A recent survey, published on behalf of Radox, suggests that women spend 21 years of their life looking after their loved ones and doing various tasks on behalf of other people.
The same survey also suggests that we spend just 2 years looking after ourselves and our own needs? Quite shocking when you consider the average life span is now over 80 years.
Here are 3 simple tips to bring a bit of balance back into your life and to help reduce the stress of daily life.
Take 5. For the next week, for just 5 minutes during the day, do absolutely nothing. In a whole 24 hours, it really won’t make a difference to your busy schedule, but it will make a big difference to your stress levels. Nobody can function well if they have continuous high levels of stress. This 5 minutes will help you to be an even better mum, partner and friend.
How to do it; Sit or lie comfortably and just breathe deeply – in through the nose and out through the mouth. Concentrate only on your breathing. Let it go into a natural rhythm. Breath in ‘peace’. Breath out ‘tension’. Relax and let go of all remaining tension in your body. When you feel ready, open your eyes becoming conscious of your surroundings before you get up. Have a glass of water or fruit tea, but try to avoid caffeine and alcohol.
Gradually build up the time of the meditations over a period of weeks to 10 minutes and then 15.
Music. Use it to control your mood, it really works. Use music to relax you when you are stressed, to uplift you when you are lethargic and to cheer you up when you are sad.
How to do it; Put on your favourite high tempo song and dance around your living room like you are a crazy person, really go for it – the crazier the better. If you have kids, encourage them to join in, they will it. If they seem surprised at your behaviour, this is a sign that you really do need to let more fun into your life.
Music is fantastic for meditation, try using music with the ‘Take 5′ tip, but follow these simple rules;
* Make sure it has no lyrics.
* It should wash over you, not engulf you – this is not the time for your beloved power ballads.
* If you are using relaxation CDs make sure that the songs do not contain any strange sounds, chanting or animal noises.
Be selfish. When you read the headline of this article, did you immediately think ‘no I’m not’? Most women, especially mums, hate to be thought of as ‘selfish’. But the word selfish only means that you are placing your own needs on top of others, and this isn’t a bad thing to do, if done in moderation. You are not superwoman and you shouldn’t aim to be. It is ok to occasionally say no.
How to do it; Learn to say NO and don’t feel bad about it. Be firm but polite, don’t feel that you have to excuse yourself, but make sure that the person understands that you will not be able to meet their request on this occasion. This will become easier over time. Stop doing things because you feel you should, only do them if you want to.
Mel Trudgett is a self development coach and the owner of Healing That Feeling.
Her unique programme, Stress to Success in 7 Steps, has helped people from all over the world to easily overcome their stress, phobias, anger, depression, trauma, limiting beliefs and helped them to make big changes in their lives.
Visit http://www.healingthatfeeling.com to receive a free 7 day mini course which will show you to easily and holistically resolve YOUR problem issues.
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