the less obvious signs of stress
Do you find yourself running round like a crazy thing most of the time?
I know there are times when I do and when I look around at my loved ones and my clients they all say the same things;
- not enough time in the day,
- not enough sleep,
- not enough time to eat properly…
and believing, even if they knew how to stop they couldn’t as the whole world would collapse around them.
And the truth is, when you live with fears that you’re not enough or you’re going to get found-out, or you simply can’t acknowledge your achievements then you very quickly become overwhelmed and exhausted. When this happens your mental, emotional and physical health are compromised.
So here are 5 signs to look out for, that if you ignore, will see your stress levels sore and drive you into overwhelm.
1. You just can’t stop. You’ve left work for the day and yet, you find yourself checking your emails, just one more time. You’re eating your dinner whilst checking your facebook status and scrolling through instagram.
2. You’re short tempered and down right grouchy and you just don’t like the way you’ve been acting lately. Are you being grumpy with your kids, short tempered with your spouse, or bitching about your work colleagues? Whatever it is, you’re not feeling particularly proud of the way you’re behaving.
3. You’re watching way too much bad TV, or spending hours on social media just to escape and avoid those feelings but you never do anything to replenish.
4. You can’t shake that cough or cold, you wake in the morning your jaw hurting where you’ve been grinding your teeth all night, or maybe you’re suffering from aches and pains from holding that tension in your muscles.
5. You can’t remember the last time you had a good nights sleep. You may have difficulty falling asleep. Or you may fall asleep easily but at 3am you wake with your mind racing.
If you recognise 3 or more of these signs then in my experience it’s only a matter of time until your health, your work or even your relationships will suffer.
Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing with you some quick and easy strategies that will lower your stress levels, help you to replenish your energy and keep you out of overwhelm.
And my first tip is all about managing your time and your energy. I learnt this from Stephen Covey in his now classic book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. This strategy is great when your to-do list is ridiculously long and you never seem to be able to get to the end of it.
This tip will help you decide what or where to focus your energy.
Firstly, you brain dump everything you have to get done on your to-do list.
Once you’ve written your list, you go back and decide if it falls into category A, B or C. Take a highlighter and mark all the things that ABSOLUTELY must be done that day.
Then, in another colour, you highlight all the things that would be BLOODY GOOD to get done that day.
Then in a third colour, you highlight all the things that can wait and SEE HOW YOU FEEL.
I’d love to know how you get on so drop me a line to say hi and what you thought of today’s tip.
Have a great month.
About the author:
As founder of the women’s vitality and leadership company, Vital Leaders, Kat has lived experience of Boardroom brilliance and burnout. Couple this with her corporate insights, coaching excellence, and psychotherapy expertise and it’s easy to see why she’s recognised as one of the UK’s leading coaches. She supports ambitious women to own their genius and elevate their success.
She’s also the founder of The Vitality Club, a private members network for ambitious women who are ready to embrace their authentic power and sky-rocket their career, without burning out.
And she’s the creator of an empowerment group, Life After Cancer, which is a voluntary-led initiative dedicated to supporting men and women as they rebuild their lives after their battle with cancer.
Kat’s mission is to make a significant impact on the lives of women around the world, guiding them back to their authentic voices, to embrace their genius; powerfully, boldly and without burning out.