Selfcare: Cut Your Stress Levels by Saying No

Are you saying yes to things when you’d like to say no? Feeling that you have to please everyone else can quickly build your stress levels, often to the point that you resent it. There are lots of reasons why it happens, from being scared to upset or disappoint people to a fear of coming across as rude.

Finding the self-confidence to reject things that aren’t in your best interests can be a game-changer when it comes to managing stress levels.

Need some tips for saying no? These tips can help:

• Be direct and upfront. It’s okay, be honest and say that you can’t commit right now or you already have plans. It can be super tempting to hedge your bets and say you’ll think about it and get back to them, but this is generally just a surefire way of creating more stress. 
• Don’t feel obliged to apologize for saying no. Your time and energy is precious and there’s nothing wrong with putting yourself first, especially if you know that saying yes will cause you tons of stress in the long term. 
• Are you tempted to lie to make people feel better about why you’re declining? You’ll only feel worse in the long term, and there’s always a chance that you’ll be found out! You don’t need to explain yourself, and it’s often better if you don’t try to. 
• If it helps, try role-playing in front of the mirror or with a friend so that you get more comfortable with the idea of saying no when you need to.