How do you handle / cope with stress?

ok wait this is my moment lol

so I've always been the one to take on others energy for them - listen to them complain, try and help everyone, always try my absolute best. I had a lot going on and my stress built and built and built until I (thanks to therapy) started to notice warning signs of burnout (I was always overstimulated, not sleeping enough, not eating enough, dreaded going to bed but also dreaded getting out of bed because I didn't want to deal with tomorrow).

I ended up taking FMLA for 2 weeks and focusing entirely on stress management and it's been a couple weeks back at work and I still feel really great.

1. Remember that you are human, and that if you continuously set a bar of 100% you are setting yourself up for failure. You will have bad days, just accept it and do your best without comparing it to others or to yourself on a good day

2. Feel comfortable setting boundaries! You don't have to allow negativity into your life, and if people are dumping excess stress onto you feel free to exit the conversation. No need for feeling guilty because they will have moved on within the hour (they have their own life)

3. The first hour of your day is crucial. If you wake up and immediately go on your phone (information overload) you are setting yourself up for overstimulation which does not help you out when dealing with stress! Take a nice shower, read a book — I listen to piano in minor and write a poem — just something that allows you to ease into your day. Waking up and immediately hustling will lead to burnout. I can't emphasize this point enough!

4. Sleep and eat! Poor sleep habits add up over time and your body and mind are much more protected against stress when you're giving them the tools to deal with it.

5. Accept stress. It's going to come! There are two key parts here — One, when you catch yourself accumulating stress, pause and ground yourself. Slow yourself down. Breathe, walk a little more leisurely. When you do these things your body will signal to your mind that you're safe. Two, don't think of stress as an unequivocally negative thing — stress is a tool that CAN be managed and it's a powerful tool for productivity. That said, as with all powerful tools you absolutely have to practice safety.

6. And lastly, and this is gonna sound obvious, MAKE TIME to relax! It's easy to say you can't make time for relaxation but flip the script for a moment and ask yourself, could you make time for another task?