Stress reduction is probably one of the most important things you can do if you’re looking to find more health and happiness. It’s also the hardest thing to do. Changing your lifestyle in terms of diet, sleep, exercise, and preventative screening is difficult, but changing stress or stressors can be this side of impossible.
One reason stress reduction is so difficult is that a lot of our stressors are beyond our control. What I have for dinner tonight is in my control. Whether or not I get up and exercise in the morning is in my control. What time I go to bed tonight is in my control. My boss demanding more and more of me – no control! The kids having gymnastics, dance, and soccer until 8:30 PM, then having three hours of homework to do is also beyond my control … sort of.
One area I have recently found to be a great stressor is the blurred line between my work life and my home life. This common stressor among the majority of adults is actually within our control and I have found one simple thing that greatly lowers my stress by making a strict boundary between work life and home life: when you walk in the door to your house, home from work, turn off and leave your cell phone/smart phone in a place you’re not tempted to use it.
Many of us originally purchased cell phones/smart phones to help manage our workload. However, all it really ever does is increase our workload and worsen our stress. With a cell phone/smart phone in your hand, in your pocket, or on your kitchen table, you’re still at work … no matter what your profession. That goes for friends and social interactions, as well. They can be stressful.
A powerful modulator of stress is simply the combination of peace, quiet, and alone time. Limiting your cell phone/smart phone access and use will also limit your stress.
