Listen to “Stress Relief Strategies that Actually Work”.
We all face stressful situations throughout our lives. No matter the cause, stress floods your body with hormones. Your heart pounds, your breathing speeds up, and your muscles tense.
We can’t avoid all sources of stress in our lives, nor would we want to. But we can develop healthier ways of responding to them.
Managing stress is all about taking charge: taking charge of your thoughts, your emotions, your schedule, your environment, and the way you deal with problems. The ultimate goal is a balanced life, with time for work, relationships, relaxation, and fun – plus the resilience to hold up under pressure and meet challenges head on.
There are many healthy ways to manage and cope with stress, but they all require change. You can either change the situation or change your reaction.
Follow these simple tips to help manage and reduce your stress levels.
- Set priorities. Focus on what’s important. Let the other stuff go.
- Identify tasks that you can share or delegate, then ask for help.
- Get organised. Disorder can make things confusing and hard to remember.
- Set short-term goals you can reach. Reward yourself for meeting them!
- Say no — gracefully — to taking on more obligations.
- Focus on the positive. Choose to look for the good in others and yourself.
- Laugh! Look for humour in your everyday life, or watch a funny video.
- Listen to music. Choose tunes that relax or revive you.
- Talk to a counsellor or a friend.
- Remember, things don’t have to be perfect. Sometimes “good enough” is just fine.
- Set aside some time, even 5 to 10 minutes, for yourself each day. Exercise. Physical activity plays a key role in reducing and preventing the effects of stress. Make time for at least 30 minutes of exercise, three times per week.
- Control what you eat. Well-nourished bodies are better prepared to cope with stress. Start your day right with breakfast, and keep your energy up and your mind clear with balanced, nutritious meals throughout the day. Reduce caffeine and sugar.
- Get enough sleep. Adequate sleep fuels your mind, as well as your body. Feeling tired will increase your stress levels because it may cause you to think irrationally.
- Breathe. Breathing is the foundation to de-stress and heal. Our normal shallow breathing starves the body and brain of oxygen, which affects the immune and cardiopulmonary systems. Develop the practice of taking several deep diaphragmatic breaths in a tense moment; it clears the mind, body, and soul.
- Take a time-out for yoga, meditation, or some deep breaths.
