5 Ways to Reduce Stress
Stress is a part of life. Everyone experiences it at some point. People usually go through different stressful situations throughout their life for various reasons. But no matter the cause, whenever you feel stress, your muscles will become tense, your breathing will speed up, and your heart will start to pound faster. This “stress response” is pretty normal that occurs whenever one is faced with a threatening or challenging situation.
Although no one can prevent the sources of stress, what you can do is practice the relaxation response. It is the opposite of stress response. A relaxation response is a state where one would feel profound rest that can be elicited in various ways. For instance, I always become less stressed whenever I turn on the TV to enjoy some NFL action on NFL RedZone which is available on my Spectrum Gold package. With that said, here are a few ways that can help you reduce stress.
#1. Breathing
This is a simple yet highly effective technique that can help you lower your stress. All you have to do is take long, slow, and deep breaths. This is also known as belly or abdominal breathing. As you are breathing, you will slowly get your mind off of distracting thoughts and sensations. This technique is extremely helpful for those who suffer from eating disorders. It will help such people to focus on their bodies more positively. Also, when you are going to perform this breathing exercise, it is best that you do so in a quiet place where there is no one to disturb you. However, please note that this technique is not for people who have health problems that make breathing difficult like respiratory ailments.
#2. Exercise
Exercise is without a doubt one of the most powerful ways to reduce stress. And it may sound a bit contradictory but if you put physical stress on your body through exercise then this can greatly relieve you from mental stress. You will soon start to notice the results for yourself if you do exercise regularly. After all, people who exercise daily are less likely to experience stress and there are a few reasons to support this which are as follows
- Exercise helps the quality of your sleep
- It lowers your stress hormones.
- You will feel more confident which can improve your mental wellbeing.
#3. Challenge Your Thoughts
Part of being stressed is because of irrational thoughts which occupy your brain. These thoughts will bring you down by making you think of things that don’t usually matter. What you can say is that these thoughts are the worst-case scenarios that will trap you in the what-if cycle. And this is what can cause you to sabotage a lot of things. So, whenever such a thought enters your mind, you should stop and ask yourself if this is a rational thought and if it is likely to happen. By answering these questions, you will be able to see a brighter picture.
#4. Get Some Fresh Air
You may not like this but the air circulation and temperature can quite easily increase your stress and anxiety levels. If you are tense while in a stuffy and hot space then this can trigger a panic attack easily. So, what to do in such a situation? Well, the ideal thing will be to get away from that environment and go outside to get some fresh air. This will help calm down. And as for your stress, it will slowly start to fade away.
#5. Write Your Heart Out
When you are stressed and don’t want to talk about it then the best thing you can do is write. You should keep a journal where you can write down your feelings. Also, you don’t have to worry about grammar when you are doing this. You can just write your heart out about whatever you feel at that moment. And while you are at it, you might as well write down an action plan that you can always look back to in order to remain calm.
Conclusion
Stress is not good for your health. It can simply ruin your mood and make you cranky. Plus, if the stress levels keep getting worse then this would have an adverse effect on your mental health. Therefore, it is important if you take the above-mentioned tips into consideration whenever you feel stress as it will help you greatly in combating it.
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