Dont panic

 "Be anxious in nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication and with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which passes all understanding shall keep your hearts and your minds through Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7

Stress is an unavoidable part of everyone life. Unfortunately, stress is also harmful! According to aliahealth.org stress can "weaken your immune system, keep your blood sugar high, and cause weight and skin problems. This is bad news for me, because sometimes I have difficulty dealing with stress. Since stress is so damaging on the body, I want to take a more proactive part in managing my stress. I encourage you to do the same. Here are some helpful hints!

1) Exercise regularly. I will probably have the most difficult time with this one, because I get bored with exercising. I plan to write another blog on keeping exercising fun later, but for now I will make a small commitment to exercise. I plan to exercise 30 minutes a day 5 days a week.

2) When you  are stressed Pray, pray and then pray some more. I find it helps me to write my prayers down. This may not work for you, but I find it easy to express myself in writing. (That is how God made me, so that is how I often choose to communicate with Him) Plus, I find it helps calm me down, when I go back and reread prayers I wrote down in the past. (I wrote a blog about this earlier) Rereading old prayers helps me to remember how God has helped me in the past to get through difficult times, and is a reminder that God will help me with my current crisis.

3) Meditate on scripture. Some good scriptures to help with stress management are:
 " Do not fear for I am with you. Do not anxiously look about you for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you, surely I will uphold  you with my right hand , who says to you do not do not fear I will help you" Isaiah 41:10,13
"Cast all your cares for him, for he cares for you" 1 Peter 5:7
"You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind stayed on you because he trusts in you" Isaiah 26:3

4) Talk to someone you trust about the things you are stressed about, such as a friend, counselor, or family member. Sometimes it helps to get another person's perspective. Sometimes God uses others to speak to you. Sometimes it helps just to vent.

5.) Practice Deep Breathing
Steps of Deep Breathing taken from familydoctor.org
A) lie on a flat surface, such as a bed or floor
B) Breath in slowly and make your stomach rise
C)Hold your breath for a second
D) As you breath out let your stomach go back down

6) Avoid being around people who will stress you out or bring you down. This is not saying that you do not love these people or that you should avoid them all the time. This is just saying that if you are already down and know that being around someone will drag you even more down, maybe you should avoid that person for now, until you feel better.
"Do not be deceive bad character corrupts good character" 1 Cor 15:33
7) Spend 30 minutes of me time. Sometimes life is so chaotic we forget that we just need a minute to ourselves. Do something that you know will calm you down like going for a walk, praying, journaling, or looking outside at nature.

I will be trying these daily to see if they help me. Let me know how these ideas help you. If you have any other ways that help you cope with stress. Let me know.