13 tips on dealing with stress... for introverts!

As it’s mental health awareness week I thought I’d share a few learnings since starting Blue Zoo 19(!) years ago. It’s been quite a rollercoaster of ups and downs, which I’m sure anyone who runs a company can relate to. When running a company, if you were to worry about every possible eventuality you’d never sleep. Since then I’ve got a few more companies up and running, plus keep myself quite busy volunteering for various councils and industry programmes - the reason I’m saying that is to convey I’ve got a lot going on! This could be quite stressful. But it isn’t. And I wanted to share how I’ve learnt to adapt and avoid stress.

Moreover, I wanted to look at it from the point of an introvert, as it’s more common than not for artists and can be a root cause of mental issues when it doesn’t need to. To give context, when I was growing up I had a strong speech impediment until I was about 5, I couldn’t even say my own name! And I believe this caused a shift towards preferring “doing” over talking, evolving into a passion for art, filmmaking and coding - none of which require talking! 

What I’ve learnt from being an introvert, is there seems to be a common idea that it also means you are shy (even in the dictionary?!). I believe this is unfounded and provides an easy fallback for not going out and chasing life goals. Being an introvert means you enjoy your own company over hanging out in a big group, which introverts can find exhausting; extroverts experience the opposite. That has nothing to do with shyness. But it can cause shyness. The difference? Confidence. You can be a confident introvert and an unconfident extrovert, therefore they can’t be the same thing. 

So with that, I wanted to share a few ideas on how I’ve learned to deal with it, from an introvert’s point of view.  

1.Try and become more confident

You can only do this by pushing yourself out of your comfort zone, I decided to to this by saying yes to any public speaking that was offered to me without hesitation, at first it was scary but it soon becomes normal. Public speaking is a top life skill that will take you far! It will without a doubt make you become more confident, reducing anxiety and concerns about personal failure. If you can talk to a room full of people, doing a job interview with two people is a whole lot easier.

2. Daily journalling

When I feel like there is some stress building up, I often don’t know what's causing it. This can easily be solved by journalling every morning: writing down a list of everything in your head. And for the items that are most worrying, write one small action you will do that day to chip away at the problem. This often is enough to feel like you’re dealing with it, and not ignoring the problem. I use bullet journalling which also helps keep track of tasks to further reduce workload stress.

3. Don’t worry about things that might happen or that are out of your control

If you were to worry about every eventuality life could take, you’d be a wreck. So don’t over-think it, focus on positive outcomes, not the disastrous ones. Equally don’t worry about things you can’t change or are in the past, learn from them, don’t make the same mistake twice and focus on the future. Otherwise, it’s just a waste of mental energy!

4. Exercise a few times a week

It’s amazing how if you’re feeling slugging and lacking energy, going out for a quick run can fix it.. free energy! The tricky thing is I find running boring, so fix it by listening to a great audiobook or podcast, so I want to keep going to listen to more!

5. Experiment with sleep times

1. I used to be a night owl and struggle to wake up in the morning, therefore need lots of sleep. But I discovered by chance that if I went to bed earlier, I’d wake up naturally and actually need less sleep and get a lot more done in the day!

6. Have a routine

Humans are animals that function best when in routine (anyone who has a baby can testify to this!). So try and stick to the same sleep pattern that works, you know when you’ve found your balance, as you will wake up naturally, not by a panic-inducing alarm clock.

7. Avoid late night TV/phones

I find that if I watch TV or browse social media late at night, I’ll suddenly find it's midnight and wake up exhausted, and not benefit from how that time was spent. Then it will have a bad knock-on effect throughout the rest of the day.

8. Hang around with people who support you and you aspire to be like

An obvious one but very important, you become like people who you are around. So hang around with good people; people you aspire to be more like. Equally support those who support you and those who need support. Avoid those who don’t fit into any of those groups, they will just drag you down to their level.

9. Meditate using an app 

I used to cringe at the thought of mediation, thinking it’s something for hippies and a load of mumbo jumbo. But when I first tried using the Headspace app it was life changing! Just doing it for 10 minutes feels like the equivalent of toilet-flushing your brain and pressing a reset button. Can’t recommend it enough if you’ve got a million thoughts running riot in your head.

10. Remember work is just a job, not your life 

Pretty simple this one! If work is causing stress, remember it’s only a job. There are much more important things in life, partners, friends, family and you. 

11. Try not to be alone too much, share concerns thoughts with others or a pen

A problem shared is a problem halved. Sitting on a problem will make it worse. Overthinking it on your own will just make it snowball. Even if you don’t want to talk about it with others, just write it all down - it will help unload it off your brain.

12. Be frugal

The biggest cause of stress can be financial insecurity, I’ve been there many times when funds are running low! Don't buy expensive things to make you happy; it will be an incredibly short-lived gain. Always wait 24 hours before getting the credit card out! But short of winning the lottery, it’s all about planning and saving. Which is much easier said than done, but something is better than nothing.

13. Find a way to do all of the above through habit, not force

The final bit of advice is to try and combine all of the above to happen naturally, forcing it will just be a temporary fix and you will revert back to how things were. So change your environment to try and encourage these changes to happen naturally, and work out what feels comfortable to you. If you adapt slowly, bit by bit, you can get into a new routine before you know it.

And finally finally, remember that everyone is different; so your mileage may vary. If doing any of the above causes stress then it’s pretty counter-productive. Just experiment, and find out what works for you.