Stress is actually an emotion that people handle very differently. Stress can be a good thing: Some people often “rise to the occasion” with stress. Others ignore the stress and hope it will go away.
But for those of us who are feeling stress and aren’t quite sure how we should handle it at the moment, this article is for you. I will provide you with 5 basic stress relief tactics that have helped me in my own personal life as I seek a healthy work and family foundation. These tips have worked for me, but like I said before, we all react to stress differently.
1) Breathe – for 10 minutes. Ok, yes, you have to breathe 24/7 – I know. But take ten minutes each day to breathe and clear your mind.
I usually do this first thing in the morning when the family is still asleep and only my cat is awake. Make sure you have the TV off and just sit back and focus on breathing and what you want to do today. Sounds silly, I get it.
This technique helped me reduce some of my stress first thing in the morning. Once this was done, it was easier to concentrate on other daily tasks.
two) Listen to your favorite type of music, between 15 and 20 minutes a day, without interruptions.
For me, this is done during my morning commute. Cell phone off: CD is in and I drive away. Recently, Pandora has been one of my favorites.
You can adapt your music style to a personalized radio station. It has been great! Music often portrays some of the exact feelings that we may have. It’s good to hear someone else talk about these issues.
3) Find someone you trust (a relative, a spouse, a co-worker) and do something fun or silly.
Tell some silly jokes that will make people laugh because the joke is so bad. Have fun, in a playful and non-destructive way. Spending a few minutes laughing, off guard, will help your overall mental health.
4) Simplify 1 area of your life that you would LOVE to simplify.
BILLS and JUNK MAIL! That’s what I wanted to simplify. I created and organized a billing system that allows me to pay bills twice a month. I went online and found some articles on how to simplify my billing system. Now I spend 15 minutes twice a month on bills and voila!! No paper bills or spam! I have opted out of most mailing lists. It’s amazing how little paper correspondence I get now! It is wonderful!
5) Do you have a grudge against someone? If you do, find out, internally, why you still hold that grudge. Then throw it away!
Obviously, this is much harder to do, but if you forgive one person in your life, it’s one less weight off your shoulder.
I hope these tips work for you. I hope you find helpful ways that work for you to reduce stress when you are in a stressful environment.
Take care of yourself!!