If you lack self awareness, it might be difficult to recognize your own stress indicators. Self awareness is not a gift from god - it can be fostered.

My Strategy for Stress Management

1. Ask yourself questions. Am I OK? Is this current workload sustainable? Are others (family) indicating concern? Has my routine been broken? Am I going to bed before midnight? What is stressing me out and why?

2. Fixation; Dave Riddell once told me, “whatever has your attention, will get you”. Thinking too long and hard about something (especially something stressful like work will break you eventually). Seek out ‘distraction’ to get your mind onto something else, at least for a time. Fixation is not sustainable. It will get you.

3. Obligation free time. Play. I use to write a lot of music, until I realized I had attached ‘obligation’ to my art. That obligation being; write a beautiful song. That outlet became an area of stress. Find outlets that ask little of you. Play. 

4. Tell yourself the truth about the situation. This may require reprogramming your thought processes.

_SKA