Stress can make us frustrated and irritable, leading us to developing a number of related health issues, as well as fatigue, inability to focus appropriately on our everyday tasks, and bad eating habits. Sometimes, we might find ourselves thinking about irrelevant matters, and suffer headaches, which make our daily lives simply horrible and unbearable. Thankfully, there are solutions to help relieve stress and improve the quality of your life, enabling you to be at peace and stay positive, regardless of what happens.
All forms of exercise are good when it comes to relieving stress, including walking. Several studies have shown that physical activity is responsible for releasing endorphins and serotonin, the happiness hormone, helping people feel less tense and more positive. Furthermore, exercise will give you a chance to deal with constant anxiety, offering you a simple activity to focus, particularly when nothing else seems to work. You can go out for a walk, do some stretching exercises or opt for more compelling activities like jogging, or running up and down the stairs. As long as you get moving, you will feel your mind clearing, and stress vanishing gradually.
Laughter has been shown to contribute to the release of endorphins, which help you improve your mood and relieve your thoughts of burdensome worries. Moreover, laughing can also lower levels of cortisol, the body’s stress hormone, allowing you to focus on tasks much better. If you do not feel like laughing, tune in your favorite sitcom or load up a funny video, read comics or jokes online, or call someone who can make you smile. You won’t need any expensive medication to get rid of stress ever again.
Ambient music has been proven to reduce anxiety, lower high blood pressure and racing pulse rates. Listen to ambient music that includes the sounds of nature: rain, the ocean, a bird chirping, distant thunderstorms, etc. Many audio streaming websites – some free of charge – enable you to browse music and create playlists that you can listen to on-demand whenever stress seems to dominate your life, giving you few problems in finding the most appropriate songs for difficult times. Focus on the different sounds within the same song, or try to identify different musical instruments that have been used. If ambient music seems rather unattractive, you may try singing your favorite cathartic songs at the top of your lungs instead. This can be done by yourself, should you have some privacy and soundproof space, or at a karaoke bar with companions with whom you feel comfortable.
Controlling your breathing can calm your body and mind, giving you more control over your thoughts, allowing you to filter out negative ones and empower yourself with more positive thinking. Deliberate, slow and deep breathing can basically do the opposite of what stress does, simultaneously lowering high blood pressure and reducing a fast heart rate. Take a break from whatever you are doing and focus on your breathing. Close your eyes, place one of your hands on your abdomen, and slowly inhale through your nose. Exhale, and try to clear your mind of any thoughts, focusing on your breathing entirely. Repeating the process a few times, you will likely feel less stressed than you were before.
How your time is spent, and who with, is a valuable factor in how you feel. Go out with family members and friends. Get involved in endless, enthusiastic conversations about both favorite and random subjects. Share what’s going on, take photos and enjoy different activities together. Your personal network is probably the most powerful tool for relieving stress, so count on it whenever you feel like you can no longer cope with taxing everyday situations.
Stress might not allow you to know how you really feel, or what exactly is going on with your body. Take a moment to be aware and thoroughly analyze each part of your body, from head to toes, to get a sense of whether stress is causing any area to strain, or is in itself a source of tension. Make your breathing slow and deliberate as mentioned, and imagine each breath you take flowing through every part of your body, scanning for curious sensations that you may be experiencing. Try to identify those places where you feel tight or loose, extra tender or numb, or even tired. Apply one of the methods above to relax the affected areas. You can even give it a gentle massage if possible. Stress points out the need for rest or nourishment.
A great way to relieve stress is to take in an experience on the spot for a few minutes. Pay attention to how your feet feel when you are walking, how air feels on your face, the quietness or noise around you. Enjoy the taste of your coffee or tea. Take your mind off everything else and just relish what your immediate surroundings bring. Let your senses paint a picture of the unique moments that come, and just appreciate where you are and what you have, taking it all in as it is. Those stressed miss out on simple joys found in things seemingly mundane. Relax and be grateful for every moment.
Practice these seven methods until they become habits, and you may notice subtle to pronounced changes in how the days turn out for you. Asides these, visit your favorite health spa to flush out the toxins from your system. The tranquil atmosphere is in itself an enjoyable and rejuvenating experience. Visit our massage page and choose from many relaxing massages to relieve your stress.