Extreme stress can make you feel irritable, angry, overwhelmed, on edge, overburdened, anxious, and afraid. It can have your mind racing endlessly with a looming sense of dread. Other signs of high stress are:

• Shortness of breath

• Forgetfulness

• Panic attacks

• Body aches

• Blurred vision

• Sleep issues (sleeping more or sleeping less than average for you)

• Fatigue

• Headaches

• Chest pains

• High blood pressure

• Heartburn

• Constipation/diarrhea

• Weight gain/weight loss

• Skin rashes

• Dizziness

If you regularly experience a combination of these symptoms, you’re likely living with high to severe stress. This level of stress will not “work itself out”! It has physical and emotional impacts that affect you and your relationships. The blessing here is that knowing is half the battle. You can start working on the solutions now that you see the problem. Black women tend to ignore all signs and symptoms of stress to keep it pushing for many reasons. Do any of these phrases sound familiar… I can only count on me, I got it, I’m good/ok/fine, I’ll do it [myself], who else is going to do it, no one else is going to do it, I’d rather just do it myself, I want it done right, I want it done now, or they won’t do it how I like it.

Whatever your reasons, please know that taking on all this stress without release is not sustainable. It may not be possible to eliminate the source of your stress. Your body is already letting you know that it is reaching its limit. Still, there are coping techniques that you can do daily to make life more manageable and help your body recover.

Talk it out

Seek professional help immediately if you’re overburdened and feel like harming yourself- text or call 988 now to get help. You don’t need to wait to be in a crisis before speaking to a professional. You can find a great therapist that can provide insight from an outside point of view when we’re too close to see it for ourselves.

Take Small Bites

Stress can start when you feel you have lost control over a situation. An issue can seem so massive that you don’t know where to begin, so you put it off until it balloons into a more serious problem. The key to action is taking small bites until the situation becomes more manageable.

• Write it down- Create a list of what needs to be done. Getting it out of your mind and onto paper (or computer) helps to unpack it. Now you can sort it into bite-sized pieces and address the priority or low-hanging fruit tasks first.

• Break it down- The sheer size of an issue can make you want to stick your head in the sand. Breaking it down into segments or layers can remove the intimidation factor, so you can look at it differently. Steps are easier to climb one by one than trying to jump to the top!

What Matters Most

Though it may feel like it, everything is not an emergency. The urge to do it all is real, but consider the cost and let go of things that don’t serve you or your goals. You can remove much stress from your life if you weigh what’s important. Journaling can help because it’s a space to figure out what matters most, how you spend your time, and discover adjustments you need to make.

Exercise can boost your body’s natural “feel good” hormones to improve your mood (your family and friends will thank you). It also helps to clear your head as you focus on the instruction and movements to maintain proper form. Check with your doctor and ease into a routine if you’re just starting out.

Meditation and prayer can do wonders to relax and reduce stress. When you’re highly stressed, it can be tough to quiet your mind long enough to focus on meditation and prayer. Breathing exercises like the 3-3-3 Method or the 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Technique can prepare you for a meaningful, mindful experience. FYI, Exercise is also helpful for burning energy and restlessness before meditation and prayer.