. It can include:

• Drawing
• Coloring
• Writing poetry or stories
• Cooking
• Knitting or other needlework
• Making music
• Dancing

Whatever you choose, do it because you enjoy it, and don’t worry about what anyone else thinks. You don’t even have to let anyone else see it! There are no rules; just do what makes you happy and helps to reduce your stress.

Write it out

Writing can be a great way to deal with stress. You can make lists about everything you have to do or fill out a calendar or day planner, which can help you feel more organized or in control. You can do a dream journal, write or draw what you’re feeling in a diary, keep a journal about what you’re grateful for, or even write a letter to someone you trust to explore and express your feelings.

Engage in a hobby

A hobby is a form of self-care — it means focusing on something that makes you happy and relaxes you. Whatever hobby you enjoy, whether it’s a sport, a computer game, participating in a book club, knitting, scrapbooking, hiking, or something else, be sure to make time for it regularly to help reduce stress.

Volunteer

Volunteering can be a great way to develop a feeling of connection and a sense of purpose as well as reduce stress by shifting your focus outward to others. This can decrease your stress levels. Not only can it make you feel less lonely or anxious, but it can improve your physical well-being, and it’s a great way to make friends. In fact, a study of more than 800 people found that helping others helped combat the negative effects of stress. 

Spend time with animals

If you have a cat or dog, you may already realize that they’re great at helping to ease your stress. In fact, scientists know that spending time with animals has been proven to decrease levels of stress hormones and lower blood pressure. An animal can sit and be focused only on you, being a reliable companion and living only in the present, which is very soothing.

Go outside

Spending just 10 minutes outside can help reduce the mental and physical effects of stress. When you feel overwhelmed or anxious, sometimes simply stepping outside to take some deep breaths, smell the fresh air, listen to the wind in the trees, and soak up a little sunshine can help. Whether you take a walk or bike ride or just lay a blanket on the lawn, getting outside can do wonders.

Limit drug and alcohol use

For some, it can be tempting to turn to substances like alcohol, sleeping pills, or others to help relax. However, the opposite is true. Substances like these, especially when used excessively, can have negative effects on your physical health, which makes it harder for your body to cope with stress. 

Connect with loved ones

In times of stress, it’s important to be able to lean on close friends or family members who care about us. This is a form of self-care. Be sure to make time to be with these people, so you can vent, share your concerns, or lift each other up. This can help you to feel supported and cared for, reminding you that you aren’t alone and helping to ease some of your worries.

Watch a favorite show or movie

Many of us have favorite TV shows or movies that we return to over and over. The predictability and comfort they offer can help you to escape your worries for a while and relax your mind. After all, you know just what to expect! 

Consider therapy or a support group

Knowing how to manage stress on your own is important, but prolonged or high levels of stress may mean you can’t address it all on your own. This is where a support group or counselor can help. Talking to a professional can help you to understand your stress in new ways, and they can often recommend other strategies to help ease your mind or address problems you’re facing.

If your stress ever becomes so great that you feel you have nowhere to turn or consider harming yourself, call the National Suicide Hotline at 988, where someone can point you toward help.