Clear Budget + Tidy Spaces + Limited Social Media = Less Stress

Stress is a part of most everyone’s daily life. After all, we all have deadlines to meet, goals we are trying to accomplish, relationships we are trying to deepen, technology challenges, and so much more. It is only natural that each and every one of us is going to experience some degree of stress on most days.

But the unavoidability of stress does not mean that we should not be concerned about it. Too much stress is bad for your mental health (and can have a negative impact on your physical health as well). When you are under heavy amounts of stress, you are more likely to struggle with the symptoms of depression, anxiety, and more.

One strategy for managing this is to find areas of your life where small changes might add up to big reductions in the amount of stress you experience. We have three examples for your consideration.

Do You Worry About Money? A Budget Can Help

Money can be a major stressor—especially if you do not have a firm grip on how much you are earning and how much you are spending. That is where a simple budget can really make a difference.

You can get started in three pretty easy steps:

• Write down how much money you bring into your household each month (remember, you want the net amount from your paycheck—the amount after taxes and other deductions).
• Write down and tally up all of your standing expenses like your rent or mortgage, your car payment, your student loan, your utilities, and the like. Estimate things like your monthly groceries, too.
• Compare the first number (income) with the second number (expenses).

Are you ahead of the game with more money coming in than going out? Is it just about equal? Or are you spending more than you are bringing in? Once you know the answers to those questions, you can make smart decisions about your money so that you are more secure in the knowledge that you can make ends meet and maybe even save for the future.

Are You Stressed About a Mess? Tidying Up Can Help.

How often do you find yourself rushing around looking for your keys or your wallet or your phone? How often do you pull a wrinkled shirt out of a pile of laundry (is it clean laundry?) and toss it on feeling slightly embarrassed about how it looks? How often do you miss a deadline or an appointment because you can’t find your note with the details?

When the spaces we occupy are a mess, it inevitably adds to our stress. There is nothing relaxing about not knowing where your things are, right? And there is nothing relaxing about missing an important appointment, either. 

When it comes to taking in a mess, it is okay—even helpful—to start small. Sort through the mail that is piled up on the table. Wash all the dishes in the sink—and then dry them and put them away. Make sure you know the difference between your clean laundry and the clothes that need to be washed (and maybe wash the latter). 

Each space you tidy up will feel like a win—and the cumulative effect of the tidied spaces will be less stress.

Do Your Social Media ‘Friends’ Rile You Up? A Change Can Help.

It seems like social media should be a place where we all share happy things and encourage one another and just generally have wonderful interactions. But of course, that is not the role it plays in most people’s lives. Instead, we argue on social media. Or we spend time feeling jealous of people we see on social media. Or we use social media to “vaguebook” about issues in our own lives.

None of those things lead to lower levels of stress. So you might consider a few approaches to making social media less of a stressor in your life.

• You could unfriend (or at least “snooze”) folks in your feed whose posts and comments upset you.
• You could set a social media timer to help you avoid endless scrolling, which tends not to be a helpful habit.
• You could shut down one or more accounts to limit the impact social media has on your day.
• You could get in the habit of checking your socials at one specific time each day (preferably not first thing in the morning or last thing before you try to go to sleep).

Proactive decisions about how you use social media can result in lower stress levels.

These are Just a Few Ideas

We hope these ideas will encourage you to look for easy, sustainable ways to reduce the stress in your daily life. We are confident that doing so will support your mental health.

Peak View Behavioral Health Can Help Support Your Mental Health

At Peak View Behavioral Health—located in Colorado Springs, Colorado—we offer personalized mental health care. If you are struggling with a mental health disorder, we can help you make improvements and sustain those improvements over time.