I have been told that the hardest part is dealing with stress is recognizing that you have stress but I believe that the hardest part is acknowledging that we are stressed and that stress can cause the troubles that we are currently facing. We do not generally pay attention to stress unless it turns into burnout. Burnouts are tougher to handle but once we acknowledge that we are stressed and commit to dealing with it, there are a lot of ways to reduce stress levels.
Without further delay, I want to jump directly to the solutions I have for you to reduce your stress. If you want to know more about the signs of stress and how you can recognize that you are stressed, you can read the article here.
Let’s Begin.
Physiological Ways To Reduce Stress
If you want to know how to relieve stress quickly, then the physiological ways come into the picture. These are the ways in which your body can feel immediate relaxation.
1.Workout– I know when you feel so tired it is just not easy to get up and get going. In spite of that, I am going to tell you that it is one of the best solutions for you. A workout routine will get your body going and reduce cortisol (stress hormones) levels in your body. You can choose any workout routine. The target is to keep your body active for at least 30 minutes.
2. Practice Deep breathing– This is an age-old recipe for relaxation and reducing stress. The best deep breathing practice that I have found to date is the 6-3-6-3 technique and you can practice this anywhere and everywhere. The process is to inhale for 6 counts, hold for 3, exhale for 6 counts and hold out for 3. Repeat this cycle 12 times and thrice a day. you don’t need to be in a particular posture or place for this.
3. Practice Prana Mudra– Prana mudra is another significant solution for managing the energy of your body. ‘Prana’ means energy and prana mudra helps to increase energy in your body. This mudra can be practiced by joining the thumb, ring finger, and little finger of your hand. You can practice this mudra every morning for 15 minutes. Caution: do not do this while lying down.
4. Use Lavender Oil– Aromatherapy and essential oils work wonders in many issues we face and one of such issues where it works miraculously is stress. I am saying this from personal experience lavender oil is an amazing relaxant. Use it as perfume or in a diffuser, it will work amazingly to reduce your stress and fatigue. It has even cured stress-related headaches that I so frequently used to have.
5. Drink Chamomile Tea – Warm chamomile tea with honey is also an effective solution to reduce your stress. It relaxes you and makes it easier for you to sleep.
Emotional Ways To Reduce Stress
The emotional ways to manage stress need a little bit more working on. These are not as quick as the physiological tips to manage stress but will not take much long to show their benefits.
6. Stay away from Energy Vampires– Energy vampires are people who suck away your energy when you are around them. Energy Vampires are people who feed upon the energies of other people to refill their depleted energies. These are people surrounded with all negative emotions and when they are around you they make you feel negative and depleted too. When you are under stress it is important to stay away from such people. You can read more about how to identify energy vampires here and how to deal with energy vampires here.
7. Be easy on yourself– Do not be self-critical, do not be so hard on yourself. Being stressed is ok, feeling negative emotions is ok. Give yourself a break, acknowledge that times are tough and that it’s ok if you are not being able to meet your own expectations. Take care of yourself and focus on rebuilding your mental strength.
8. Borrow Motivation– Be around people who understand you, the ones who will motivate you and support you no matter what happens. When you are not feeling motivated it is good to borrow motivation from people around you, from youtube videos, audiobooks, blogs, and books. Read motivating posts.
9. Join Stress Buster Groups – Group therapy works wonders in relieving your stress. It will give you comfort knowing you are not alone. You will work alongside people who are like you or going through similar issues and are committed to moving towards a better and happier life.
10.Be Aware of Toxic Positivity– Toxic Positivity is the dark side of the ‘Think Positive Only’ obsession. You hear statements like’ look on the brighter side’, ‘be grateful for what you have, or ‘ it is all in your mind. Being positive is good but ignoring the existence of a full spectrum of emotions for the ‘Good Vibes Only’ compartment is what becomes dangerous for your mental health. Read more on toxic positivity and how it is different from optimism here
Cognitive Ways To Reduce Stress
These are sort of long-term tips to manage stress but are also long-lasting. The cognitive ways to manage stress will help you create a permanent state of relaxation and deal with stressors that come to you in the future.
11. Avoid Decision Fatigue – Decision fatigue is a real thing. It is the energy loss you feel when you make a lot of decisions. Even when the decisions are very small and insignificant it depletes your energy and willpower. This decision fatigue can make you even more stressed than you are already. It is a cognitively taxing process.
12. Declutter and Organise – A cluttered space can be a big reason for stress. An organized space will help you reduce the stress hormones that are released due to being in a cluttered and disorganized space. A good way to reduce your stress is to reduce your clutter. One thing that can help you do that is this book. If you need tips on organizing your place the way it suits you then check out the Clutterbug channel on youtube.
13.Automate Your Processes – Automate wherever you can so that you don’t have to think about the little things in life and everything in your day-to-day life can be taken care of without piling on your head. Stress makes you lethargic and that piles on work from your day-to-day routine too. So my suggestion is that you should automate your daily chores and decisions.
14. Maintain a Facts Journal– Maintaining a journal challenging your thoughts and overthinking is a good way to reduce the stress that only your mind creates. Cognitive biases like mind-reading, fortune-telling, all-or-nothing thinking, overgeneralizing, and more increase your stress levels with things that only your mind is telling you. Maintaining a facts journal can help you deal with this kind of stress.
I hope the suggestions I made will help you deal with the stress that you are going through.
You can also check out these relaxing pieces of music on Youtube
