We struggle with stress every day, whether small stresses or big, it’s important for us to know how to manage our stress. Unfortunately, that can be really difficult to learn.
What I found helped me learn how to manage my stress better was taking small steps. Instead of fully committing to a bunch of skills, I tried one. After trying boxed breathing a few times and seeing how it helped ground me, it became a habit. After weeks of not remembering to box breathe when I was stressed and failing to do it early enough to avoid further stress, I found myself immediately trying it without even thinking about it. It became a habit and I finally got the hang of it.
If you are thinking about trying out some mindfulness exercises, cognitive behavioral therapy skills, or other stress management skills, I recommend trying one of these free apps:
Download on the App Store or Google Play
With really cool backgrounds and a range of meditations, Calm (calm.com) is a space to escape and relax in the comfort of your hands. This app is designed to keep you calm and it’s quite successful at it.
Download on the App Store or Google Play
Headspace (headspace.com) is a comprehensive meditation app, with guided and unguided meditations to help you through all phases of your life. The free app offers ten sessions, with hundreds of hours of extra content if you love it and want to subscribe.
Download on the App Store or Google Play
Happify (happify.com) is all about positive psychology, mindfulness, and cognitive behavioral therapy. As the name suggests, Happify’s goal is to help us all feel happier, and more emotionally fulfilled. This is a great tool to keep in mind if you find yourself overwhelmed often and are struggling to feel emotional fulfilment.
