Each one of us experience challenges and obstacles that can lead to emotions of being overwhelmed. During these periods we are faced with the idea that the obstacles in front of us are some how unmanageable. As a result, the body attempts to neutralize these demands by what we call stress. Stress is your body’s response to changes in your life. Because life involves constant change (ranging from changing locations from home to work each morning to adapting to major life changes like marriage, divorce, or death of a loved one), there is no avoiding stress. In small doses, stress can be a good thing. It can give you the push you need, motivating you to do your best and to stay focused and alert. But when the going gets too tough and life's demands exceed your ability to cope, stress becomes a threat to both your physical and emotional well-being. Since it is impossible to avoid stress, it is essential to eliminate unnecessary stress and effectively manage the stress that can create an unhealthy lifestyle.
Listed below are 10 techniques that you can use to reduce the stress in your life.
1. Water
Drink more water. Water helps maintain homeostasis. It keeps everything nice and balanced, the way it needs to be. The brain works more efficiently when there's more water in the body. Water also spikes metabolism, so water is a two-fer, in that it helps both the body and the mind feel better.
2. Exercise
Exercise provides a distraction from stressful situations and releases various hormones such as endorphins and serotonin, which cause euphoria and calmness. “Runner’s High” is a great antidote to a stressful day. Regular exercise keeps the body in excellent condition, which can help you deal with things such as chronic stress.
3. Breathing Exercises
Deep breathing is an easy stress reliever that has numerous benefits for the body, including oxygenating the blood, which ‘wakes up’ the brain, relaxing muscles and quieting the mind. Breathing exercises are especially helpful because you can do them anywhere, and they work quickly so you can de-stress in a flash.
4. Journaling
Journaling allows people to clarify their thoughts and feelings, thereby gaining valuable self-knowledge. It’s also a good problem-solving tool; oftentimes, one can hash out a problem and come up with solutions more easily on paper. Journaling about traumatic events helps one process them by fully exploring and releasing the emotions involved, and by engaging both hemispheres of the brain in the process, allowing the experience to become fully integrated in one’s mind.
5. Sex
You probably already know that sex is a great tension reliever. The physical benefits of sex are numerous, and most of them work very well toward relieving stress. Sadly, many people have less sex when their stress levels are high.
6. Music
Music has shown numerous health benefits for people with conditions ranging from mild (like stress) to severe (like cancer). When dealing with stress, the right music can actually lower your blood pressure, relax your body and calm your mind.
7. Meditation
Meditation builds on deep breathing, and takes it a step further. When you meditate, your brain enters an area of functioning that’s similar to sleep, but carries some added benefits you can’t achieve as well in any other state, including the release of certain hormones that promote health. Also, the mental focus on nothingness keeps your mind from working overtime and increasing your stress level. Here's an article on different types of meditation to help you get started.
8. Visualizations
Building on guided imagery you can also imagine yourself achieving goals like becoming healthier and more relaxed, doing well at tasks, and handling conflict in better ways. Also, visualizing yourself doing well on tasks you’re trying to master actually functions like physical practice, so you can improve your performance through visualizas well!
9. Yoga & Tai Chi
Yoga is one of the oldest self-improvement practices around, dating back over 5 thousand years! It combines the practices of several other stress management techniques such as breathing, meditation, imagery and movement, giving you a lot of benefit for the amount of time and energy required.
Tai chi (ti-CHE) is sometimes described as "meditation in motion." Originally developed in China as a form of self-defense, this graceful form of exercise has existed for about 2,000 years. It can be beneficial in reducing stress, increase flexibility, improve muscle strength, increase feelings of well being and increase energy and stamina.
Laughter has been proven time and again to be the best therapy for depression and stress. Laughing reduces the level of stress hormones, boosts the immune system and lowers blood pressure. But while children laugh around 300 times a day, adults manage to crack more than a smile just 15 times a day. The solution? Rediscover your inner child and laugh out loud.
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