By: Natasha Archary
The demands of adult life can feel stressful and it’s important to find healthy stress-relieving activities that are highly beneficial to mental health.
Before the year ends, find your zen by doing what you’ve been putting off the entire year.
Drive 959 host, Glen Lewis manages his stress levels by going to the gym every day and makes it a habit to get his workouts in the mornings.
Skhumba is aware that he’s stressed when he starts watching “dark” movies and series and then makes it a point to destress by spending more time with his family, going on walks and spending time outdoors.
The rose amongst the thorns, Kgomotso Meso says she would love to try out going to a “rage smash house”, where she can go into a room and smash plates, or break objects and release all her pent-up stress.
In today’s highly stressed environment, it’s important to listen to your body and take that much-needed break before you ultimately burn out.
According to Psychology Today, Burnout is a state of chronic stress and depression that leads to physical and emotional exhaustion, cynicism and detachment, and feelings of ineffectiveness and lack of accomplishment.
Find your zen before the year ends by doing some of these things:
Control what you can – breathe
We all have moments of worry and sometimes the noise in our heads becomes deafening.
Many link a stress-free life to the absence of stress factors and if this were true we would all be wealthy, healthy, and live in the lap of luxury without a care in the world.
Instead, the stress-free have simply adopted a method to handle whatever life throws at them. The most important aspect of zen is to let it go – breathe in ease and exhale the feeling of worry – do this with the intention that you are creating a new habit of letting go of anything you cannot control.
Find time to meditate
You don’t need to scale the highest mountain top and scream at the top of your lungs like Kgomotso wants to do, nor do you have to find a remote island to find your zen.
Don’t be overwhelmed by the thought of introspection. Meditation can be practiced to calm your thoughts and quiet your fears.
After a few sessions of meditation, you will be more focused and refreshed, ready to tackle the next challenge. Think of it as a time to reconnect with you.
Cultivate compassion
Humanity is quickly becoming detached from the emotions within and with others.
We have evolved to improve on technology to the point where everything is at our fingertips, which is evident in our interactions via screens instead of making human-to-human connections.
But in finding compassion for others, let’s not lose the compassion for ourselves.
Simplify life
The happiest of people don’t necessarily have the best of everything in life, they have simply mastered the art of making the most of what they do have.
If it means taking a breather to snuggle on the couch with the kids or watching a movie while your phone is on silent, do that.
Listen to the conversation on Drive 959:
Also read: “I bought my wife a car but her brother is always driving it” – The Blind Spot
