The year 2020 kicked off to a rough start with Australia's wildfires, personally close family friend's passing, and with this corona virus outbreak. The outbreak has caused inconvenience to travels, health concerns globally and impactful on the stock markets as well as businesses around the globe.

With all that being said, this is part of life and what we need to face everyday. With all these issues occurring, we don't need to put our bodies in a high level state of stress. Stress is known to wreak havoc on your emotional balance as well as physical health. It becomes harder to process information, make effective decisions and enjoy life.

When you stress, cortisol hits your body and gives you a strong dose of the fight or flight response. At that time, it seems that there is nothing you can do about that stress cause internally you are so rattled up.

Whether it is family responsibilities that are ever evolving as well as demanding, bills just keep coming in, there aren't more hours in the day, and money seems to never be enough.

In reality, you have much more control over your stress than you think. It's all about proper management, and accomplishing small goals for yourself to alleviate of your stress. To alleviate the ways you conjure up stress in your mind and break free!

The ultimate goal in life is to have balance with your time at work, relationships, family, and yourself to live a happier life. There isn't one way that fits all, you have to find what works for you by trying different methods of pursuing happiness.

Here are a few methods I apply to myself when I'm stressed:

1. Acceptance

This is the first thing I do when something stressful occurs, I soak it in and then take a nap. (I know, everyone laughs at me when I tell them I nap) But it allows my physical body as well as my mind to recalibrate and deal with the situation clearly. Once I'm ready, I go over scenarios of the stressful problem and how to find a solution. I also process in my mind if I can accept the worst case scenario. Once I am able to accept the worst case scenario, the stress seems to be lifted and I can go full force to tackle the problem.

2. Maintaining Good Physical Health

According to Mayo clinic, stress can affect your body physically which may contribute to many health problems such as high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity and diabetes. When the stress level hits, the stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol in your body increases. This fight or flight instinct is hard wired into our brains which was originally designed to protect us from any harm. Stress in the modern day is very different. It's not so much physical harm, but emotionally and mentally. Eating the right foods, exercising regularly, being fit will not only make you feel good physically, but mentally you will be more confident as well.

This will contribute to a calmer mind and more relaxed state even when facing difficult situations. And during intense stressful situations, go for a brisk walk and get some fresh air to clear your mind. The best way is to incorporate a regular exercise routine. A moment to relieve stress that you have to deal with on a day to day basis.

For me I enjoy weight lifting, boxing, kickboxing as physical training on a regular basis. And for the lazy days, I'll take a stroll around a park a night, organize hiking trips on the weekend or practice wing chun which is more of a internal style martial arts that focuses on the mind.

3. Relaxation Techniques

I'm sure this is a no brainer to you and you've heard it all. But meditation really helps. It is a way to slow down that busy head of yours and really clear your thoughts. I personally have a very hard time focussing and sitting still. There are various meditation channels on Youtube you can look into and see which style fits you the best. I enjoy Headspace app because they break it down into 15 minute sessions which is bearable for me.

You can try watch TEDx, Tony Robbins, podcasts, motivational Youtube videos and so on. Or try reading if this is something that helps you.

There are so many methods you can try. Here are a few easy to do ones:

1. Taking a bath

2. Taichi

3. Puzzles

4. Massage

5. Watch a movie

Each day, try to relax with a stress reduction technique. There are many tried and tested ways to reduce stress so test out a few and see what works best for you.

4. Sleep

Make sure your body is fully charged and energized to tackle problems. Lack of sleep alone will give you stress, cloud your mind and more difficult to concentrate. Unfortunately, stress also interrupts our sleep and stopping us from relaxing.

Make a tranquil environment for you bedroom to help combat the restless nights. If you believe in crystal healing, then you can try zen bracelets made of stones. Some are said to reduce stress, some stones are to help with sleep, and some provide energy. Here are 5 stones that can aide in your sleep if you are having troubles. Try to avoid caffeine in the evening or alcohol. You may feel that alcohol helps you get to sleep, but you won't sleep well as alcohol disrupts your sleep. Building a good sleep and wake routine is really important as well for your health.

5. Stress Diary

Journalling has been scientifically proven to be good for your mental health. Keeping a stress diary for a few weeks is an effective stress management tool. Being able to write out what is on your mind, feelings and ideas will help organize your thoughts. It will also help you become more aware of the situation which caused you all this stress. It's always good to carry a notebook around to jot down any ideas you have. At moments of stress, you can look back and look at yourself in a different light.

Lastly, if you have been following my WuWuLife adventures on instagram, you know how much I enjoy traveling. I like to get away and re-charge my batteries. Working in the manufacturing industry in Asia has helped provide many opportunities for my travels. After a business trip, I can hop over to another city in Asia and relax for a couple days.

Hope this is able to help you a little.

Feel free to leave any comments below for discussion or shoot me an email.