Year-end Review and Stress Management

Year-end Review

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere you go..."

Whenever I hear this song in the radio, I know Christmas is coming and I feel joy. I love this song, it gave me a cozy feeling in a cold cold winter. With pretty lights and decorations everywhere, I can say that, this is my favorite time of the year.

Can you imagine how fast this year went by? At 3pm in the afternoon, drinking a cup of my favorite tea and watching the raindrops on the windows. Feeling the quiet and peace when my kiddo is taking a nap, I decided to spend a little time reflecting on the past year.

For me, 2021 was a year full of amazing moments and also some really challenging moments. It feels like my eyes just blinked, and then my son is almost 2 years old. Being a mom is never easy. Seeing how amazing my son is, doing his best to learn and grow to be a little human, made me so proud of him, and proud of myself too.

During this year, there were lots of unknown, doubts, worries, and mixed with joy, happiness, and excitement. These ups and downs encouraged me and motivated me to be a better person.

In May, I started my master's degree practicum of counselling psychology. This was a huge step in my career path. My dream is to becoming a great registered clinical counsellor, to help people in psychological and mental need. It was one step closer towards my dream. I was extremely excited yet anxious when I got accepted by Nuway Counselling as a practicum student. Looking back at these precious 7 months, I couldn't expressed how much I appreciate this experience by words.

One thing that I wanted to share here with you all is, go get your dream! Even though it may seem hard or impossible for you to achieve at this moment, you never know how capable you are unless you start it.

Stress Management

I experienced so much stress during this year, plus I thought I was a "naturally" anxious type of person, which made my anxiety worse. However, this year I learned to better managed my stress from readings and from professional counsellors. Now, I am chilled (at least I thought I am more chilled compared to 2020). So, I really wanted to share some stress management tips that I learned to you. You don't have to do them all, just picked some tips that fit you.

5 tips for managing stress:

1. Minimize stressors

   1. Make realistic goal

   2. Set deadline on every task

   3. Know my limits

2. Gather information

   1. Sometimes stress comes from unknows. Not knowing what's going to happen, not knowing if I am capable of handling it. Therefore, do research!

3. Self-care

   1. Practice mindfulness

   2. Me time

   3. Talk to someone

   4. Get enough sleep

   5. Eat well

   6. Exercise when you can

4. Don't be afraid to ask for help

   1. It's okay to ask for help. Sometimes I put myself into a situation of facing too much work at the same time and I can't handle it alone. Once you feel stressed by the amount of work, remember to ask help from family, friends, and professionals.

After reading this article, what's on your mind right now?

Would you like to try to do a reflection on your past year as well?

Would you willing to try some tips above to manage your stress?

Written by Clover Zeng on December 10, 2021.