Inventory your Stress

A stress journal can help prevent emotional eating.

Stress is an unfortunate reality of our busy lives. Sometimes stress can feel overwhelming, leaving us powerless to do anything, and a common reaction to this stress is to treat it with food. Stop that cycle! The key to stress management is realizing that you’re in control of your life and you don’t have to let stress ruin you. Remembering this simple fact will help you overcome any obstacle big or small, and prevent stress from pushing you off the healthy lifestyle track you’re on.

So where do you go from there? Keeping a stress journal is your first step to stress management. Writing things down can make the seemingly unmanageable remarkably clear. You’ll start to notice certain triggers, patterns, and ways to avoid problems before they arise. Answering these five simple questions can help you get organized:

   1.  What brought on this stress?

   2.  Who were the people involved?

   3.  How did you react emotionally?

   4.  How did you act physically?

   5.  What did you do to cope?

Don’t worry if you can’t think of a perfect answer—just write the first thing that comes to mind. The last thing you want is for your journal to cause you additional stress! As your journal fills up, start to look for things that reoccur, and start thinking about changing those things for the better.