People get overwhelmed with many things like their everyday responsibilities. Let me paint a scenario. Imagine you need to get early for work every day while you prepare for your kids’ breakfast or maybe just your lunch for later while the alarm’s ringing in your ears and you can’t even find your cellphone to turn it off. The pile of work on your desk, including the bill statements, is growing at an alarming pace.
Stress or anxiety is common for people, especially if you’re surrounded by it in your own home. It can slow down body functions and even change your breathing, blood pressure, and slow down your digestive system. Understanding your stress triggers—short-term and long-term—and knowing how to get rid of them is crucial to help you function throughout the day.
Your home should be your sanctuary—somewhere you need to feel safe. Some factors in our so-called sanctuary can cause us to experience unwanted stress, but we can identify and fix those. Here are some of the most common sources of what might be causing stress at home.
A Cluttered Space
A well-organized home is crucial in handling stressors in your life. Researchers from UCLA’s Center of Everyday Lives and Families found out that there is a connection between stress hormones and people who own homes filled with a lot of household objects.
Practice making your bed and tidying up your bedroom every time you wake up so you can start the day feeling productive and organized. Set a day when you can get rid of the unnecessary objects in your home like old clothes, broken toys, and things you don’t use anymore.
Suitable storage spaces are a way to keep your home neat and organized. Contact custom closet companies that provide designs tailored to your needs. You can add a pantry to your kitchen, a larger closet to your bedroom, or cabinets to your garage.
Overwhelming Bills
Managing household expenses is no easy task, and it can be overwhelming for most people. Piled-up billing statements can cause significant stress to anyone. According to the American Psychological Association, 75% of Americans say finances are a source of stress in their lives. To fix this, you can start by tracking your home’s weekly and monthly expenses.
Set a budget for every expense and even make a house budget that includes your utilities, food, home insurance, mortgage, tax, and an emergency fund for future repairs. Make it a habit to review your budget regularly and see if you’re still on the right track. You can have a notebook or an online spreadsheet to list it all down.
People You Live With
If you live with your husband, kids, parents, or even friends, it’s inevitable not to have disagreements sometimes. No two people are the same, and you won’t agree with everything, leading to conflicts and arguments that can be stress triggers. Set days for yourself to just relax by doing a spa day or shopping for some things you want. You can also discuss the problem with the people you live with and work together to lessen the conflicts in the future.
Unhealthy Food You Consume
You are what you eat, and this is absolutely true. Food gives you the energy you need to start your day. If you are filling yourself up with junk food, healthy food filled with vitamins and minerals will help relieve stress.
Take the time to prepare meals early on. You can store them in containers and put them in the fridge. It will also save you a lot of time in the long run since you will just have to heat them when you eat. You can also organize your pantry and refrigerator so you can spot food and ingredients quickly.
Work-From-Home Setup
Some people are still uncomfortable going to the office for work, while others cannot adjust to the work-from-home setup. Unfortunately, their company’s workplace is still not open, leaving them no choice but to continue working remotely.
According to the Health and Safety Executive in the UK, working at home can cause stress, negatively affecting your personal life. Balancing work from home life is no easy task. That is why it’s recommended to have a good work-from-home setup that is only meant for work alone. Don’t do it in your bed nor your living room. Invest in a small space for you to put a chair and table and make it as peaceful as you like, something that will boost your productivity and help you balance your workload from your responsibilities at home.
A vital step to managing your stress at home is recognizing the problem and the factors causing it. Making your way to solve these problems is an effective way to manage your everyday responsibilities.
