April is National Stress Month

April is National Stress Month. I had no idea there was such a thing, until I saw it in a headline last week. Since it seems that everyone is a bundle of stress these days, it is not surprising that we have a month dedicated to it. I know that parents are stressed, trying to manage kids, work, sports, social activities; it seems it never ends. Kids are stressed trying to balance their school assignments, sports/extracurricular practice(s), writing essays for college, and so many other things. We read articles about stress, and how hard it is on the health of our bodies and minds, each with helpful “tips” on managing stress. We read about having supportive people that allow safe spaces to talk about our feelings and concerns. We talk about doing deep breathing exercises and mindfulness practices, as well as the importance of self-care such as getting enough sleep, eating well, and exercise. All of that is well and good, because all of those things have proven to be helpful in reducing stress. In this essay, I don’t plan to share any tips or give you my tried and true stress reducing activities. I just needed a reminder for myself about how much I allow stress to creep in to my daily life. I think it is time for me to stop reading and writing about stress and implement some of the practices I know work. I also needed to remind myself that an accountability partner may be just the push that I need to make it happen.

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