What is stress? Stress is the opposite of relaxation. Stress can occur with both positive and negative events in our lives. Stress can push our buttons and evoke emotions. Stress does not always have to bring you down, there are many things that can be done to help manage your stress.
Meditation can be a great way for you to relieve stress. Try meditating each night before you go to bed. Turn off anything around you, close your eyes, and clear out your mind. Don’t think about things you need to get done or problems that you need to solve. Just let your mind relax for a little while and focus on each breath. If your mind starts wondering, just bring it back to your breath. Shutting off your brain takes practice, but each practice session is working off your stress.
A great tip that can help you when you’re feeling stressed out is to do some cleaning. Part of the reason you’re stressed out might be due to the fact that your home is so unorganized. Doing a bit of cleaning around your house can help you out and get you in a better state of mind.
If you are having a disagreement with someone, try having a long talk with them to work things out. This can be very relieving and take a weight off your shoulders that you may be carrying around all day. Resolving disputes with others can go a long way in alleviating stress.
Use your sense of smell to be stress-free. The scents of essential oils like chamomile, eucalyptus, thyme and peppermint can have a powerful calming effect. Fill a small screw-top vial with a pinch of mineral salt, and a drop or two of your favorite fragrant oil. Now when you are stressed all you have to do is take out the vial and start sniffing.
Put worry time into your schedule. Some things do need immediate attention, but some stressors can wait until the time is more convienient. If something is bothering you, and it can wait, write it down, and when it becomes your time to worry, sit and worry about it and figure out how to fix it.
Limit the amount of alcohol that you drink during the course of the night when at the bar or club. When you consume alcohol, your stress levels will go up and you will become flustered quicker. Instead, drink soda or a fruit drink if you want to limit your stress.
Take a mental break. Just daydream for a few minutes. Look outside and find something natural that allows your imagination to roam. Look at the wind blowing through the trees, or the clouds rolling by. Space out for a few minutes and it will help your stress level.
In order to keep your stress under control, it would be wise to stay away from caffeine. This is important because this drug is known to cause anxiety in some people, therefore making stress harder to deal with. It can be hard to break away from, but you will feel better once you learn to live without it.
Gastrointestinal distress is a common reaction to stress. Acid reflux, a persistent feeling of nausea, and even problems with elimination can be our body’s outward reaction to stress. Reduce the level of stress you are feeling and symptoms such as these will often be greatly minimized or even disappear entirely!
Animal ownership is wonderful for relieving stress. Something as simple as just petting a dog for a couple of minutes will work to reduce your stress, and this has been verified by research.
One great way to relieve stress is to do exercise. Exercising not only keeps you in shape and physically healthy, but mentally healthy as well. By taking your mind off your problems while you exercise, you just might be able to solve them subconsciously, because you’ve taken time to refresh your mind and body.
You should be sure to learn the difference between good stress and bad stress so that you are better able to deal with each of them. Good stress is short lived and not very strong and can be used to motivate you whereas bad stress feels as though it is unrelated to anything in particular.
Stress is a basic and necessary human emotion and it can be used properly at some times. That being said, if you are experiencing stress on a daily level than you are not using stress correctly. It should be something that only comes out during the hardest and most dramatic situations.
As you can see, stress can be managed. By following the tips above, you can make some changes to your life that will allow you to better be prepared, let go of, and deal with life’s stresses. There is no need for stress to bring you down, you are prepared to deal with the stresses that life brings.