The start of a new year is a great time to plan for the future, turn over a new leaf, and so much more, but, unfortunately, it can also be an incredibly stressful time. If you get yourself into debt at Christmas, take on too much in January, or are just overwhelmed by the number of people that you’ve seen throughout the festivities, it can all get on top of you, and you can start to feel out of control. Most new year’s resolutions focus on eating more healthily and hitting the gym (which, of course, it absolutely amazing), but often your mental health and stress levels are overlooked. Stress can have some serious health implications if it’s not dealt with, so here are three great ways to help you reduce yours this new year.
- Don’t Suffer In Silence
The first step that you need to take is to talk to someone about your stress. It doesn’t matter if this person is a friend, family, or a doctor, as long as you can trust them. Stress is incredibly common, and we all get stressed from time to time, so many people would rather not say anything to avoid looking dramatic, but this is a mistake. If you avoid talking about your stress, it will only increase, which can affect your physical health, as well as your mental health. The person might have a resolution to your stress, or they might not, but, either way, simply talking about it will feel like a breath of fresh air, and will help you to get some perspective and deal with it easier.
- Don’t Take On Too Much
A new year is often viewed as a fresh start, which is why so many people choose this time to eat more healthily, lose weight, plan holidays, and start a new job, as well as many other resolutions. However, just be sure that you don’t take on too much during this time, or set yourself any unrealistic goals, or this will increase your stress. If you want to lose fat, for example, don’t expect to halve your weight by the end of January, because it just won’t happen.
- Tackle Your Finances & Budget
If your finances aren’t in too good a shape, then the new year is a great time to tackle them. If you’ve got into debt in the past year, then consider different methods to handle it, such as debt consolidation loans. You should also learn to budget so that you can avoid overspending this year, and getting yourself into more debt. This might be stressful at first, but when the debt starts decreasing, you’ll feel a whole lot better.
Everyone feels stressed every now and then, but it’s especially common throughout January and February. Stress is normal, and can sometimes even give us the boost we need to get stuff done, but when you start to notice that you feel stressed all the time and that it’s affecting your everyday life, then it’s important to take action.