Not all stress is created equal. You can feel stress from work, home, family, friends, and yourself, but you can also experience stress from winning the lottery and moving into your new mansion. Long term stress, however, can even contribute to health problems if not dealt with.
While it is normal to have some stress, most of us tend to have too much of it. Here are some suggestions for relieving your stress. What is relaxing to one person may not be so relaxing to another, so use the techniques that appeal to you.
1. Laugh – What makes you laugh? Your puppy, a funny movie, a comedy routine? Make some time to laugh; it can be an instant stress reliever.
2. Exercise – Perhaps a brisk walk in the park or a game of tennis with a good friend. Fire up those endorphins while enjoying nature or companionship.
3. Massage – See a professional. Better yet, have one come to your home. If you can’t afford it, get a 15 minute shoulder massage at the mall or coax your spouse into doing it.
4. Music – A fast beat can make you dance, and it’s hard to feel stressed while you’re dancing. At the other end of the spectrum, calm music will help you feel calm.
5. Discussion – Talk out your problems with the people who can help you solve your problems, whether it be your spouse who IS the problem or a professional who can give you coping methods.
6. Yoga – This combines several stress relieving modalities including breathing, meditation, and stretching.
7. No – Learning to say no to people and situations will help you to stop heaping so much on your plate. Step back and look at your 24 hours and decide where you want your priorities to lie. Weed out everything else.
8. Deep-breathing – Breathing deep can bring quick relief from an immediate stressful situation and allows you to focus. Plus it oxygenates the blood.
9. Entertainment – Let others take the stress on their shoulders as they entertain you. Get out of the house or office, and away from the stress and take in a movie, a nice restaurant dinner, a tour of the city, or a concert.
10 – Journal – If you don’t want to talk about it then write about it. Keeping a journal of your concerns and stresses will help you get a clearer picture of your issues and might help you come up with a plan to get to a place of less stress.
Even if you can’t remove all the stress in your world, you can certainly lower your stress levels when you try some of these tips.
Greek yogurt, Crofters blueberry spread and cashews.
