Home is where the heart is. A place where you relax at the end of the day. Yet, staying at home can feel more stressful than being out at work or doing an enjoyable activity. A 2014 study from the University of Pennsylvania showed that more people feel stressed at home than at work. In India, 82% of the population is stressed. A stress-free environment at home can reduce one’s stress significantly and can create harmonious family bonds.
Causes of stress at home
- Cluttered and cramped spaces
- Arguments or tension between family members
- Bringing work stress to home
Making your home a true sanctuary
You can tend to the above-mentioned causes of stress at home with the following approach.
Organize your space
Clutter at home contributes to the build-up of stress and anxiety. A few ways to keep your home clutter-free.
- Make decluttering a routine exercise: Declutter and organize your cupboards and space regularly, once or twice a week.
- Minimalistic decor: When organizing and creating decor for your home, go minimalistic. That necessarily does not mean keeping it less colorful. Just buy quality stuff and forgo quantity.
- Donate and recycle: Clothes, household items that you don’t use anymore, items that you know you won’t use - recycle or put them all up for charity.
Resolve stress in the family
Every family member is different. Naturally, their choices and opinions also differ, making arguments common in every family. Here is what you can do to keep the family atmosphere congenial.
- Mediate: Play the role of a mediator between family members with differences. Facilitate communication between them without taking sides. Parents can take steps to resolve sibling rivalry.
- Pray together: Praying and meditating together creates harmony between family members by creating a collective calm. You can also choose a guided meditation from this list every day.
- Family dinners: If possible, make sure you have one dinner with your family daily. Every week, get your family together to cook something special, play, and just have fun.
“You should make this promise today that whether it be your friends, relatives, parents, spouse, or siblings, whosoever comes to you will leave with more peace and joy. You will not give them a chance to complain and you will make their life happier.” - Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Dealing with work stress
Often we bring the stress from our workplaces to our homes. There are two ways to diffuse this stress - rejuvenate your body and mind daily and take measures to strike a work-life balance.
De-fatigue
Have you noticed how stress and tiredness in the body can lead to mental stress and irritation once you return home? That's when your daily yoga workout, followed by a few minutes of meditation, can pitch in. When the office demands that you be seated for long hours, or when the chores at home need you to exert, you might experience body aches and muscle tension. At such times, easing out with a few yoga postures like Cat Stretch, Bow Pose, and Bridge Pose can help.
Strike work-life balance
If you are not able to strike a work-life balance, here are a few pointers that can help:
- Eating one meal a day with your family can be very rewarding. It can only make you feel better about life.
- See if you can cut down on the flab—the extra time you spend doing frivolous things. Become a wise planner of your time.
- Work smart - cut out work stress by changing the way you work.
- Meditate. It makes you feel good about yourself. You start doing things with more love and affection; attention to detail enters your life.