Stress is a natural thing in life. Whether you’re working, studying, or whatever you are doing, you’re not exempted. Most people have the thought that stress is overall bad for us. However, that is not the case; imagine little bits of dark chocolate – sometimes, they’re good for the health too. For instance, they give you a reason or a chance to feel what real sweetness is. But chronic stress can strip off a god deal of your life – especially your time.
Learning how to manage it takes a bit of effort. Don’t worry if you fail to get it right the first time, though. Why? Because it takes a lot of practice and time.
Deep breathing
Whenever you feel like your mind is eating you, of course you won’t want to continue. Stopping and taking few deep breaths can take the feeling of burden away. It can guarantee a quick relief and you might be surprised of the effect. Follow these simple steps:
- Comfortably sit in a position with your hands on your lap and your feet on the floor; you can also lie down.
- Close your eyes.
- Imagine you’re in a quiet place or a place where you want to be in
- Take slow, deep breaths.
- Do this for 5 to 8 minutes at a time.
Exercise
We all know that exercising can improve both our bodies and minds, right? But, what most people do not know is that it also calms and relaxes the body. It actually is one of the best ways to calm yourself in every way possible. Furthermore, it improves your mood wholly.
The question here is: how much exercise do you need to maximize the relaxation that it does to our minds?
WebMD gave a chart-like guide on how much exercise is good, better, and best.
Take a break
Even if you think you can handle stress that well, it’s still not a guarantee. Stress is something that permanently goes away, it’s something that needs to be gradually improved. You need to give yourself time in getting your mind off of it. According to WebMD, here are the activities you can include:
- Listen to your favorite music
- Meditate
- Tai Chi
- Yoga
Relax your muscles
Being stressed does not only involve your mind, it also involves the muscles in your body. Yes, when you’re stressed, your muscles get tense. So what do you need to do? Loosen them up! Here are a few ways to do that:
- Stretch
- Take a hot bath/shower
- Get a good sleep
- Get a massage
Eat well
In line with working out, having a good, balanced diet is guaranteed to make you feel better. Moreover, it helps to regulate your mood. Eat meals that would include vegetables, fruit, whole grains, and protein (for energy). By eating this, your meals would be considered “well-balanced” since it gives you your needed nutrients for your everyday activities.
Engage yourself to your hobbies
One thing that would stray you away from thinking about your problems is to making time for your hobbies. Every day, at least try to spend time with what you like to do. A good 20 – 30 minutes would do. Try and engage yourself in activities like sports, doing art projects, watching a movie, doing puzzles, playing cards, or any other activities that would be relaxing for you.
Talk about what’s stressing you out
Some people are comfortable in discussing what’s bugging them while some are not. According to studies, talking about your problems help lowers your stress levels. You can talk to family members, relatives, friends, your doctor, your therapist, or anyone whom you are comfortable in talking with. This way, you release the tension from inside and generally, it will make you feel better.
If you think that it’s too sensitive to be talked about, you can talk to yourself. No, you’re not crazy when you do it, it’s actually normal and EVERYONE does it. As a matter of fact, it’s healthy in ways and bears benefit. But, you need to ensure that you do not do it in a negative tone. Meaning, you do not talk about it to make it worse. Listen to yourself closely and try to find resolutions to it, not to make it worse.
Again, stress is something that is already part of everyone. It’s not something that is experienced by a certain group of people. You cannot control it and you cannot avoid it; it’s a natural part of life. The key to it is acceptance; accept the things you cannot do and control. In addition to that, you cannot control everything that’s happening in your life. But, you need to take full responsibility of what is happening in your life but do not dwell too much on that. Laugh and take it easy, remember, you won’t be given a problem if you cannot find a way to get through it.