How To Curb Driving Stress

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Do you constantly find yourself getting stressed behind the wheel? Stress whilst driving is surprisingly common and has many forms. There are those that get anxiety over the fear of being in an accident and there are those that get road rage as the result of being inconvenienced by traffic jams and other people’s driving. Overcoming driving stress is important, as it can make you a more dangerous driver and it can affect your general health. Here are just several ways in which you can help beat driving stress.

Give yourself enough time

One of the most common times when drivers get stressed is whilst commuting to work. Traffic jams and unforeseen diversions often get us agitated because we know that we’re then going to be late. A simple way to beat this stress is to leave home earlier. By having more time to get to work, you’ll be less likely to get in a panic about being late. This applies to any road journey in which you may need to be somewhere for a certain time.  

Plan your routes

Planning your route out could also help to eliminate driving stress. If you’re travelling somewhere new, planning your route can prevent you getting lost, which is known for making many drivers panicky and frustrated. It can also allow you to avoid roads that could be heavily congested or potentially dangerous in certain weather conditions, helping to make it a smoother and happier drive.

Listen to music

Listening to music can be a great way of relieving stress whilst driving. Obviously, it needs to be music that you enjoy and preferably nothing that’s too distracting. Something that’s tranquil and calm could be what you need to help calm you down on the road. In fact, why not try this song featured at Inc – science suggests it may be the most stress-reducing song.

Learn to deal with others’ bad driving

Other people’s bad driving can be a huge source of both driving anxiety and road rage. Learning to deal calmly with bad drivers is essential – treat them with caution, but don’t fixate on them. Some drivers feel that having a dashcam gives them a sense of security by helping to record any bad driving – sites like BlackBoxMyCar offer information on the best dashcams to buy. Meanwhile, there are also therapists that deal exclusively with road rage, helping you to act calmly during an incident on the road.

Bring some coffee and snacks

Having some coffee and snacks in the car with you could also help you to relieve stress. Tasty foods and drinks can trigger our feelgood receptors, flooding our bodies with endorphins that can help to flush out stress-causing cortisol. The likes of BODUM do great travel cups for drinking coffee on the road.


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Health Issues To Think About As You Get Older

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Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is important at any age. But as you get older, taking care of your health can require further effort, as well as being prepared to handle a range of issues. From maintaining a healthy weight to making sure your mental health is in order, there are things to consider that can help you live a longer, healthier life, and even help the signs of ageing too.

Need to start thinking about your health as you age? Use some of the following as food for thought.

Image Credit: Unsplash under Creative Commons

Eating well and keeping fit

We spend a lot of our lives focusing on our weight, and while the pressure to be ‘thin’ can be unhealthy, it is important to keep your weight within a healthy range. Being overweight can increase your risk of Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancer, but healthy living is considered one of the most effective ways of reducing your risk.

Get to know the basics of a healthy, balanced diet and start planning meals that are nutritious and healthy. Meanwhile, help give your cardiovascular health a boost by working out regularly and making sure you get moving during the day. It’s simple advice, but effective for keeping your health in check as you age.

Birth control

While you might have spent a large portion of your life trying not to get pregnant, your birth control needs will change as you start a family and get older. It’s a good idea to have a conversation with your doctor about appropriate birth control methods and to make sure you’re on the right type for your circumstances. You might want to consider coming off hormonal contraception altogether. A vasectomy is an option for your partner, and there are reversal vasectomy procedures available in case circumstances change. Your sexual and reproductive health is important, so don’t neglect these areas of your wellbeing.

Looking after your mental health

We focus a lot on our physical health, but mental health is just as important. You can start focusing on your mental health by learning how to manage stress, making time for yourself and relaxing. Sleep can also have a considerable effect on your mental health, so aim to get around 8 hours a night to allow your body to recharge ready for the next day.

Mental health can be a taboo subject, but it doesn’t have to be. Talk about your feelings and encourage open conversation in your family too. The sooner problems get picked up, the sooner you can get help.


Your health needs change as you get older, but that doesn’t mean you should neglect them. Self-care can help you stay healthy and happy, allowing you to enjoy the good things in life. It’s never too late to start taking care of yourself, so if you’ve been letting things slip lately, start over today and look forward to looking and feeling fabulous no matter what your age.

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Fun Ways to Make the Most of Spring/ Summer 2019

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Looking to make 2019 one to remember? With spring now underway we’ve reached the part of the year where most of us think about getting out there, doing more and making some memories- so how will you make the most of things? Here are a few ideas for going about it.

Visit a place you wouldn’t ordinarily consider
If you travel or go on vacation a lot, chances are you’ll have visited lots of places already and have your preferences when it comes to where you like to go. But instead of taking the safe option, why not do something completely different? If you always travel to hot countries, maybe you could go somewhere cold and snowy. If you usually go to cities and built up areas, how about trekking somewhere rural or remote- like the outback or the mountains? It’s great to have a completely different experience now and again, the world is so vast that there’s so much to see and do. So if you’ve fallen into a bit of a travel rut then break it with your next trip.

Join a country club
Country clubs give you access to all kinds of sporting and leisure activities and can be a great way to meet others. While they have a reputation of being incredibly expensive, the prices vary wildly and there are even working class country clubs which those that aren’t incredibly wealthy are able to utilise. Country clubs tend to be pretty exclusive, meaning they’re not always the easiest to join. However, if you have somewhere in mind that you’d like to attend, do your research of the club and carefully follow their application process. There’s a certain etiquette you’ll need to follow to fit in and prevent offending others. According to arlingtonnewsnetwork.com, nannies can often be an issue as they tend to run off for periods of time and leave the children they’re caring for under supervision of the staff. Do a little research, work out what is and isn’t acceptable for the place you’re going to.

Go to more places
Instead of going on an annual summer holiday for a fortnight in July, why not break it up? Use your budget to go on lots of smaller trips instead, you can always find cheap getaways for a few days on sites like Groupon and it generally enables you to see more of the world. It doesn’t always have to be somewhere tropical, you could visit towns and villages off the beaten path, you could take weekends away in the country that you live in, even smaller breaks like camping. What better way to spend your free time than exploring new places.

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Easy Ways to Start Looking after your Mental Health

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If you know that your mental health is suffering because of your job, the stress of home or anything else of the sort, then you will understand how important it is for you to make a change. After all, if you don’t then the problems you are experiencing will only get worse.

Workout

There really are many advantages to exercising. It can help you to boost your energy levels and it can also help you to use up any excess energy as well. This is a fantastic way for you to regulate your sleep pattern and your fitness. Another great bonus of working out is that it can help you to manage stress, and it is also great for boosting your confidence too. This can work wonders for your mental health, and it is also great if you want to try and help yourself to be more outgoing.

Nutrition

Nothing can quite compare to having a balanced diet. When your diet is balanced, this can help you with your energy levels and it can also help with weight control. This has a knock-on effect when it comes to your self-esteem and it is also a great way for you to feel better in yourself. If you want to get some help when it comes to your mental health or if you feel as though your diet is doing nothing for your state of mind then why not consider talking with someone from Bluesky Psychology?


Photo by Lovefreund

Relax

It is very easy to become overwhelmed with life, to the point where you can’t seem to find time for yourself. You have to know that this is completely normal. It is essential however that you find time to look after your mental health, and that you also relax in a way that relates to your lifestyle. This can be watching a movie with your loved one, or even practicing yoga on your own. Either way, it can really help you to take back control of your life and your stress levels.

Sleep

Sleep is so crucial for your physical and your mental health. Sleep helps you to become re-energised and it also helps your body to heal. Another bonus of sleep is that it keeps your memory working properly. If you don’t feel as though you are getting enough sleep in the day then you really do need to try and avoid stimulants where possible. You also need to try and make sure that you stay in a good routine, and that you go to bed at the same time every day. When you are able to get yourself into some good habits, you can then begin to feel better and you can also make sure that you are giving your body the rest that it needs.


Of course, sometimes the stress of life gets too much, and this happens to everyone, but by making sure that you are looking after your mental health, you can be sure to help yourself stay healthy and positive during this difficult time.

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The Benefits of Keeping a Bullet Journal

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The Benefits of Keeping a Bullet Journal



Bullet journals provide an easy way to track all of your thoughts, feelings, appointments, and goals for your life, whether for today, next week, or 10 years from now. Here are some of the different benefits of having a bullet journal.


You Can Reduce Stress and Anxiety


First of all, if you struggle with a lot of stress and anxiety on a regular basis, the bullet journal can help with that. You are able to record your moods and behavior changes, which help you to determine triggers for your anxiety and panic attacks. 

Since you aren’t missing appointments or schedules and become more focused on a daily basis, you can also find great stress relief.


It Helps Keep You Organized

You can also become a more organized person with the help of a bullet journal. Perhaps you remember to get to work on time and bring your kids to their dentist appointments, but you tend to forget about your daily fitness regimen or don’t feel organized enough for meal planning. The bullet journal can help with these tasks and much more.


The Journal Replaces Your Traditional Planner

Planners are great, but there tend to be some limitations with the store-bought varieties. They aren’t very customizable, so you are forced to use whatever calendar layouts and note pages are provided to you. This limits you to how much you can include on each page and what sections there are. 

With a bullet journal, it replaces your planner and includes absolutely anything and everything that you find important.


You Get More Information About Your Personal Goals

Bullet journals can give you a better idea of what your personal goals are and what is required to reach those goals. You will start including lists, aspirations, and bucket lists. This, when looking back on it, really gives you a good idea of what you want out of life and what tasks you need to do in order to achieve them.


You Can Track Your Regular Habits

When you enter detailed information in your bullet journal about your daily life, you will then be able to track your regular habits. 

For example, if you have a food and exercise log section, it lets you see what you are eating on a regular basis, how often you eat out, and what areas of your fitness routine need work. 


You can also track your moods and resulting anxiety or stress, or track your daily expenses to see where you might be able to cut back.
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