From every ups and downs, stress is part of life. May be you can’t always control every situation and adversity of your life, but you can control how you respond to them.
People experience stress and anxiety many times in life. Stress is any demand placed on your brain or physical body. People can feel stressed when multiple competing demands are placed on them. The feeling of being stressed can be triggered by an event that makes you feel frustrated or nervous. Anxiety is a feeling of fear, worry, or unease. It can be a reaction to stress, or it can occur in people who are unable to identify significant stressors in their life.
Stress and anxiety are not always bad. In the short term, they can help you overcome a challenge or dangerous situation. Examples of everyday stress and anxiety include worrying about finding a job, feeling nervous before a big test, or being embarrassed in certain social situations. If we did not experience some anxiety we might not be motivated to do things that we have to do.
When stress becomes overwhelming, or it’s chronic, it can take a toll on your well-being. That’s why it’s important to follow the ways that can calm your mind and your body.
When a person is highly stressed, a hormone known as cortisol is released into the bloodstream, suppressing the proper functioning of one’s digestive, reproductive, and immune systems. This is why it is essential to practice stress management to keep one’s mind and body healthier.
Consult to your doctor or talk to your family members if you feel stressed or anxious for several days or if it starts to interfere with your home or work life. meditation, yoga ,therapy and other strategies can help.
There are things you can learn to manage stress before it gets to be too much. Consider the following suggestions:
Meditate
Meditation brings long-term stress relief and provide stress management benefits if we practice it properly. There are many different forms of meditation to try–each one is important and brings its own appeal.
You might develop a mantra that you repeat in your mind as you take slow deep breaths. Or, you might take a few minutes to practice mindfulness, which involves being in the moment. Simply pay attention to what you see, hear, taste, touch, and smell.
When you’re focused on the here-and-now, you are not thinking about something that already happened and you can’t worry about something in the future. Meditation and mindfulness need practice, but it can make a big difference in your overall stress level as it brings you back to the present.
Practice Progressive Muscle Relaxation
Progressive muscle relaxation is nothing but relaxing all the muscles in your body, group by group. To practice, you can start with a few deep breaths.
Then, practice tightening and relaxing each muscle group, starting with your forehead and moving down to your toes.
Day by day, on practicing you’ll learn to recognize tension and tightness in your muscles and you’ll be able to know how to relax more easily. Each time you practice, however, you should experience a feeling of relaxation sweeping through your body.
Concentrate On Breathing
Just focusing on your breath or changing the way you breathe can make a big difference to your overall stress level. Breathing techniques can calm your body and your brain in just a few minutes.
The best news is, no one around you will even know you’re doing them. So whether you’re in a stressful meeting or you’re sitting in a crowded theater, breathing exercises could be key to reducing your stress.
While there are many different breathing exercises, like karate breathing, a few simple ones include:
- Breathe in through your nose and watch your belly fill with air. Count slowly to three as you inhale. Hold for one second and then slowly breathe out through your nose as you count to three again.
- Breathe in through your nose and imagine that you’re inhaling peaceful, calm air. Imagine that air spreading throughout your body. As you exhale, imagine that you’re breathing out stress and tension.
Take a Walk
Exercise is a very good stress reliever that can work quickly. Taking a walk allows you to have a change of your environment which can get you into a different frame of mind, and brings the benefits of exercise as well. Research has shown that walking promotes the release of brain chemicals called endorphins that stimulate relaxation and improve our mood. Walking does not have to be done at a fast pace to have stress-relieving benefits. Even a stroll at a comfortable pace promotes relaxation.
So when you just need to take a walk around the workplace to get a break from a frustrating task or you decide to go for a long walk in the park after work, walking is a simple but effective way to rejuvenate your mind and body.
Get a Hug From a Loved One
Physical touch can do a lot to relieve your stress. Hugging a loved one can be especially beneficial.
When you hug someone, oxytocin (also known as the “cuddle hormone”) is released. Oxytocin is associated with higher levels of happiness and lower levels of stress.
Oxytocin also causes a reduction in blood pressure. It reduces the stress hormone norepinephrine and can produce a sense of relaxation.
So don’t be afraid to ask a loved one for a hug if you need it. It’s good for both of you and it can be one of the simplest forms of stress relief available.
Create Artwork
Getting in touch with your creative side may have been easy for you during childhood, but if you’ve lost touch with your penchant for artwork, it’s not too late to pick it up again.
If you aren’t into drawing or painting, consider coloring in a coloring book. Adult coloring books have risen in popularity and for good reason—coloring can be a great stress reliever.
Research consistently shows that coloring can have a meditative effect. One study found that anxiety levels decline in people who were coloring complex geometric patterns, making it a perfect outlet for stress reduction.
Enjoy Aromatherapy
Aromatherapy has real benefits for stress relief—it can help you to feel energized, more relaxed, or more present in the moment.
Emerging research suggests certain scents can alter brain wave activity and decrease stress hormones in the body. So whenever you will feel low, stressed, anxious then just try some aromatic candles, essential oils like lavender oil, Jasmine oil, rosemary oil, Tea tree oil and some light smell incense. These will work great on your mind.
Eat a Balanced Diet
Eating a balanced diet is a must . An unhealthy diet can bring stress. Reaching for junk ,oily, high sugar and high fat foods can provide a temporary sense of relief but it adds to your long-term stress and anxiety. You should always maintain a nutritious and healthy diet and include all essential nutrients in your diet like proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals.
Refined carbs, like cookies and potato chips, can cause a spike in blood sugar. When your blood sugar crashes, you might experience more stress and anxiety.
Consuming a proper diet can help you fight stress over the long haul. Foods like eggs, avocado, and walnuts support mood regulation and energy balance.
Foods to eat for relieving stress :
- Warm, Soothing Foods.
- Dark Chocolate.
- Whole-Grain Carbohydrates.
- Bananas.
- Fatty Fish.
- Water.
- Milk.
- Nuts.
- Brazil nuts. Share on Pinterest Brazil nuts contain selenium, which may help to improve mood.
- Fatty fish. Fatty fish, such as salmon, mackerel, sardines, trout, and herring, are high in omega-3.
- Eggs.
- Pumpkin seeds.
- Avocado.
- Turmeric.
- Chamomile.
- Yogurt
Make Time for Hobbies
Hobbies can be a wonderful way to relieve stress .Yet, many people feel as though their lives are too busy for hobbies, games, or extra fun.
But building time for leisure into your schedule could be key to helping you feel your best. And when you feel better, you’ll perform better, which means leisure time may make your work time more efficient.
Whether you find joy in reading books, or listening to your favorite music, caring for a garden or you like making quilts, hobbies and leisure are key to living your best life.
Develop Positive Self-Talk Habit
The way you talk to yourself matters. Constant self-criticism, self-doubt, and negative predictions aren’t helpful. If you’re constantly thinking things like, “I don’t have time for this,” and “I can’t stand this,” you’ll stress yourself out.
It’s important to learn to talk to yourself in a more realistic, compassionate manner. When you call yourself names or doubt your ability to succeed, reply with a kind inner words.
Positive self-talk can help you develop a good self confidence level. An optimistic and affectionate conversation can help you manage your emotions and mental outlook and take positive actions.
Practice Yoga
Yoga combines physical movement, meditation, light exercise, and controlled breathing—all of which provide excellent stress relief benefits.
Yoga offers a variety of physical, psychological, and spiritual benefits. To get started, you might take a class, enroll in an online program, or use an app to help you begin practicing.
Some yoga postures that help combatting stress and anxiety are – Sukhasana or Easy Pose, Balasana or Child’s Pose, Ananda Balasana or Happy Baby Pose, Uttanasana or Standing Forward Bend etc.
Express Gratitude
Gratitude helps you recognize all the things you have to be thankful for. Whether you’re grateful for a sunny day or thankful you arrived at work safely, think about all the good things you have in life.
Gratitude also reminds you of all of the resources you have to cope with stress, which can be quite empowering.
Studies also show grateful people enjoy better mental health, lower stress, and a better quality of life.
So whether you decide to make it a habit to identify what you’re grateful for as you sit around the dinner table or you decide to write down three things you’re grateful for in a gratitude journal every day, make gratitude a regular habit.
Strategies That Engage in Problem-Focused Coping
Most stress relievers focus on changing your emotions. But sometimes, you won’t necessarily get relief until you change the environment.
This is referred to as problem-focused coping (as opposed to emotion-focused coping). Problem-focused coping involves taking steps to remove the stressor from your life (as opposed to changing how you feel about the stressor).