Share your top tips for a slightly less stressed existence with Aviva and you could win £250 high street vouchers NOW CLOSED

[AnnMumsnet]

We have been asked by the team at Aviva to find out your top tips for a slightly less stressed life - please share them on this thread and you'll be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £250 of high street vouchers.

Aviva say "Being a parent is an amazing experience, but it doesn't come without its challenges – particularly in today's hectic world. In fact, our Health Check UK research reveals that one in five of us are suffering from stress as we struggle to juggle our work life balance. And a similar amount says that family pressures are contributing to their anxiety. With a high proportion of women saying that they've suffered from stress, we want to help Mumsnetters take steps to tackle the issue.

As the real family experts, we want you to be involved too. What better way to do this than to share your tips and experiences with other Mumsnetters. We look forward to hearing your suggestions".

Share on this thread your tops tips - what is the small change you think you could make which could lead to a big health benefit for you? Or what do you wish your DH/DP or parents would do to reduce stress in their life? How stressed do you feel on a daily basis? What are the key triggers for stress and how do you manage them?

This is part of a campaign Aviva are launching this week where they are working with 10 MN bloggers to give them tips from their experts to help reduce their stress levels - Aviva say "armed with our experts ranging from a doctor, nutritionist and Premiership Rugby coach we want to help the bloggers achieve a healthier and less stressed life. The bloggers will be getting personalised health tips to try for 2 weeks - aiming to commit to at least one for a lifetime".

Here are the first posts from the bloggers:

House of three monkeys

Ordinary Cycling Girl

mummetamorphosis

Mrs England

To Become Mum

Barktime

Johnson Babies

The Beesley Buzz

Mummy is a gadget geek

Expression and Confession

If you have a question about private healthcare and insurance please ask the Aviva expert here.

Add your comment on this thread and you'll be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £250 high street voucher. Closing date: 19th May.

Thanks
MNHQ
Please note your anonymous comments may well be used by Aviva in a booklet, on their website or on their social media channels. Please only add a comment if you're happy for your comment to be used by them.

It doesn't matter how long the list to "to do" is, get something off it. It may not be the most important, but at least its done. Much better to get the 30 min job near the bottom of the list completed than spend 30 mins wondering which of the top three you should do.

What is the small change you think you could make which could lead to a big health benefit for you?
More exercise. Better food

How stressed do you feel on a daily basis?.
Very. I'm time poor and feel guilty for juggling work and child. I worry that I'm getting older and my life is slipping away in one long drudge. I worry about failing my children because I'm so exhausted from juggling that I can't give them quality time. However time, money seem so finely balanced that I just feel like I'm treading water to keep my head above water.

What are the key triggers for stress and how do you manage them?
Workload. Work harder and into the evenings after DC has gone to bed to try and feel on top of it
Thoughts (negative). I write a daily diary which helps as reflecting on stuff gives me perspective
Money. Because I work I'm relatively secure...as long as I keep working (back to my first stressor!)
Exercise. Finding energy and time. I'll come home and walk the dog or swim. Weekends I try and cycle or have a longer walk/swim
Family time. Family are everything so I try and ensure quality time with them

I have had to be very strict about thinking about work at home. Everytime I realise I'm thinking about work (but I'm not at work) I banish the thought. I'm getting quite good at it now. Before, I wasn't sleeping well because of all the work problems racing round my head.

For me, it's getting fresh air and going for a nice long walk. Chatting to a good friend helps too.
It's also good to focus on what's causing the stress and devise a plan to reduce it. I.e. if it's workload, look at ways to delegate better or speak to your boss about it. Making efforts, however small, to get to the root cause of the issue can really help.

Packing lists!
I store them on my iPad, which everyone in my household can access.so for instance when my 15 year old heads off on his German exchange next week , he will check the list form last year for when he needs, pack then print it and bring it so he knows when to bring home!
Also making time for friendships is very important

Lists, not planning too much, and trying to avoid too much time around things and people that cause stress are things I try and do to avoid stress. I am not overly stressed now but when I have lack of sleep and there is lots to do I become stressed.
My parents are always stressed, its nearly always due to planning too much in a small space of time so they are always rushing and late. I wish they would plan less!

I seem to have a chaotic life that creeps up on me all the time, my stress levels have dropped dramatically since we got our pet dog Toby. I walk him every day alone, Even if its for ten minutes it totally de stresses me. Also I write lists on my phone I feel if I write a list and set an alarm it is out of my head and I can relax more.

When I get stressed I find I manicly tidy up! I think getting myself organised is the only way to lead a calm life for me & a nice soak I the bath at the end if the day ensures that any if the days problems won't lead to a bad nights sleep.

I live by lists but have to admit a lot of things get transfered from one list to the next. To relax I love to have a bath but each night I read before bed as this is the only way I can wind down and relax enough to sleep.

Why are you promoting Aviva private healthcare on two threads MN ?

I like to make a list, with all the work broken into tiny little steps, so I can cross off each step as I do it. Looking at the crossed out items calms me and makes me feel I've achieved something!!!

A few yoga stretches help to calm the savage beast!

I've been really stressed in the past - work stress, and it's really destructive. I'm a SAHM at the moment, so the stress I feel is different (ongoing money-relayed stress and passing small-DC related stress). The thing that's helped me in the past is to really stop and examine what's the worst that can happen - its rarely life or death. It helps me to get things in perspective when everything seems overwhelming.
Also, when it comes to work, to compartmentalise - remember that you are paid for x hours work per week and it had no right to invade and reduce the quality of the rest of your life.

I have quite a lot of stress due to being a mum of 2, a sort- of carer for a dad of 86, with a son who has 4 disabilities (top 2 are severe autism and type 1 diabetes - so daily jabs and an IQ below 70)

My top stress busters are long walks in the local park, preferably with good pals who can 'walk and talk' about our autism problems/successes.

I feel the stress and adrenalin dispersing as I walk fast in beautiful nature.

My other one is a glass of champagne, a creme egg and an e-cig!

My children used to stress me out by telling me they needed stuff for school on the morning they needed it or the day before. Now I'm prepared with extra stationery items, and a bag of one pound coins for emergency trips/school books and always wash their pe kits as soon as they get through the door.

Meditation, and "borrowing from the future" - i.e. asking myself, in two weeks/three months/a year will I remember this? Will I still be stressed about it? How much will this really matter, or still be on my mind? I have a load of self-help books, accumulated over a lifetime of stress, and Byron Katie and Martha Beck have been most helpful for me (obviously would not be the same for everyone).

Also I stress myself by being disorganised, so being as organised as I can manage (lots of getting stuff ready the night before) really helps me.

And I have some favourite oils to burn, and some calming CDs when I need some extra calming.

Micro-exercise. I try to do stretches or other exercise during those 'dead' times that are too short to do anything else, like supervising kids' toothbrushing, or waiting for them to put shoes on, or waiting for a train.

Keeping a spare nappy and wipes, and a couple quid and a snack, in the pushchair has saved me on many an occasion.

I have a busy life and juggle full time work, 2 kids (10 year and 1 year old), house work and postgraduate study. I have no family around and work hard with my partner to provide a better future for all of us. We enjoy small pleasures, such as eating out once in a while and saving hard to go on holiday and occasional days out.

In general my life isn't very stressful- I guess cos I choose to let a lotof stuff go. I get most stressed out when I try and get too much done, e.g. clean the entire house and cook an elaborate dinner in an afternoon with a toddler dangling off my leg

Having cancer helped with my stress levels because it put everything into perspective for me. Now the little things that used to stress me out don't because I realise that most of them weren't actually that important! Of course I'm not recommending cancer as a stress reliever but it just makes you sit back and evaluate what is really important. I have learned to accept the things I cannot change and enjoy every moment of my life, especially that spent with my children. Oh, and walking on the beach most days has also helped with my stress too :-)

We are a busy family of 6. My DH commutes and travels a lot. My youngest is in nursery and the older 3 are still primary age. We have no family around to help or as back up an emergency. The most stressful thing for me is juggling all the logistics- drop offs, homework, activities, concerts, parties.....the list is endless.

I guess my mantra is 'plan and don't procrastinate!' I try not to complain and do my best to just get on and work through my mental to do list each day. I prepare as much as possible, even small things like laying out uniforms and putting snacks in bags the night before, helps reduce stress in the morning.

Also, when something unforeseen happens, I remind myself to 'keep things in perspective' and draw strength from the knowledge that worse things have happened before and that I have managed it and come through.

I try not to sit and dwell on things. A change of scenery always helps and offers distraction. Ultimately, if I get overwhelmed, I just remind myself how lucky I am to have my DH and my kids.

So that's it- Plan, prepare, keep perspective, don't procrastinate!

Mmmm... how best to manage stress eh? I am a 46 year old mum to six year old son who has autism, severe sensory processing disorder and virtually blind in one eye. I work full time a care home manager and married to lovely husband and we have a dog. I also have 3 ruptured discs in my neck so on the whole life can be stressful. How do i manage my stress...time for hubby and I, not necessarily going out but time in evening for us, time to chat with son to prevent his anxieties building and generally make time for us all when we are all together...feeding ducks, park, days out etc...this means we are occupied and generally enjoying each others company. Oh, and most importantly, remember that no matter how stressed you think your life is, there is always somebody who has more stress and more issues than yourself!!

Baking is the thing that helps me de-stress.

I have 3 children aged 19, 18 & 9 and having two teenagers in the house can be hell! I'm disabled and live with constant chronic pain, but school run, dinners & housework don't do themselves!!! ;)

To alleviate the stress I began baking cakes and making our own bread. I'd always cooked dinners from scratch (mostly! ;) ), and decided that we shouldn't be having the rubbish that's put into bread and cakes when they are mass produced.
I began with the bread and it's delicious but I felt I wanted to do something more creative, so began baking. My youngest daughter loves helping, which means we have some quality time together as well.

Um besides a nanny and a lotto win?

Before I had children I used to go to the gym it was my cut off from the rest of the world time. I could do with that again.
We have also recently moved and hsve very little support network, we could do with just making some more local friends.

I realised a long time ago that a lot of my stress resulted from me putting things off so that they were hanging over me and casting a shadow which I was always aware of. The best tip I can give to reduce stress is to attack the jobs that you dread first. My motto now is 'A problem faced becomes a mouse, a problem avoided becomes an elephant'. Try it, it really does help.