Overcome challenges and find happiness with these life management techniques
On the surface, a glimpse into the life of Dara Stewart reveals nothing unusual. She has a job she loves, friends and family who love her, and a big, goofy Akita named Jake. But after a brush with death from a brain hemorrhage in 2002, Dara’s recovery included having to learn to walk again. For Dara, the normal life she now leads, for which she is deeply grateful, required an amazing degree of effort and concentration.
Drawing on simple but powerful life and stress management techniques, she was able to not only recover from what her doctors expected would be a disabling medical catastrophe, but also go on to find her life’s purpose and discover a peace that far exceeded what she had known before.
These techniques are available to all of us.
o Manage stress: “Meditation was my initial way of relieving stress,” said Dara. As she recovered, she found that a connection to nature calmed and focused her. She combined walking and meditation into mindfulness walks and volunteered at the Desert Botanical Garden to stay in touch with nature.
o Exercise: Dara found that yoga, in particular, helped her maintain her balance. “It really made a big difference in the stress and body tension that she had and it also decreased the number of headaches that she had,” she said.
o Reach out to friends and family: “The tremendous support I received from friends and family reminded me that no matter what happened to me, I was going to be okay,” said Dara. “Whether I die or become disabled or live an absolutely normal life, it would be fine.” Diagnosed immediately after moving to an unfamiliar town in California, Dara found additional community in her church and her support groups.
o Practice self-acceptance: A side effect of Dara’s life-threatening illness was increased clarity of purpose. “It wasn’t a matter of knowing the exact career I was going to have, it was knowing that I was supposed to be here and that there was a purpose for me,” Dara said. “And I didn’t feel worried at all anymore.” Her mantra became “I am enough, I am all I need.”
o Purge negativity: “I would go as far as not watching scary movies,” said Dara. “I even limited the amount of news I watched.”
o Set boundaries: Initially, Dara was careful to surround herself with people who had a positive outlook, and even now, when working in the mental health field makes that more difficult, Dara says that “what I’ve learned to do now it’s veering off a few degrees. If it starts to get too intense, I take a break.”
According to Dara, the key to having the life you want is to stay focused on your daily activities and goals. “While looking for things, I also listen to what I need, which is positive energy in my life, what I want, which is a peaceful life, and what fulfills me, which is giving back to the world in some way.”