Stress!

Stress. It can make or break you.  I know some people who thrive off stress.  These are the people who leave assignments till the last minute, or the people who are always SUPER BUSY (you know those people!).  The people who are always surrounded by drama.  I have to be honest and say that I am partly one of these people.  I'm never really satisfied unless my day starts early and I end it knackered.  I enjoy being busy and I actually feel like I'm more energised when I'm constantly go go go.  

But there is a big difference between being busy and being STRESSED.  Stress is a funny thing. It's subjective to everyone. Something that might stress me out, may not have an effect on you.  Sometimes a little stress is a good thing.  It can motivate you to get your butt in gear and get things done.  But prolonged exposure to stressful situations is never a good thing.  Too much stress will break you, it's just a matter of when.  

According to science (my fave <3), stress is your body's way of responding to any kind of damage or threat. This causes the release of stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol. I also believe that emotional distress, either acute or chronic, will affect one's stress levels, no matter the type or severity of the emotional trauma that has been inflicted.  Like I've said, different people can deal with different amounts and types of stressful situations.  

Stress is a fact of life. It's gonna happen. No one can get through life without experiencing a stressful situation, no matter how laid back they are. So how do we deal with it? In the past month to 6 weeks, I've been in a few stressful situations (which is probably why I haven't been blogging much).  Most of it has been work related, but there's also been the addition of a few social/family related incidences that haven't helped.  These are the ways I've tried to get through them, and some of these might help you too!

1. Proactively Deal With The Stressor

OK, so this one is easier said that done. But here's an example: I needed to quickly get my working visa sorted out, so instead of sitting back and seeing how long it would take, I had to be proactive and call up every day, pay the extra fees, visit the visa centre.  I couldn't just sit back.  Being proactive will also distract you from the fact that you are stressed out, because you will at least feel like you've accomplished something.  Another example, if a friend is causing you some stress because of something they're doing, then just approach them about it!! After all, if you're real friends it shouldn't affect your relationship, it will simply help the situation. Or if you can't deal with confrontation, then no body said you have to be around then 24/7! 

2. Take A Bath

Aaaah baths.  There's something about the simplicity of floating naked in nice smelling water, surrounded by bubbles that will instantly make you feel at ease.  Throw in some candles, a face mask and some chilled out tunes, and you're well on your way to sanity and bliss.  

3. Be Careful What You Eat

Ok so the fun thing about stress hormones is that they can play havoc with your body. Diverting blood away from your digestive system and to the critical organs, means that you need to be very careful with what you put in your body. Think of it this way: you're on holiday, chilled out and relaxed, and you decide that you want an ice cream (standard) but you're usually dairy intolerant.  Yes, you may get a little bloated, but hell that ice cream was delicious and you don't care! Ok, revert back to your stressful situation/period and you're not careful and end up eating a cheese sandwich because you're on the go and that's the first thing you grabbed. What happens? Well, aside from extremely uncomfortable bloating and diarrhoea, you've just managed to put yourself in an even worse mood! That's your stress hormones contributing to a shitty digestive system and more pain and discomfort. So just be careful.  By now most of us know what we can and can't eat and what makes us feel good, so stick to the feel good foods and all will be OK!

4. Do Some Yoga

What else can I say about yoga other than it is one of the BEST ways to help you put things into perspective and chill. the. F. out. I would say exercise to reduce stress, but things like running can often increase your cortisol levels.  Yoga (or hot yoga if you're like me and love to sweat) is a wonderful way to get your body moving and blood pumping, whilst at the same time helping to balance out your hormones to help you relax.  If you're lucky, you might just fall asleep in the savasana too! 

5. Get Enough Rest

This one should be a given, but often in stressful situations we don't get enough hours of decent sleep a night. A trick to help you is take a magnesium supplement just before lights out; it has been found to help reduce cortisol levels, as well as relax your muscles.  This is something I've been doing for the past week or so, and I have been sleeping through the night and waking up feeling a lot more refreshed than usual

6. Get Away From It All

This is probably the best tip of them all.  When things are getting so stressful they become overwhelming, and you're starting to feel really down, then the best thing to do is to get away.  Go alone, or with your loved one and just escape. A little bit of time out is sometimes all we need to replenish and revitalise.  Turn your phone off, things can wait.  And remember what you want and why you want it. I promise you, once you're back to reality life will seem a whole lot easier and more worthwhile.  

Namasté homies. Peace out.   

V x 

3 Nights In Vienna

Recently I was lucky enough to be whisked away by Liam to Vienna & Budapest (well he didn't actually whisk me away but it was all his idea and he actually planned most of the holiday, which was fab 'cause I've been trés stressed lately).  

Neither of us had been to Vienna or Budapest before, so we really didn't know what to expect.  I have been to Austria before when I was much younger on a school trip, but that was for skiing so I didn't experience much of the bigger cities.  

Firstly, we flew into Vienna.  We stayed at the Mecure (side note: there are about 6 Mecure Hotels in Vienna alone, so initially we were taken to the wrong hotel...oops) which definitely wasn't like the 4 star hotels one is used to after living in Dubai for 23 years, but it was in a great location, it was clean and we got a free upgrade, so I wasn't complaining!  There was plenty of room for me to bust out a morning sweat circuit to prepare myself for a day of eating! 

Vienna as a city is beautiful. It has endless architectural masterpieces that honestly make you stop and gasp, and the Danube river runs along it's eastern perimeter.  Definitely make your way into St. Stephen's Cathedral; if you're lucky you'll catch the choir singing, and it truly is a goose bump moment.  Hofburg Palace is also beautiful, and I would highly recommend visiting the Natural History Museum if you're a massive geek like me!  The Austrian Parliament Building is pretty majestic also; and make sure you explore out of the centre of the city and into the Museumsquartier, which is where you'll see the Votive Church (we were told by a taxi driver that last year someone climbed to the top and was arrested!).  

One thing I would recommend to see is an Opera.  Vienna is famous for it's art and music, and there are so many concerts and operas on all year round.  Just one handy hint - buy your tickets in advance and make sure it's in English!! Otherwise you may be sitting there very confused! 

Now to the important part - the food.  We (and by we I mostly mean Liam) did. not. stop. eating. The food in Vienna is pretty amazing, with an obvious Middle Eastern influence.  The Viennese are famous for their pastries and cakes, so we took it upon ourselves to try them all (duh).  Obviously the apple strudel was fab (we'll come to that later) but there's also a chocolate and apricot jam cake called Sachertorte, which was all time; and filled brioche with either poppy seeds or crushed walnuts that was also scrummy.   Head over to Cafe Central to try their famous apple strudel! 

For a more savoury snack, the bratwhurst sausages were our go to.  If you're like me and you enjoy a good sausage now and again (lol sorry there's no other way to put that!) then you will LOVE Vienna.  There's little stands all over the place, selling sizzling sausages for no more than 4 Euro.  If you're going all out, then opt for a sausage in a roll, if you're saving your carbs for chocolate cake then opt for a sliced sausage.  Note - no sausage snack is complete without tomato sauce, mustard, sauerkraut and a gherkin! 

If you're a food lover like me, then visiting the Naschmarket is a must.  Not only is there plenty of trendy little cafes to chose from (we tried a couple out for breakfast and they were both fab) but there are endless stalls of fresh fruit and veg, nuts, olives, tepanades, spices, sauces, dried fruits, seafood, stuffed peppers, breads, wines...the list goes on and on.  We bought so many little snacks to keep us going (like we weren't consuming enough already HA!) but mainly is was just to taste everything on offer! 

For dinner, we tried out a couple of traditional Viennese restaurants.  The first night Liam had Weiner Schnitzel and I had an enormous piece of salmon with veg and these delicious potatoes cooked in butter and parsley.  The second night I had the famous beef goulash with a Viennese dumpling, and for once in my life I couldn't finish it! Liam had pork and dumplings, and even he was defeated.  They are definitely not shy on portion size in Vienna! 

Vienna is a wonderful, laid back city with a great vibe. The people are really friendly and always happy to help.  Definitely a go to in my eyes! With maybe 1 or 2 more days we could have seen the further perimeters of the city, but it was great any way! 

Stay tuned for my next post on Budapest! 

V x