Seven Sure Fire Ways For Stress Relief
Struggle to manage stress, anxiety, or depression in your life? Want a stress relief but there is no time to breathe or to take care of yourself? You are not alone. And I also realize that the beginning sounded like a commercial or that I am ready to sell you the miracle.
I can’t.
Don’t get out of sorts just yet, I wish more than anything to give you a miracle cure to make all the fear, pain and sadness disappear. What we can do is explore strategies available to help cope and maybe even overcome the struggles.
I know from personal experience how debilitating dealing with any of those can be. Many times I have had to pull myself out of the pit sometimes feeling very alone. Many of us suffer from burn out or struggle with our mental health which to be honest probably comes from us not taking care of ourselves. Not willful neglect… just too busy trying to survive.
So let’s get to it, I help my stress and anxiety several ways, I know this isn’t a huge list but hopefully you can find at least one strategy to help you when the world seems too much.
1. Keep a journal
For some writing can be extremely therapeutic. I normally keep a journal to remember events, small moments with my husband and my kids. To remember the blessings I have seen in my life. Sometimes the human mind works against us and brings our pain to the forefront instead of those happier moments; a journal is a way to remember that we have had good moments too. And there is a possibility for more happy times.
Also a journal can be used to get out all our frustrations through free writing. This just means that you write down all your thoughts, feelings in the moment. Let grammar and punctuation be gone with the wind!
Sometimes we can be so overwhelmed we don’t know if we are coming or going. Free writing can allow us to make sense of the chaos and find the root of it all. Help us make a plan for what to do next or make sure we don’t allow our emotions to take the driver’s seat in our lives.
For the record, I am not knocking emotions, they are useful, make us human and remind us to kind to others. On the other hand, if we allow emotions to take control then we risk making poor decisions that can take a turn for the worst.
2. Tune In To Your Body
How in the world do you do that??
It’s not as weird as you may think. Take a moment and close your eyes. Breath a couple of deep breaths and evaluate your body. Where are you tense?
For me, I always notice that I am tense in my shoulders, arms, and sometimes my neck. Pinpoint those tense spots and purposefully relax that area as you take more breaths.
Essentially, you are letting it all go. By relaxing your body, you are letting go of the stress and giving your mind a breather from whatever is bothering you. When we intentionally take a step back we give ourselves the opportunity to think more clearly.
3. Exercise/Yoga
Like all these strategies, they become more effective with time and consistency. Exercising or doing yoga regularly is a great stress reliever.
Feel a little out of shape or have no time? Even just 10 minutes of some form of activity can be beneficial.
There are plenty of videos: YouTube, workout or yoga DVDs or even routines on Pinterest. You don’t have to throw tons of money on a program or a gym if you don’t want to or if it’s not in the budget.
4. Deep breathing while reciting your mantra
We have touched already on deep breathing, but a mantra? This is a repeated word or saying that speaks to you.
A mantra is a phrase that is meant to help you find calm and peace. Sometimes women in labor have been more able to endure labor pains due to focusing on their personal mantra during contractions. Here we would use it to bring back reality, to remember that we are in control. We have power over our emotions and how we react to life. Or the message that you are worthy and important.
Some mantras:
- Mistakes are about learning, they are not a death sentence.
- It’s okay to make a mistake.
- I am powerful and I am capable.
- I can’t control others but I control what I do.
- I am strong and I can let it go.
The point is to find a saying or mantra that speaks to you, and then when you feel you need a time out to regroup or feeling overwhelmed, you pause, start your deep breathing and repeat your mantra to yourself. Believe it to be true.
It’s ok to have more than one mantra, I have several.
5. Anchor Yourself
Also known as grounding. This is a technique that I love and have used often. At times when I feel like life is too much and I can’t handle any more then it’s find a quiet place (sometimes hard with little ones), start my breathing. While breathing go through five steps to ground myself back to thinking clearly:
- Name five things that you see
- Name four things that you can hear
- Name three things you can touch
- Name two things that you smell
- Name one emotion you feel right now
And yes, I talk to myself out loud. I find that it is more effective if I vocalized this instead of keeping it all in my head. I usually give this a boost by applying doTERRA’s Balance to my hands, cupping my hands to my face and inhaling deeply.
6. Count your blessings
This may seem just as silly as counting sheep but making it a daily habit of listing off the good things that have happened to you in the day helps put the day in perspective. You don’t have to list EVERY SINGLE ONE but come up with a number that you are comfortable with; 5, 7, 10, 3, 6… Whatever works for you but do it at the end of every day.
Doing this exercise every day helps rewire your brain, the bad stops having such an impact because you are training your mind to focus on the good in your day.
Unfortunately, you will run across some days that are just bad, horrible even! And that’s okay because you can remember that most days have been good, helping you weather the storm because life’s storms don’t last forever.
7. Laughter
By far my favorite! When I am feeling the blues or overwhelmed, I get on YouTube and look up comedians or funny videos. Robin Williams is really my go-to for belly laughs. He is wonderful. America’s Funniest Home Videos is also great. Jim Gaffigan, Jeff Foxworthy, Jeanne Roberts, Bill Engvall (Love him!). Can you tell I look up videos quite a bit?
I feel that laughter is the easiest and best way to relieve stress that maybe we can’t name but is still weighing on us like cement. Laughter can bring family closer together if we have fun together instead of picking at each other.
When my husband lost his job and we didn’t know what we were going to do next, laughter and fun together keep us going. Laughter has a way of lightening our problems and how we see the world. And sometimes that is the medicine we need.
Well there you have it, seven ways to keep anxiety, depression and stress at bay.
I wish we could take away the burden completely and for some that might be possible, others it might be a hard road and some will struggle for the rest of their lives. I hope as you put in practice one of these strategies that speaks to you that you will see a little more sunlight in your life.
Please remember there is always help, if the problems feel severe, seek help from a professional. Life can be cursed complicated and sometimes despite all that we do, we need a little more help. It can be so hard to admit but reaching out can be your first step toward healing and enjoying life. That’s what we all want for ourselves and for those we love.
Related Post: Finding Relief From Anxiety & Depression
[mailerlite_form form_id=3]Resources
Scott, E. (2019, June 07). 17 Highly Effective Stress Relievers. Retrieved from https://www.verywellmind.com/tips-to-reduce-stress-3145195
Tips to Manage Anxiety and Stress. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://adaa.org/tips-manage-anxiety-and-stress
