Every day we undergo a lot of stressful situations. You can be overwhelmed with work, tired with all of the school tasks, or exhausted with overflowing household chores. Whatever your cause of stress is, there is always a way to relieve it. Stress relievers will help you find your peace and serenity amid your chaotic life. You don’t need to spend a lot of money or time to find something that will help you. If you are finding ways to alleviate your stress, here are some of the easiest and effective ways that will help you instantly.
Try meditation
Meditation is one of the top ways to relieve stress right away. Not only meditation helps you with anxiety right away, but it creates lasting stress management benefits. There are plenty of forms on how to meditate. You can watch videos on YouTube, download a meditation application, or read a book about it. Choose one that will work best for you.
Meditation will immediately give you a sense of calm, peace, and balance. Moreover, it will enable you to control your thoughts and increase your energy. It would be best if you practised mindfulness and being in the moment. Taking time to meditate will certainly work.
Go exercise
Believe it or not, exercise is one of the best ways to reduce your stress right away. It might seem the opposite, but working out and imposing physical tension in your body will relieve any of your mental focus. Like meditation, it will also bring you long term benefits if you exercise regularly. Studies also show that people who exercise are not prone to anxiety compared to those who don’t. Exercising will lower your body’s stress hormone and release endorphins, which help improve your mood. Through exercising, you can also improve your quality of sleep.
Do an exercise routine that you will like and enjoy doing, this way, it will not be another thing that will trigger your stress.
Do aromatherapy
Lighting a candle or using oils can help you relieve stress, this is what you called ‘aromatherapy’. Aromatherapy has been effortless yet effective in helping you with anxieties. Aromatherapy will expose your senses to a fragrant and calming chemical such as essential oils that will affect your hormone production, your brain, and reduce your stress levels. Burning scented candles or essential oils can quickly alleviate your stress and anxiety.
It is more effective when you both stimulate your sense of touch and sense of smell. You can massage essential oil or put it in the warm bath to soak to your skin and circulate in your bloodstream. Rubbing it in you will lessen your blood flow and circulation. Moreover, massage will improve the effect since you are combining two stress-relieving methods. You can try to use CBD Oil, it induces a soothing and calming effect but doesn’t get you high and will probably be one of the most effective oils you can use. Make sure you know how CBD works before buying it, so you know why it works. For stimulating your sense of smell, use scented oils and candles that are appealing to you. The popular scents are lavender, rose, peppermint, chamomile, and lemon balm. It will improve your sleep quality too, remember to unlit the candle or your oil diffusers when you are sleeping.
Spend time with your loved ones
Surrounding yourself with your loved ones can help you instantly relieve your stress. Having a strong support system will give you a sense of belonging, make you feel loved, and understand which is what you need when you are undergoing hard times. Spending quality time with them is not only good for mental health but can also benefit our lives in many more ways. It can strengthen relationships, can influence you to make positive choices, and increase your self-esteem.
When you are stressed, try not to isolate yourself. Go home to your family, go out to meet your friends or bond with your partner. Do things that will be relaxing for you, eat your favourite food, and try to forget about things that cause you stress and anxieties.
Write it down
If you are not comfortable sharing stress and anxiety issues with other people, you can start writing things down. Writing positive things can alleviate stress and anxiety, and writing about negative things can help you get things out of your system – both of these can improve your mental health. Writing down everything might sound simple, but this will guarantee a clearer mind and better emotions out of you. You can write in any way you want and any medium you have. You can buy journals, diaries, or even a board to put in your room.
Eliminate things that trigger your stress
You can further reduce your stress by eliminating the stressors. It might seem hard, but removing the things that add to your distress and anxiety will help you experience more peace. May it be doing overtime work, debating political views, social media addiction, and drinking alcohol or caffeine. These couple of things mentioned will further stress you. Change your lifestyle or even just daily habits that trigger tension, by doing this, you are helping yourself to do better and feel better.
Listen to music
Music can effectively make us relax and good for stress management. It affects our physical, emotional, and mental aspects. Slow-paced music can quiet your thoughts and relax your muscles. You can listen to classical music, piano, or jazz if you want something soothing in particular. Nature sounds like birds, the whooshing of air or water and waves sound is very calming too. Fast-paced music, on the other hand, can help you be alert and sharpen your concentration. No matter what, listening to any type of music you enjoy is deemed effective.
You will notice changes in yourself when you are stressed out, and instead of just letting it pass, you need to do something to lessen or avoid it altogether. You should recognize it and listen to your mind and body. Being calm, alert, and focused is what you need to be. These couple of ways mentioned above can help you short term and long term. Work on yourself, so you can do better and feel better. Remember that it is not stress that kills us, but our reaction to it.
James Wallace has been an advocate for mental health awareness for years. He holds a master’s degree in counselling from the University of Edinburgh.
