Meditation
Being mindful of this thing happening in your life can help reduce stress. Never underestimate the power of a silent mind. It takes practice, but once you get the hang of it, you will reap the benefits. Even short 1-2 min sessions throughout the day will go along way to improving your stress levels.
Just sit in a chair or on the ground, close your eyes and breathe. Focus on the breath. You do not have to change how the breathing it. Accept it the way it is. All you have to do is put all your focus on that breath. You are going to wander away from it. That is normal. Once you notice you have gone away from the breath, gently remind yourself to bring your attention back. Do not be hard on yourself. It is supposed to happen.
Movement
Now this includes everything. Getting up to go for a walk, doing some light gym work. It all counts. However, there is one thing that you should not be doing when you are trying to decrease your stress levels. That is doing extremely intense workouts. These workouts are incredibly stressful on your body. They will create a more significant problem. If you find a form of movement that relaxes you like yoga or pilates then do that instead
Merely going to a walk around the office, or school, getting up and stretching during class can help you get the stress to lower. Whenever you find yourself getting stressed out, remove yourself from the situation. Get up and moving away from it, stand up and walk away.
Nature
We live in a world that secludes us. I mean we are no longer near vast forests, creeks, and rivers. We are in concrete jungles. Science has proven to get into nature to be a great way to lower your stress. Getting your feet to touch the ground and be amongst trees, and animals. It sounds that you’re not used to hearing in the city. Appreciating the world we live in for what it is. Going for nature walks is excellent. In fact, it is downright meditative. Therapeutic even. Getting out into a ravine, or the park that is near you will do great things for our stress levels.
Breathe Deeply
Your parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system works directly with the breath. When you breathe in, your heart rate will rise, when you breathe out, your heart rate drops. The Autonomic nervous system is responsible for how the body reacts to stressful situations. It controls if you relax or if you stress.
Breathing profoundly signals the body relaxation response. Sitting in a chair, the same as meditation. Focus on getting a deep breath into your belly. Start out small. Going for about 3 seconds in the 2-second hold and 4 seconds out. The reason the exhale is so important is that that is the parasympathetic side, The side responsible for digestion, sleep, etc. Take 3-5 mins out of your day to do this. You can eventually graduate up to long breaths. Your body and mind will thank you.
Laugh
Laughter is a relatively simple one. Get yourself to laugh. Laugh off the things you are going through. Your brain will release all kinds of lovely chemicals to help you handle stress. Smiling and being in a better mood is like kryptonite to stress. Making light of all situations is going to aid in your ability to deal with stress.
Massage
Massages can be incredibly relaxing. It can be like you are getting the stress rubbed out of your shoulders. Take the time to treat yourself to a massage. You could be holding tension in your body. That pressure is only going to add to your current stressed out state. Many massage therapists will use scents; aromatherapy is another way to help manage your stress levels. Combining anti-stress tools is a great way to battle the stress demons.
Create
Another great way to increase your likelihood of destressing is to make things, Get into a creative mindset. Make something you can be proud of. Or even something you won’t be pleased to create. It doesn’t matter. Sit down and write stuff down, make a video about what you are going through. For all you know you can help out someone else. Draw, paint, sculpt. Art can be therapy for stress. It is going to get to think about one thing. Creation is merely another form of meditation. There is proof that human beings do best when they are out making things. Go out there and create!
Eat Right
Nutrition is a critical factor in stress. Making sure you have all the micronutrients is going to be the difference between being stress and being calm. Our bodies are programmed to run on certain vitamins and minerals. If we do not have the proper balance of them, then we are looking at having increased stress levels. Making sure you eat the appropriate amounts of fruits and vegetables can go along way in your battle against stress. A balanced diet can be the answer to your stressed out woes.
Read A Book
Feeding your brain with knowledge is a great way to relieve stress. Reading words is going to bring you into doing one thing. Reading is a common thread when it comes to reducing stress. Being mindful of the current moment. Knowing what your doing at that moment is more important than moments past or moments in the future. Reading is another great way to keep yourself in the present. It does not matter if the book is fiction or non-fiction. Just the act of reading in the right environment is going to act to take away some of your stress.
