5 Ways to Give Your Brain a Break from All This Stress

Right now we’re in the midst of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Just that sentence is stress-inducing! But even when the world isn’t experiencing a health crisis, we’re still bombarded with media, to-do lists, family, work, and all sorts of expectations. I found myself this past week not making any time to take a mental break. I’m up at 5am with the baby to feed him, pump, check the news, talk to my husband, get some work done, feed the baby, check Facebook, pump while watching TV, reply to a text, send some emails, stress about daycare and the Coronavirus, feed the baby, start dinner, brainstorm ideas while I shower, get more work done, watch more news, check more Facebook… And I feel the anxiety creeping in. For me it starts with getting snippy at the smallest things, usually something obnoxious my husband did like leaving a fourth towel on the bannister. Like seriously, either hang it back up in the bathroom or put it in the hamper, amiright?! I notice the physical tension in my body. There’s a buzzing feeling in my chest, an energy I need to get out, my jaw is tight, my breathing is short, tension headache is setting in. It’s like when you leave your computer on and all your programs running for days (maybe weeks!) without restarting or shutting down your computer. What ends up happening? It starts getting glitchy and working slowly and eventually you need to shut it down and restart the computer. We need mental breaks. A mental break is a moment or several mo...
Source: Psych Central - Category: Psychiatry Authors: Tags: Anxiety Coronavirus Personal Stories Relaxation and Meditation COVID-19 Stress Reduction Source Type: news