City Geisha

It’s 12 days into the new year, the moment when you realise that paying X amount of money towards a gym membership is already going to waste as you’ve only mustered 2 sessions and that your resolution to be kinder to others has been shortlived as you have exploded into a mini tantrum at the waitress who keeps getting your order wrong…both of which aren’t good at reducing stress levels to say the least.  It’s not even February yet, however most of us feel like we’re up against the clock in a countdown to something big.  Habitual anxiety is a word that best describes this sort of stress and experts will tell us the stuff we already know, such as regular exercise and taking vitamin b complex will be beneficial to our health. Blah blah blah, we all know the drill. Here are some useful ways of tackling some of the most common causes of female stress.

Pressure to be effortlessly amazing in all areas: It is now official that women who look as if they have got it all together are 75 times more unhappy than those who stumble through life with unwaxed legs and chipped nail polish. Let this be the year of the anti have-it-all. Other women trust you. Men will see you as more approachable rather than be scared sh*tless at the thought of uttering hello to you. So put your feet up and just give your hair the onceover with a blast of dry shampoo. Speaking of which, Batiste is freaking wonderful…love it =D

Men: Men should be thought as a welcome perk rather than the answer to anything and everything.  Women can do anything themselves and even better, for that matter. In a day in age when we can freeze our eggs until we are ready to have kids, be successful single moms or be quite damn happy being in love with just ourselves and only us, women ought to think of men like a bonus to have in life. I have said this in a past post, a man does not complete you, rather he should complement you. Once you let go of the expectation that life will be all rosy and perfect once you find the man of your dreams, the stress melts away.

Money: Here is how to reduce money stress- buy nothing at all for months, then knock yourself out with the shoes/jacket/necklace you’d kill for! And wear it with a vibrant MAC lipstick. Feel like a million dollars even if you are not.

Whist we’re on the subject of  money, many of us mistakenly believe that money will make us happy, but I know several rich friends and work colleagues and I can vouch for the fact that they’re not the happiest bunch!  It’s what the money represents that makes it so alluring: security, happiness and freedom. To prove that you can have these things without having loads of cash in your bank account, think about what else would provide you with said qualities in life. I’m willing to bet you that family and friends come top of the list, followed by simple pleasures like breakfast in bed with your boyfriend or a walk in the park after a fresh snowfall and making a snowman =D

Emotional riches are on your doorstep…you just need to open your eyes and see them.

“Me” time: We find ourselves regularly going out of our ways to please others, fussing over them , rushing from one place to another in order to meet other’s demands, all of which can lead to a great deal of stress. Every once in a while, turn off your blackberry, iphone, cell phone, computer and whatever else and just say to yourself “FuCK it” and just lie down in a nice patch of grass in the middle of the park and inhale the fresh air. Or lower yourself into a nice hot bath whilst sipping a cocktail with a face mask on…the simple pleasures in life that will lead to a greater sense of being.  It’s nice to be selfish every now and again and to put yourself FIRST before others. Give the middle finger to all around you and just have some ME time.

Now doesn’t that just feel amazing??? =D