Learn how to manage stress and anxiety

I know I have moaned about work-life balance a few times before on the blog. The one thing I have never really touched on is stress. My daughter suffers from anxiety. Whilst I have had a panic attack and struggle in certain situations, I would definitely say that mine is more stress. I think most people need to learn how to manage stress and anxiety.

Stress is never good for the body or mind; so when Chloe saw this on Instagram so we decided to go.

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Design 44 is a lovely little pop-up shop that has appeared in the Intu Centre in Derby. They also have another shop in Derby (which I haven’t been to yet). It’s full of lovely sustainable items from succulents, to bath stuff to gifts. It’s not the cheapest shop; but for stuff made by local small businesses that are sustainable, it’s totally worth it. (and the stuff is so cute)

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So what was it all about?

It cost £15 with the promise of a goodie bag containing £30 of “stuff”. You got a 20 min consultation with Sue who is a counsellor (according to the leaflet she is MBACP accredited/registered).

Chloe and I decided to have our session together. It was a nice session, Sue was easy to talk to and had a “calming” manner about her. Actually Chloe came away saying she was surprised at how much she opened up to her.

A lot of it was about coping strategies and that was also the content of the goody bag.

Goody bag

The goody bag was mostly leaflets and information. Strategies so you can learn how to manage stress and anxiety for yourself. One leaflet on how stress affects the human body. I will the others below.

Lemniscate Technique

Next was a leaflet on increasing Oxytocin, using a method called “Lemniscate Technique“. I had never heard of this one. You stimulate your third eye by tracing a sideways figure 8 on your forehead. This is supposed to cancel out the stress chemical and improve digestion etc. I haven’t tried this one yet, so will keep an open mind on it. In fact when I googled it nothing initially came up – I had to look at images to find a link.

Journal and Journal Writing Techniques

One item that was in the bag was a journal and also a leaflet on journal writing. I keep a bullet journal and love it, but hadn’t really thought about using it to destress.

She actually kind of hit the nail on the head with this one! I got up early on Friday morning – after a rubbish nights sleep – to email myself to vent on a lot of things that are bothering me (at work mainly). This email will no doubt never see anyone else’s inbox. I just knew I needed to get it down in writing.

Apparently, if I had written it in my journal the night before, it would have actually meant I would have got a better nights sleep.

Writing down helps us to see things more clearly, but also acts as a “mind dump” and a place to offload. It’s also useful as it gives us a reference to refer back to.

The leaflet is really useful in telling you different ways to journal, to write spontaneously etc.

I will definitely be trying this out and referring back to the leaflet.

Positive Affirmations

This is one I struggle with. I used to laugh if I saw people with pages of it in their bullet journals as I just think they are silly. But…….this list is really good. There are 101 Louise Hay affirmations. Whilst I could not see myself reciting them, I do think I could pick one and perhaps quote it on my weekly bullet journal spread.

I think the idea is that they act as a mental seed to change your thoughts and give you a new way of thinking.

Sounds a bit hippyish – yep probably but I may still try it ?

Psy-Tap

Not a huge amount of information was given on this, just a picture of a hand with the fingers etc labelled. I think the basis is that you train your thought process so when in a situation you flick the relevant finger etc to expel the negative feeling. This all sounds like mumbo jumbo and when you google it all you get is people selling training courses.

The only reason I wonder if there is a strand of truth in it is a distant memory I had forgotten about!!

Many years ago – pre-children! I did a stress management course. I do not know how I forgot about this as I did use a number of the techniques for a few years but somehow age and having kids made me forget it!

On the course, one of the things we did was relax in an almost hypnotic state whilst thinking about a time when you felt truly at peace and happy. At the same time, you picked a point and pressed it. I used the fleshy part between my thumb and first finger. The idea is that you train your mind to know that if you press that point it releases the same feelings as you had the day you felt at peace and happy.

Whether its all in the head or not it worked for me for years. I used to be really bad as a passenger in the car and if I got really really panicky I would use my pressure point and it helped no end. Whether it was just focusing on something else I don’t know, but it worked!

Everything else

We spoke about apps like Headspace that help you to meditate and also exercise to help to release endorphins etc. This is stuff I definitely already knew.

We also got an Anti Stress Lotion bar that’s Vegan. You are supposed to rub it on your pulse points – think this is on sale in the shop for around £10. It’s small enough that you could pop it in your bag or in your desk.

Finally, we got to choose a little pebble – this is a calming stone and you hold it in the “nourish” part of the palm of your hand (back on the Psy-tap picture!).

Did I think it was worth it? and did I learn how to manage stress and anxiety?

This is a tricky one. I think the consultation was good but could have been in a little more depth – I think the idea is you go on to buy the additional counselling (that’s how business works!)

Personally I do not think that the goody bag is worth £30. I certainly wouldn’t pay that for the contents. Having said that the info is interesting and I will use the journal and the balm.

If you take into accounts Sue’s time and the goody bag the £15 paid is reasonable – I just don’t think they should make out you get more than you do. They said goody bag with Eco-friendly products, so I expected a reusable straw or something rather than just the balm and book.

If you see one of these types of events on, I would say go for it. I think any techniques to help you to learn how to manage stress and anxiety are useful to have in your personal tool kit!

Let me know in the comments if you use any of the techniques mentioned, or if you are planning on attending a similar type of event.

Julie x