To Your Health: Manage stress with exercise, creative pursuits

By Gillian Slade on October 23, 2017.

There are many stressors in life but the two that surface most at the top of anyone’s list are finances and place of employment.

Stress negatively affects our physical and emotional well-being more than you would ever realize.

There are different strategies to manage these stressors.

It is easy to see why finances rank near the top of issues for people. If you have lots of debt and have no savings as a cushion for emergencies the smallest unexpected bill looms large. You don’t know where to turn and it can feel as though there is a trap around every corner.

The best way to address the situation is to start living within your income. For those on an extremely limited income it can be extremely challenging and can take hard work to reduce expenses. Even if you are earning a moderate income there is still a tendency to spend more than you bring in.

If you have lots of debt a consolidation of those debts and throwing out your credit cards may be what it will take.

To reduce your living expenses you may have to give up eating out for at least a few years. Buying take-away lunches and coffees can add up and even eating out at a restaurant once a week could throw your budget out.

Reducing your expenses to 90 per cent of your take-home pay is what you need to aim for. The other 10 per cent should go into a separate bank account as your rainy day fund for unexpected emergencies not vacations.

The benefits far outweigh the initial challenges as you started to scale back. Those who have done it before will tell you a lot of the tension in your body will start to subside. That brings physical and mental health benefits.

Your place of employment can also be adding to your stress level and while not much at work may be within your ability to change, you can at least spend evenings and weekends enjoying less stress.

Some people will tell you their de-stress menu is to flop on the couch and watch TV. There is nothing wrong with enjoying TV but there are healthier ways to manage stress.

Physical exercise is vital and it does not mean you have to join a gym. A brisk walk with a friend, family member and perhaps a pet can work wonders. The act of walking is good for you not only physically but to help to clear your mind of things that were worrying you all day. It can put a new perspective on things. If walking is not for you because of aching knees, for example, a stationary bicycle may be the answer and you can do that indoors throughout winter too.

Another way to transport yourself to another world is through creativity. There are many expressions of creativity, crafts, sewing, knitting, painting, flower arranging, writing a poem or in a journal and so on. If you don’t consider yourself creative try colouring in a picture. It may seem like a rather mindless task but it is soothing.

If you are musically inclined play an instrument or put a CD on that helps you remember a happy place and circumstances. You can even listen to music while enjoying a creative pursuit.

Here’s to handling stress in our lives effectively and here’s To Your Health.

To Your Health is a weekly column by Gillian Slade, health reporter for the News, bringing you news on health issues and research from around the world. You can reach her by email on call 403-528-8635.

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