Stress Be-Gone

Stress has become an all-too-common foe in my day to day life it seems. Sometimes, even the smallest thing can get me worked up. When I sense stress in other people, I get stressed. I've been trying to find ways to control my stress and my mood, and it is amazing the power I feel when I de-stress myself by the simplest thing! My sweet boyfriend told me this breathing technique he learned in his psych class, and I do it every time I start to feel worked up about something. Breathe deeply. Um duh? Who would have thought that slowing down and just breathing for a minute or two would ease my mind and calm me down?

Another thing I like to do is to make mental lists in my head about all the things that I am thankful for. It is amazing how much of a difference it makes to switch my mood from being pessimistic to being optimistic. Instead of dwelling on the things that are not working out the way I envisioned, or not getting the grade that I wanted, I think about all of the things in my life that are perfect and it never fails me! As I was driving to school this morning, dwelling on the fact that I totally bombed my calculus test last night, I started to make my list. And here's what I came up with:

1.)Rain. That's right, I said it..rain. It was a particularly rainy morning today, and I couldn't help but be thankful! After spending some time in Africa, you learn that rain is scarce and such a blessing. To live in a place where it rains 75% of the time, it often seems like a disappointment. Be thankful for it.
2.) Starbucks.

I mean come on..what's not to love?
3.) Love.

My boyfriend blesses me every single day that he is still mine, and I cannot thank God enough for bringing him into my life.
4.) Cousins.
Yes, I could just make it general and say family, but today I am especially thankful for cousins. Here's some pictures of time spent with cousins this last weekend.




That's my list for today. There are lots more things I am thankful for, but I'd be here all day and night if I were to list them all. More to come as the holiday season approaches and fall quarter comes to a close.



Peace and ♥