Some of us know this feeling: we are stressed but we cannot say what exactly is wrong. That is, we cannot recognize the source of this feeling. Of course, this isn’t relevant to major stressors such as a job loss or a move. These are easy to spot. Rather, it’s relevant to those less obvious factors that gradually wear us down without our noticing them.
Lack of Personal Time
The most important thing of all is that time free from work is not necessarily personal time. For example, you can spend the former on cooking, shopping, cleaning the house, and so on. None of it is “me time.” The “me time,” in turn, is the time spent exactly on what you want. Some of us prefer to spend it on slots in Wildz online casino. Others — on Netflix series. The third — on computer games. The thing is that we all need to be able to do what we want, no matter how useful, fulfilling, or productive it is.
When we deprive ourselves of personal time and only spend the time free from work on other tasks, our brain is naturally unhappy. It wants joy and rest, while we force it to work without pauses. In response, it “rewards” us with this ongoing feeling of stress. To prevent it, let yourself have fun from time to time. Accept the casino 10 € ilmaista offer or play a casual game online. Fun is the best remedy for stress.
Cluttered Environments
Intuitively, it feels that cleaning a space means more stress so if we leave it in a mess for a while, nothing bad should happen. That’s true, of course, but the thing is that a cluttered space can subtly cause stress because it overwhelms our senses. And this is relevant to both a messy home and a chaotic workspace. Clutter can make it difficult to focus. When we can’t focus, we don’t cope with tasks, and get stressed.
So even if cleaning up seems stressful, too, it’s probably better than suffering from the effects of a cluttered environment. Plus, if you make it a habit to keep things organized, it won’t seem hard anymore.
Noise Pollution
We now know that we can clutter our home or office with things but we can likewise pollute it with… noise. And that’s not just about loud environments. Noise pollution includes any persistent low-level background noises:
- noisy appliances
- traffic
- loud neighbors (colleagues).
These sounds get stressful when they are constant. Usually, we don’t do anything about them and agree to suffer from this form of sensory assault.
Overall, there are two solutions. The first is to use earplugs (not always, of course, but just in those moments when you feel that the noise pollution is excessive). The second is to intentionally seek silence when possible. And if you find places where you can enjoy it, try to spend at least 5-10 minutes a day there.
Poor Diet
The connection between diet and physical health is obvious, but what does it have to do with stress? Well, the thing is that some foods can actually increase stress levels, too. These are
- processed foods
- those that contain sugar, and
- and those that contain unhealthy fats c.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that if we eat any of it, we’ll start freaking out immediately. Rather, it means that they can underpin chronic stress if they dominate our menu.
Perfectionism
On the one hand, perfectionism often inspires us to target better results, to work harder, and all that. On the other hand, this desire to achieve perfection in work or anything else is super stressful. And the worst thing about it is that this stressor is internally driven so it’s really difficult to spot it.
Few people know but procrastination is often an outcome of perfectionism. It prevents us from starting tasks because we fear that the results won’t meet our high standards. The solution is pretty straightforward. Just try to be kinder to yourself. After all, your resources are limited and if you are doing your best, that’s already worth praising, no matter the result.
As you see, the sources of stress are varied and not always obvious. All we can do here is to listen to ourselves more attentively and take care of not just how we perform but also how we feel.
