Stress is a problem we all have to face – and now, more than ever we don’t have access to many of the systems we use to cope. It’s important to find ways to manage your stress healthily, or you could enter a downward spiral of negative thoughts and feelings that’s more difficult to escape. Work based stress can easily escalate into full burnout if you don’t take measures to restore yourself.
Creative Stress Management
One of the most effective ways to manage stress is to find a creative outlet. Stress often arises when you’re not in control of your environment and finding a creative hobby is something that lets you take control of your time.
Choosing a Hobby
Not every creative hobby is right for everyone, and you need to think about your own likes and dislikes, and the sort of stress you’re labouring under. For one person, in a customer facing job that forces them to control their emotional reactions all day in favour of presenting a professional facade to the world, joining an amateur dramatic or community theatre group could give them the outlet they need for that pent up emotion. Another person in similar circumstances but an aversion to the limelight might find the same solution torturous!
If you’re burned out on human interaction and want a creative hobby that helps you escape the rest of the world for a time, then crafting could be the way forward. This gives the satisfaction of developing new skills, of working on projects you can use yourself or gift to friends, and in the focus required, help you still the racing thoughts that the working day can instil in your mind.
Finding the right craft could simply be a matter of selecting from the range of monthly craft subscription boxes and never being without a project to work on again!
Moving Forward
As you work on your new hobby, it’s important not to let it become all consuming. If it offers you an escape from the stresses of your working life, it can be tempting to over-commit, but don’t forget the original problems you’ve been trying to solve: stress and exhaustion.
If you spend so long on your new hobbies, whether they’re arts and crafts, rehearsal and performance, or any other of the dozens of options available, that you neglect your basic wellbeing, you’ll burn out just as surely. Make sure you’re getting a healthy amount of sleep, remain hydrated and keep exercising regularly: you need to make sure your body and mind are both stimulated, rested and nourished to maintain your best performance!