3 Practical Tips To Get Through A Stressful Week
Let’s set the scene: I am a month into a new job, along with one other new girl, and our lead is sick, which means we were on our own.
On top of that, I have a lot going on. My monthly appointments happened to line up, which meant almost every day after work I had something I had to handle. Granted, one of those appointments was at a spa, but I digress.
On top of ALL of that, I am also in excruciating pain due to my previously mentioned new job being a “sit at this screen in this chair all day” type of situation. My neck, back, and head feel like I was dancing in my own personal hell the entire time.
And yet every single day, no matter how much I want to call out of work and roll deeper into my amazing mattress (when did it even get that comfy?), I get up. Why?
Because sometimes you just do it (not sponsored).
Or, as many girls would recognize from Pinterest pins in the early 2010s, sometimes you have to put your hair in a bun, drink some coffee, and handle it.
That being said, after just surviving a recent hell week of my own, I do have some tips and tricks (naturally) that make it easier to, for lack of better words, handle your sh*t.
Tip One: Prioritize Yourself.
Some months, weeks, and days just seem to be harder than others, so sometimes you aren’t going to feel like handling other people’s needs, too.
Last week, because of all the things I was dealing with, I did not cook dinners, I did not go grocery shopping, and I did not let myself stress about that.
I am lucky enough to have a partner who is willing to pick up the slack when I am struggling, but it does not matter if you have support or not; if things are overwhelming, you gotta let go of responsibility where you can.
Delegate whatever is on your plate that you cannot handle to other people, or just accept that it won’t get done when you planned for it to be done, and that’s okay.
You can use Instacart or drive-up-and-go orders, spray the dry shampoo instead of tackling the everything shower, and get the pricier gas because its faster than the cheaper one by the freeway.
Protect your peace.
Tip Two: Prioritize Rejuvenation.
Along the same lines of prioritizing what you can do, you also have to prioritize what you know you need to do to take care of yourself.
I didn’t skip skincare or skip taking my supplements every day, and I didn’t stop drinking water.
I consider these things to be the bare minimum things I do to take care of my hygiene and well-being every day, and everyone who has taken a hot shower after a stressful day can attest to how amazing it feels to wash it all away.
It may be more tempting to veg out on the couch instead of getting your 8 hours of sleep, or it may sound like a better idea to eat the easily accessible snacks rather than prioritize eating some protein, but those things will just make you feel worse.
When things are not going your way, you need small wins to help you feel like yourself again and create momentum toward fixing the situation.
To help with this, try to think about how you will feel when you are done with the thing you’re putting off.
You know a shower will make you feel better (even if you skip the hair wash) and you’ll be glad you ate right the next day when you aren’t bloated from snacking, so make the slightly better choice.
You can do it.
Tip Three: Get Some Help.
Despite all the research on vulnerability and literal evidence that asking for help endears someone to us rather than making them dislike us, human beings are still programmed by society to try to do it all alone.
Therefore, I am going to say this loud for the people in the back:
ASK FOR SOME HELP WHEN YOU ARE STRUGGLING.
It doesn’t matter if someone has their own problems and you don’t wanna be a burden. It doesn’t even matter if you are the only one in your position at work and don’t know who to call.
I assure you that someone, somewhere will find a way to help you if you just ask for it.
Your struggle should not be constant, and if it is, I would highly recommend speaking to a mental health professional about how you’re feeling.
But given that struggle is not a permanent state of being, it is normal to go through phases where you need more help than others, and it is okay to ask for it.
ESPECIALLY if you do not normally need help.
Last week I got to the point where I reached out to my supervisor at work and said “Hey this is a lot to handle one month into the job when I am now somehow the most experienced person on my team”.
She gave me resources, but before I told her on Wednesday, she had no clue I was struggling at all.
This means, that if I had told her on Monday before it got bad, I might’ve prevented things from getting so overwhelming in the first place.
You don’t have to complicate things. Just share how you are feeling with someone who may be able to help you and do your best to allow the support they offer.
Sometimes that support doesn’t look exactly like you imagine it should, and that’s okay. My supervisor didn’t hop on the front lines and start helping clients, but she did find answers to my questions and give me people who could help with more.
Any help is better than no help, and help is more helpful the earlier that the help is asked for. Get it?
How many more times do I need to say the word help before you ask for it?
These things got me through my rough week last week, and I am glad to say my lead is back and things are less painful now, but when all else fails… drink some coffee, put your hair up in a bun, and handle it.
