Tag: mindfulness

Managing Everyday Stress Successfully

Christina BruniLeave a comment

I’m going to feature Guest Blogger posts on the blog I keep here. I’m open to featuring other authors with a compelling voice and insightful ideas and information.

The four-part blog carnival here is courtesy of Jackie Cortez:

Effective Strategies to Identify and Manage Everyday Stress Successfully

For busy parents, caregivers, and working adults balancing deadlines, bills, and family needs, everyday stressors can start to feel like a constant background noise. The core challenge is that stress often becomes “normal” until it shows up as irritability, poor sleep, trouble focusing, or other signs of stress impact on health. General stress management begins with stress awareness, spotting what triggers tension and how the body responds, so choices can feel more intentional instead of reactive. With the right foundation, stress coping strategies become easier to use consistently.

Explore Alternative Stress-Relief Modalities Safely

Once you can recognize stress in your body and mind, it’s easier to test a few low-risk add-ons that help you unwind.

  • Mindfulness practices: Try a few minutes of quiet attention on your breath or present-moment awareness.
  • Gentle relaxation exercises: Simple, easy movements or guided relaxation can help release tension.
  • Essential oils: If scents feel soothing to you, use diluted oils and follow label directions to avoid irritation.

Understanding Your Stress Triggers and Patterns

Your stress signals make more sense when you know what sets them off. Stress mapping means spotting your common stress sources, your repeat patterns, and the earliest warning signs that your body and mind are shifting into stress mode. Many stress triggers can be thoughts, feelings, or events, so the “cause” is not always just what is happening around you.

This matters because catching stress earlier gives you more choices. Instead of reacting on autopilot, you can pause, name what is happening, and pick a steadier next step. Since stress is harder to pin down, simple observation is often the first practical skill.

For example, you might notice emails after dinner lead to tight shoulders, faster scrolling, and a shorter tone. That pattern helps you act at the first sign, not after you feel overwhelmed. With your early signs clear, small tools like breathing, movement breaks, boundaries, sleep routines, and a mindset reset work faster.

The Shortest Guide to Mindfulness You’ll Ever Need

Christina BruniLeave a comment

Years ago my shrink told me I should practice mindfulness.

No kidding–it’s not a trite concept and it’s not pop-psychology babble.

It works–mindfulness is a valid healing practice. How do I know this?

Having had a severe cold for one week was no joy. As I started to be on the mend I was able to do things. This inspired me to have a weekly mindfulness practice and to make mindfulness a daily habit too.

You don’t have to read a 300-page book on this topic.

Just read this one sentence: Mindfulness at its heart is simply paying attention to what you’re doing and not doing things on autopilot.

That’s all it is.

Thinking about mindfulness can conjure up meditation or another behavior that seems hard to implement successfully.

The truth is–there is no right or wrong way to do or to practice anything–just the way that works for you.

In terms of mindfulness, it can help to focus on the 5 W’s: the who, what, where, when, and why of what’s happening in your life at this particular moment.

Thich Nhat Hanh a famous monk author uses the classic example of washing dishes with awareness of what you’re doing.

Feel the plate and sponge in your hand. See and listen to the water.

Really experience what you’re doing instead of doing it mindlessly.

To this end I’ve started a mindfulness practice.

I was motivated to do this by the simple act of washing my makeup brushes when I had gotten over the severe cold.

Simply washing makeup brushes with care and attention can spark joy.

The truth is, if what you’re doing doesn’t spark joy and you don’t have to do it–I say stop doing it.

Stop doing busywork and start doing the things that are important to you and align with your values.

I’ve come to see the beauty and benefit of practicing mindfulness.

For women, I recommend hand washing bras and washing makeup brushes 1x/per week.

When I decided to practice  mindfulness it was like I was hit on the head with a piano falling from the roof of a building in a TV cartoon.

It occurred to me that mindfulness begets mendfulness. That to mind what we do can be the first step to mend what’s not working.

I for one don’t want to live my life on autopilot anymore.