Anxiety and Stress

[Ryan&Amber2013]

As an adult, what helps you have that child-like joy and peace you had when you were a kid? Honestly, the older I get, the more I realize how easy it is to become stressed about things in life. Any good practical tips would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[riverman]

Get off of the Internet. Completely off. Get rid of your smartphone if necessary. The physiological changes your brain makes due to internet usage alone are enough of a reason, let alone the others.

Modernity has made it so that finite creatures like us need to know what’s going on everywhere at every moment. It’s a burden we weren’t created to bear; we aren’t infinite.

Once you are clear of everything except what’s important in your own sphere, you will feel less stressed. Then you can work on the stress/peace issue with your life.

 

[Miss Marple]

I think good nights' sleep are underrated. We are stressballs if we don't get our regular, quality sleep.

If necessary, avoid caffeine, do all the good sleep hygiene things like regular bedtime, dark quiet place, limit screen time. Prayer, obviously. Use of OTC meds or even prescribed if it gets that bad. I am frightfully anxious when my sleep gets disturbed.

 

[B.L.]

In addition to consistent practices of the spiritual disciplines...

• Get in the practice of doing some sort of physical exercise each day.
  • I have a hand gripper and gyro ball at my desk in the office
  • I go on walks around the neighborhood with my dog
• Prioritize sleep and a healthy diet.
  • I'm a notoriously poor sleeper and read something fun/interesting for 30 minutes before bed
  • If you find it difficult to eat healthy supplement your diet with a good multi-vitamin
• Keep guard over what you feed your brain with.
  • If you're a news junkie cut it out for a season
  • If you're glued to your investment portfolio put it in the hands of a financial manager to worry about
  • If you're a social media hound remove yourself from that parallel universe
• Find a hobby....find a hobby....find a hobby.
  • Spend some time each week learning something new.
  • I've been rewarded in the relaxation department from studying things like postage stamps and communion tokens.
  • If you have children take an interest in the things that interest them and see their world open up to you.

 

[C4MERON]

Punch some bags, lift some weights, a local walk with a view.

 

[jwithnell]

Gratitude.

 

[arapahoepark]

Battling a lot of it in the mind. Replacing lying thoughts with calm and faith.

 

[Balticus]

A lot of good advice in this thread. If I were to say what worked the best in my case, it'd be...

1. Quitting social media (deleting all my accounts and never coming back).
2. Paying off my mortgage and all other debt/loans.
3. Discovering reformed theology and with it: contentment, gratitude and peace of mind.

... not necessarily in that order.

Also, finding a hobby (foreign languages in my case) and regular physical exercise helped a lot.