Who knows how to cope with adulting? It can be extremely exhausting being an adult, especially in the early stages. There is so much to learn, manage, and plan for and it can be too much at times. I’ve sometimes just found myself sitting down and feeling overwhelmed with everything that I need to do – not sure if I will be able to handle it all.
As a general rule, there is not just one way to cope with the pressures of adulting. You can meditate, improve your diet, exercise, create fun days, build a support system, and so much more to help you deal with the pressures of adulting.
You are not alone in this feeling and below are some ways to help you manage and cope with the pressures of adulting.
1. Take Care Of Your Overall Health
Focusing on your health is an essential when figuring out how to cope with adulting.
If you are not living a healthy life, then you are putting yourself at a disadvantage to tackle the obstacles that will arise in life. Now, this does not mean that you have to exercise every day for hours on end and only eat vegetables.
What taking care of your health means is taking the time and effort to ensure that you are receiving the proper nutrients you need daily to function and that you are also keeping out of too many stressful or harmful situations.
This means not skipping that semi-annual doctor’s appointment and making sure that you go to the dentist for those checkups. Keeping up to date on these checkups will help you stay on top of your health. And if a healthcare scare does happen, hopefully, it will be caught early on.
2. Meditate Daily
Continuing in the vein of taking care of your health, it is important to not neglect your mental health. Being an adult can be a high-stress game where you are given a horrible hand.
Sometimes it will feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders and everyone is counting on you. It’s a lot. You have to manage work, relationships, yourself, and whatever else arises as you age.
Read More: 12 Harsh Truths About Adulthood
Again, it is a lot. That is why it is so important to take the extra time to check in with your mental state through meditation. Now, there are a ton of different ways to meditate, so don’t feel like you have to do it one certain way. Figure out what works best for you and make it your own.
There are a few apps that I have used to help me start doing this more. Both Headspace and Meditation by Down Dog are two great apps to do guided meditation. They both offer free and paid versions, so you can see which one suits your experience best.
Additionally, you can always just search on YouTube for meditation exercises and not have to worry about paying anything. Saving money can sure help peace of mind. Either way, finding time to meditate and not ignore your mental health can really help you figure out how to cope with adulting.
3. Eat Well and Eat Enough
Sometimes eating comes second to work or something else that we deem more demanding at that moment. Other times, we just can’t afford it. Either way, eating and eating a well-balanced diet is essential. Without the proper nutrients, it’s more difficult to focus and handle the pressures that come with adulting.
Our course on how many calories you should be eating daily is completely unique to your personal health, activity level, and goals.
For myself, I am aiming to eat 1,960 calories each day with the bulk of that being carbs and protein. For you, it might and probably will be different. If you are new to nutrition and eat properly it might be helpful to get a nutritionist if it won’t break the budget.
I started off with free online resources and have people in my life who know more about this topic. Either way, the resources are out there. It is up to you to seek them out and create a plan for yourself.
One app that has been really helpful for me is called LifeSum. It asks you about your weight and other information like dietary habits and restrictions along with your goals. It takes all of that information and suggests a certain amount of calories that you should consume daily. It’s a great app for beginners and experts alike to develop and track progress.
Remember, with proper nutrients, it’s difficult to properly function, let alone figure out how to cope with adulting and handle the daunting existence that is adulthood.
4. Ask For Help When Overwhelmed
It might sound counterintuitive to ask for help now that you are an adult, but that is not the case at all. You can and should ask for help when you need it. What shouldn’t happen is you expecting someone else to solve your worries for you without you putting in the effort first.
Asking for help is something that we all must get comfortable with as adults. There is nothing wrong with it, especially when it involves figuring out how to cope with adulting.
Also, know that help comes in many forms. Asking for help could be as simple as reaching out to your parents for guidance or going to therapy weekly to nurture your mental state. There is no one right way to go about this – except well not asking for help.
A cool piece of information – You know that health insurance plan you now have? Well, if you are interested in therapy you might even be able to go for little to no cost.
You just have to see if it is covered under your insurance. Sometimes, it is covered under preventative care. So, look into that and take advantage of it if that’s the case for you.
Additionally, below is a chart with some of the main hotline help numbers if you ever need to call and speak to someone.
Hotline Help Numbers
| Topic | Hotline Number |
|---|---|
| Suicide | 1-800-273-8255 |
| Bullying | 1-800-420-1479 |
| Abuse | 1-800-799-7233 |
| Mental Health | 1-800-442-9673 |
| Sexual Assault | 1-800-656-4673 |
| Self-Harm | 1-800-366-8288 |
| Grief Support | 1-650-321-3438 |
| Teen Lifeline | 1-800-784-8433 |
| Depression | 1-630-482-9696 |
| Drugs/Alcohol | 1-877-235-4525 |
| Eating Disorder | 1-650-577-1330 |
I must note that I am not a licensed individual on this topic. I am just proving potential resources. Please understand, that I AM NOT recommending or endorsing any of them. It is up to you to do your own due diligence and determine if they are helpful to you and whether or not it is appropriate for your situation.
5. Develop And Nurture A Support System
Just as you should ask for help when it’s needed. You have to have people that you trust to ask for said help. Whether you are asking for help or not, it is important to develop a support system around yourself with people who care about your well-being, and progress can keep you grounded.
When stressed reach out to your support system. Life is not meant to be done alone, so don’t alienate yourself as you adjust to adulthood.
6. Take Time For Fun and Relaxation
Just as you need time to rest and meditate, you need time to have fun. It might sound like your days of fun should be gone with your childhood but that is not the case. You can and still should find ways to have fun as an adult.
Having fun and finding joy in doing things can help you reset during stressful times and regain some of that energy you lost managing problems.
Read More: Why Adulting Can Be More Fun Than You Think
The most common outlet for relaxation and fun is usually people going on a vacation. A few days, or weeks if you got it like that, sipping tropical margaritas next to the beach with your worries packed away. Go swimming, do some tai-chi, whatever helps you relax, make time for it.
Alternatively, you can break things for relaxation and fun too. There are plenty of places that offer breakables as a service. If you don’t know what that is, it’s a place where you literally pay to go smash things. I’m talking about plates, chairs, tables, and even TVs.
It can be a very great opportunity to release any aggression that you might have toward your boss or co-worker. I’m not a certified psychologist or anything though, so this isn’t official expert advice.
But I digress, all of that to say, figure out what helps you recharge and make it a part of your routine. You might be surprised at how well it can help you cope with adulting.
Plus, all work and no play make for a horrible life and who wants that?
7. Plan For The Future
Often a lot of the issues that arise as an adult stem from a lack of planning whether intentionally or unintentionally. Placing a greater focus on the future and what’s next can help alleviate a lot of the pressures of adulting, especially in the earlier stages.
So, take the time to research some of the milestones that come with the early transition years into adulthood. From these milestones, create a rough outline for yourself to give you a better picture of your trajectory.
One of the most common ways of doing this is creating a vision board. A vision board is a great start especially if you are new to planning for the future.
I’ve created many vision boards that helped me chart paths for myself. The really cool thing about vision boards is that they are meant to be visual, giving you a glimpse at what you are working towards.
They double as a plan and a motivation helping you reach those ideas you set forth for yourself on the board.
Plus, doing a vision board can be a fun DIY project. You only need a few supplies like a poster board, some old magazines for pictures, and glue. If you don’t have magazines or want more exact pictures you can always just print them online and the rest of the supplies can usually be found at your local Dollar Tree.
So, take a few hours this upcoming weekend and have a go at creating a vision board for yourself. It will help you figure out what you want and how to get there thereby decreasing some of the pressure you might feel from adulting.
8. Properly Budget And Handle Your Finances
One of the biggest stressors in life is money. Will I have enough money to eat tonight? How can I afford to go back to school? How will I raise a family on my salary?
Money can be stressful and often is, however, it doesn’t have to always be a stressor for you. Starting now, strengthen your relationship with your finances. Grow your understanding of personal finance – things like balancing a budget, investing, retirement, emergency savings, HSAs, and FSAs.
The better understanding you have of money and how to use it as a tool, the better your chances of decreasing money as a stressor in adulthood.
There are plenty of resources out there for you to start building a financial foundation. One service that is at the foundation of financial life is YNAB (You Need A Budget). It has been essential to me in handling my undergraduate costs, graduate school costs, moving cities, and so much more. If you are interested in learning more about YNAB use my referral link and get a month free of the service. It’s totally worth the money!
Read More: Why YNAB Is My Favorite Adulting Tool
9. Take It Little By Little, One Step At A Time
Big problems can be broken down into more manageable problems.
Adulting can seem like an overwhelming task that is all-encompassing, but it is totally doable. You are capable.
Remember, that every big challenge or task can be broken down into smaller challenges or tasks. By breaking down the main challenge, you make it easier for yourself to reach your end goal.
Take moving to a new city for a job. You might have just graduated college and now it is time to pack up your life and move to a new place to start a new one. You have to find a place to live that’s affordable, in a reasonable location, at a reasonable distance from work, and furnish the place. Oh, and you need to be able to pay the bills and rent to actually live there. That’s a lot and it seems like a huge unconquerable task.
But it is totally conquerable if you break it down into smaller tasks.
Breaking larger tasks into smaller tasks can help you cope with the challenges that you face. By taking it little by little you can slowly build to the major solution that you once felt was too daunting to attempt.
Read More: How To Move To A New City
What are your thoughts? Any tips I said on how to cope with adulting really stood out to you?
Best of luck adulting!
And Remember,
Adulting Starts Here
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