In this article I will share with you 6 effective ways to handle stress and protect your health!
At some point in 2015, I was facing a really shitty situation: due to circumstances beyond my control, I was given a not-so-friendly contract at my job and at the same time, my landlord decided to sell the property we were living in.
The timing couldn’t have been worse as I had to drop one problem to focus on another. To make things worse, my already yearly planned vacation was coming up and I could not afford (financially, physically and mentally) to pass it by and cancel it.
I have to mention that the health problems my family back home were facing were not helping either. And all this while I was trying to work on things that I loved (writing, researching and learning about herbs) and wanting to enjoy some time with my significant other.
For most people who live in their own countries, something like that is normal and easy to deal with. But what happens when you are in a foreign country and you can’t speak the language? Oh wait, did I just add an extra factor to the problem? Yes, I did! The expat factor! (Note: being an expat means “living and working in a country other than your own”)
So as you can see, I had my hands quite full and it all happened at the exact same time. I was stuck in a difficult situation with no one to help me (other than the moral support of my partner). This situation is not exactly what you would call ‘a walk in the park’.
This was a bigger challenge than anything I had taken up before. I had made great progress in the past 4 years of my life and I had to be careful to sustain what I already built and also be able to move forward.
I needed to stay calm. Luckily enough, I was just finished my trial periods of testing different herbs and I knew what kind of adaptogens would help me with my stress. So here are 6 ways that helped me deal with the stress of my situation and I highly advise you do the same if you end up in a similar place:
Table of Contents
1) Stay calm, stay sharp!
If you panic, you can make some really bad choices and decisions and lose everything.
Staying calm will allow you to think better, come up with smarter solutions that will get you out of any bad situation faster.
It will also allow you to become more clear about your targets and to be able to spot any opportunities that may come your way. If your judgment and thinking are clouded, you will most certainly miss them. Stay calm, stay sharp!
You will have to learn to live with your stress.
Stress is going to be part of the new deal and there is no escape. Try to live with it and handle it in the best possible way and take one thing at a time. Just like with every new situation, you will eventually adapt to it and find new ways to cope. It just needs a bit of time.
2) Protect your health
Under seriously stressed situations, your health will take a hit. If that happens, your energy will drain and you will not be able to make the right moves at the right time. You must protect your health at all costs.
This is not the time to start smoking or take drugs. Optimize your nutrition and notice other sources of stress that may be added to your already stressed life. This is also not the time to be setting PRs in the gym. You should not be taking out your aggression in the gym as it will drain your glands even faster.
3) Take care of your sleep
Adaptogenic herbs such as Rhodiola will help you manage your stress better and the right sleeping aids like Melatonin will help you sleep better.
Whatever you do, make sure you get enough sleep. You will need it to deal with this weird situation.
4) Stay strong and motivated!
Easier said than done, especially, if you have never been in a similar situation before.
However, you must never forget the power that you have and keep reminding yourself of the following: You will make it through no matter what and you will move on.
It works, trust me!
5) Do not despair and let things take their course
Do not overstress yourself, if something is out of your control, let it go and let it be.
Sometimes we do not know what will happen so try to stay as positive as possible. Do NOT start thinking of horrible ‘what ifs’, this is a recipe for disaster. It is also a certain way to add more stress to your life and mess up your morale.
Be grateful. Stay strong and believe in yourself.
6) Turn the experience into an exercise in fear
The exercise is about being fearless. Fear is the source of all evil and stress.
If you see this experience as an exercise, it will be easier for you to manage it. See it as a test. As a test that you will pass and live to tell the story.
When you master fear, you become powerful. Sometimes we need to face our fears in order to move forward. And what I was facing was perhaps my biggest and it was time for me to work on this and pass the test.
At the time of writing this, I have no idea how things will turn out. But there is a voice inside of me telling me that I will pull through and take things to the next level. I am of course afraid of the unknown as much as the next guy. Regardless, I will do what needs to be done to be able to ace this once again.
Latest update: 6 months after this post was written, I was able to turn things around. It was indeed a very stressful period but I made all the right moves at the right time through proper planning and everything worked out fine. My company gave me a better contract and I found a better place in the shortest amount of time. Of course I did have a plan B if my plans went south but I was happy that it did not come to that. As you can see, everyone has the power to resolve such survival situations. Yes they are difficult but not impossible.
Have you ever been in such a situation? How did you deal with it? Let me know by leaving a comment below.
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Also if you have any comments or questions, feel free to leave a comment and I will get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks!
by Nick Sigma
CWC, EH, E-YRT200
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