If you get stressed out, turn to life’s simple pleasures – Hayley Matthews

Don’t let the hectic pace of modern life leave you stressed out and grumpy, writers Hayley Matthews.

It's too easy to get stressed out by your to-do list and forget to live in the moment. Picture: Getty

I have to be honest and say that the past few months things have been getting on top of me and whilst I’m not the only person who has a lot to do, I feel the amount of stress building up isn’t normal. I’ve been on a very short fuse and have been having regular panic attacks which have been very unpleasant.

All my moaning aside, I am very lucky that I have good support from a few close friends to lean on and talk to when things get too much. I’m forever grateful for their advice.

But there are a lot of people who either don’t have people to talk to when their mental health is shoogly, or maybe they find it hard to open up about feelings so in writing this, I’m hoping it will help some people out there realise that we all have mental health and it just needs looking after.

I’ve said this before and just like any other part of our bodies, the mind needs TLC. Surely the connection between mind, body and soul is undeniable. I feel it myself with the mental stress that I have going on – it’s coming out of my body in ways I never thought possible. I know what I need to do to help ease the anxiety but I feel there just aren’t enough hours in the day.

Burger and a fun chat in the car

More relaxation, less stress and more chill time are always what the doctor orders but when life is so busy it’s hard to just stop. However, during the week I made myself do just that and it was great!

I had lots of errands to run, it was getting late in the evening and I’d been on the go since 5.30am when Harris’s computer headset stopped working. I explained that I had a lot to do and if he wanted it fixed he could come with me to Argos for a replacement.

We had a big hoo-ha about it and both started arguing. It wasn’t his fault that it was broken but I still wanted him to help get it fixed or replaced it, just so he appreciates it. So in the car we went and off to get his headset replaced first then as I started reading to read out the list of things I had to do, I could see the joy draining out of his wee happy face.

When I realised that they were all things that I wanted to do but didn’t need to do, and that none of them were that important, I stopped.

We decided to scrap my list and spent the night in the car chatting about life whilst munching on a Five Guys burger and milkshake. We also managed to squeeze in a Krispy Kreme doughnut – but the loveliest part was just sitting in the car watching all the hustle and bustle as we watched on having a good laugh. I apologised to Harris for being so grumpy and told him that I just want his childhood to be perfect and filled with happiness.

I suppose I put so much pressure on myself to make sure everything is just right that I forget to have fun and enjoy the moment. Just now I have so many jobs I need to do but I’m going to go and get a hot chocolate, some lunch and try to chill out.

I also hope that regardless of your age or situation that if you’re feeling like life is getting too much, that you’re able to take some time for yourself and have a little bit of a breather. We all need some self-soothing now and then because things can be hectic. I’ve realised this week that life is simple, it’s us humans that make it complicated.

So here’s to a relaxing run-up to Christmas, with less stress and I hope you can join me.