5 TIPS TO GET RID OF STRESS
5 tips to get rid of Stress
"The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another"
-William James
Stress is something that all of us go through on a daily basis. Whether it is because of school examinations, university assignment deadlines, daily work routine in office or even because of daily chaos at home. Every human being living on earth goes through this uncomfortable feeling everyday but you could actually see its effect in different ways. That is because, many of us find our own mechanisms to deal with the level of stress faced everyday. These methods could differ from one person to another. Yet again, the ultimate goal is to find peace of mind and lead a happy life.
We come across many people whether it be in school, university or office on a daily basis. However, if we see someone close to us unhappy, we could detect it faster than if someone unknown to us so reacts. Yet, it would be inconvenient to inquire that certain individual as to why he/she keeps a long face throughout the day, as they might react in various different ways when you decide to do so. However, if you really care for that individual, I suggest you step forward and ask if they are ok so that if they wish, there is a possibility that they might share their grievance with you. Talking to someone else about something that is bothering you would be the greatest way of releasing stress as communication between humans has been considered as a great method not only to release stress, but also a method to solve problems that has led to increased stress levels.
If you see someone walking around happily, you could sometimes ask them why they look so happy and it is certain that they would reply to you saying that they live in the very moment. A person living in the very moment (in the present) is deemed to be living happily than anyone. This means to live consciously about the present, so you would know the gravity of your doings and would be careful to live in a way to ensure happiness to yourself as well as others. If you live in the past, you will be repenting on some of your past acts or keep rooting vengeance against someone who wronged you. If you keep thinking about the future, you will be overthinking about your future plans that might consume a good load of your energy which you could have utilized to spend your day purposefully.
However, this does not mean that you shouldn't work on your goals and targets. You should aim big and try achieving them. But spending your useful time that your could have utilized for something more effective would go to waste if you keep thinking about everything too much, whether it been the past or the future. Remarkable achievements or mistakes you have done in the past could be nevertheless used to ensure you don't repeat those mistakes again and try improving yourself by achieving bigger. After all, we all are humans who do mistakes and learn from them. So never think twice to correct yourself and to be humble to learn from others. This could decrease your stress level to great extents.
If your stress is caused due to another person's behavior that makes you feel be uncomfortable, try talking to them about your discomfort. This would be an ideal method between friends and peers. However, this may not be effective at all times depending on the circumstance. Therefore, try to maintain a balance status of mind and think about only happy memories which you had with your loved ones. Think about the things that you have and the people you have around you to cherish and avoid thinking about things that bring discomfort to your mind. For instance, avoid constant comparisons between yourself and others because you are you and they are them. We all have things that someone else does not have. If you know you lack a skill of two, try improving yourself, but always trying to tally yourself in different ways with others in the society with lead you to be stressed which at last if you look back and review your chain of thoughts, you would feel to have gone through a hard time for nothing. Keeping a healthy mind leads to maintaining a healthy body. Our body mostly functions depending on the way our mind works. If your mind is unwell due to stress, constant fear and constant anger, there is a higher possibility to have an unwell body as well.
As I said earlier, different people have different ways to react to management of stress. However, if you are unfamiliar with the most basic methods one could use to help manage stress, you can use one of the following methods to help yourself. One of the following 5 tips would most probably help you to be free from stress and if you may believe, these tips actually work. I could assure you this, because I have tried them all and the results have shown up pretty well. If you have your own ways which you feel more comfortable with, don't hesitate to share them with me. These would just be some tips that I would suggest you although I am not a medical expert.
1. Listen to songs and music
Music helps to calm the body and mind. This is believable because, as of now, I have not come across anyone who would complain about any genre of music that they feel stressful while listening to. You could have a preferred genre of song or music which you would feel relieved to listen to when your head is a mess. If you can’t really figure what type of songs you really like, think of those times which you used to murmur a particular song the entire time from morning to night and cannot get it out of your head. Although unconsciously, you might keep murmuring the same song for long hours because you might have some sort of preference to those types of songs.
Get a collection of about 5-10 or even more of those songs you prefer and keep them either in your phone classified under your “favorite list” or saved in a storage device from which you can listen. Listen to them when you feel stressful and it will really help to calm yourself. According to my experience, I would prefer to listen to some beautiful classic songs on an exhausted evening after been at work the entire day. This is a great method of stress relief to anyone; regardless of whether you are a university student stressed out with exams round the corner or even for anyone after long hours of work in an enclosed space at an office.
2. Do a physical activity which you prefer
Working out is also a very good method of stress relief. The more you stretch your muscles when you are stressed out the better you would feel. This can be either indoor or outdoor workout. Even taking a walking at a park for 30 minutes will be effective. I would suggest early morning workouts for outdoor exercises because the morning breeze and the vitamin D abortion you get access to from the morning sunlight brings in a great deal of elements to maintain a healthy mind and body. The morning fresh air would be ideal as later into the day, the more polluted would be the air you breathe in.
As for indoor workouts, a home gym (if you have one) or a paid gym session would be ideal in the evenings. By this time, you would be done with most of your chaos allowing you to freely pursue your exercise session. If you don't have any extra time left, make sure to allocate a specific time for this purpose as it is important to take care of you health before dealing with anything in your life. You will be able to do your other work more effectively and energetically if you keep your mind and body healthy.
However, it is important to note that over exercising would not be suitable to anyone as is said in a famous proverb that 'too much of anything is good for nothing' which applies to everything in life. Just like outdoor walks and indoor workouts in the gym, you might be a very good swimmer or someone who prefers some other types of sports like basketball, netball, tennis, or even dancing for speedy songs, which I prefer the most and is the best therapy for me. So, according to your preference, you can do any type of sport whenever you get a free time.
3. Sleep well
Sleep is considered as one of the most essential activities required to maintain a healthy lifestyle. One of the common mistakes we all do is that we tend to deprive our sleep due to various chaos and stay up until late night. The fact that our brain releases a particular chemical during the night, mostly between midnight and 2 o’clock in the morning to relax it while we are asleep is a fact that medical experts always tend to say. You might have sometimes felt really dizzy when you wake up in the mornings after a sleep of 2 or 3 hours. The reason to feel so is because your brain has not received a proper rest to relax itself. Even if you get a deep sleep for 2-3 hours, your brain might not be resting well that might result you to wake up tired and spend the following day looking forward to go to sleep as soon as you can.
Sleep deprivation tends to cause severe health effects in the long term causing damage to your immune system and your heart. So letting the brain relax during the night is an important routine we all need to follow. Therefore, no matter how busy you are, make sure to get a good night sleep of at least 7 hours and start your next day afresh.
4. Keep yourself hydrated
Water is an essential element for a healthy immune system. We learn good effects of drinking water since our childhood. On a busy day, we tend to drink less water which unknowingly could affect us negatively in the long term. All living beings including plants, animals and humans need water for survival. During summer, many try to combat the heat and sweat by drinking cold carbonated drinks. This would be effective at the time of the intake, but you might get an severe urge of drinking water just a few minutes later. This is due to the level of sugar in those drinks. However, drinking some water during the day would ensure effective function of your organs and immune system. The better the immune system, the lesser the level of stress. Once you get used to drinking water very frequently during the day, you could also see the real difference in your skin that starts to glow. You will feel the difference as you keep continuing this as a proper practice. Some also use certain apps that allow them to set an alarm to remind them to drink water.
5. Meditate/Practice some Yoga
As a Buddhist I’ve learnt that meditation is one of the greatest methods of getting rid of stress and many other discomforts. Even though you are not a Buddhist, you can still do certain meditations in various forms, such as yoga, where you do physical exercises with a deep concentration on every move you make. This is actually an excellent method of focusing on one particular action as you do it. If you eventually look into the reasons causing stress, you would see that it comes as a result of a restless mind.
If you are a university student, a very common stressful matter we all face is exam stress, as I mentioned above, which comes as a result of thinking too much of the remaining work we must complete before the exam. If you are a working professional, you might have deadlines to achieve in the midst of your personal chaos at your home. But practicing any type of meditation which you feel comfortable will be a stress-freeing method if you do it as a practice for at least 15 minutes a day. If you can’t find anyone who can advise you on a proper method of meditation, you can download a couple of stress-relief music tracks from the internet and while letting it be played in the background at a lower volume, you could close your eyes and deeply concentrate on your inhaling and exhaling (on your breathing). If possible, you could even browse some nature related pictures online such as beautiful beaches, forests, river and waterfalls for about 10-15 minutes. This will minimize the stress level in you.
It is important to note that this is not an exhaustive list of methods to stress relief but you could most likely use these tips as a stepping stone to release your stress. If you make it a habit to at least use one of the above mentioned methods, although you can’t completely get rid of the stress that has been bothering you over the years, you could at least minimize it into great extends.
I hope this post was useful and I wish that you take use of at least one of these methods and make yourself feel happy and comfortable. Most importantly remember, a happy mind leads to a happy body. If you have any other tips you would like to suggest to make this a comprehensive list, do not hesitate to write to me or to drop a comment down below.
Also, please watch my video on "How to get rid of stress?" in my YouTube channel.
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