21 Easy Ways to Relieve Stress & Anxiety

Stress is a major aspect of the health problems plaguing people today.

Did you know that over 90% of all illness is directly related to stress?

Nobody wants you to be unwell or ill. Nevertheless, there are several simple and rather interesting methods to prevent stress before it gets out of hand.

Here are 21 tried and true ways to relieve stress, so you can get on the path to living a balanced and healthy life.

Eat properly

Essential for sustaining your energy levels during the day and keeping your immune system working as it should, eating a healthy diet is a highly important part of reducing stress.

Think about including nutrient-rich superfoods in your meals like tomatoes, broccoli, spinach, kale, bananas, apples, and blueberries, that can give you an extra boost.

Eating fresh ingredients and lots of fruit is really important. Numerous studies have linked chronic stress with inflammations, which can be damaging to the body. The good news: consuming foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as flax seeds and chia seeds can reduce inflammation.

Stay hydrated

When we are not hydrated correctly enough, we can experience anything from mild headaches and fatigue to convulsion, which can be a symptom of severe dehydration. The symptoms of stress and dehydration can be very similar – nausea, fatigue, increased heart rate, and headaches.

Avoid unhealthy habits

Avoid, or at least reduce your consumption of, nicotine and all drinks containing alcohol and caffeine. Alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine are stimulants and so will increase your level of stress rather than reduce it.

Do things you love

It’s so much easier to manage pockets of stress when the rest of your life is abundant with activities you love.

Even if your job is stress central, you can find one hobby or two that enrich your life. What are you passionate about? If you’re not sure, experiment with a variety of activities to find something that’s especially fulfilling and meaningful.

Learn to Say „No”

Today, many people volunteer or serve simply because they feel compelled to do so.

If you volunteer somewhere, do it because you want to and enjoy it. Begin to say no every once in a while and use the time doing something you enjoy.

Try to be positive

If you missed a deadline, try to be thankful for what you learned from this mistake: now you know how to plan ahead.

Things might seem bad, but if you try, there is generally something positive to be learned.

Exercise every day

Exercise won’t make your stress disappear, but it will lower some of the emotional intensity that you’re feeling, clearing your thoughts and letting you deal with your problems more calmly.

Taking a walk even for 20-30 minutes each day is sufficient if that’s all that you can spare.

Walking isn’t just good for stress reduction.

Adults over 40 who walked briskly for a minimum of 150 minutes a week saw their life expectancy increase by three to four years.

Get a pet

It is said that spending time with animals is beneficial for your health.

If you pat a dog for a couple of minutes, your body releases hormones that make you feel happy and can decrease the level of stress in your system.

It is told that receiving the unconditional love of an animal plays an essential part in their ability to make their owners happy.

Aromatherapy

The sense of smell bypasses the cognitive brain. Burn some aromatherapy oils such as cypress, lavender or rosemary.

Daily relaxation

Relaxation techniques are a great form to help with stress management.

Relaxation isn’t just about peace of mind or enjoying a hobby. Relaxation is a practice that decreases the effects of stress on your body and mind. Some good forms of relaxation are tai chi and yoga.

Meditation

Meditation is a wonderful way to calm your mind, and it has many good health benefits too.

It might sound simple, but sitting quietly for ten minutes a day can really relieve stress levels. If you’ve never tried meditation before, it’s worth a go.

Chant mantras

Reciting or listening to a mantra can change your mood surprisingly quickly from down-in-the-dumps to uplifted and hopeful.

If you chant regularly, sacred mantras also bring about deep transformation – they have sacred origins and meanings to do with all types of higher states of being.

Get a massage

Stress often causes your muscles to become knotted and tight, and a professional massage therapist can help to relax them, providing stress relief.

Massages also improve blood circulation, which helps boost your mood.

Manage your time

Successful time management will help you to become more efficient in completing tasks. In time, you will be available for spending time on the things that are important to you.

Get enough sleep

Adequate sleep fuels your body, as well as your mind.

Feeling tired will increase your stress levels because it may cause you to think irrationally. According to the CDC, an estimated 60 million Americans do not get enough sleep, which is a critical recovery period for the body.

Take a break from technology

Do you work on the computer often? Take a break from your phone and the computer. The light emitted from screens can cause stress and headaches, not to mention it can mess with your sleep cycle and increase anxiety.

Connect with people

The activities we do with friends help us relax.

We often have a good laugh with them, which can reduce stress, be uplifting and energizing, boost happiness, and add perspective or meaning to difficult situations.

Smile and laugh

Laughter releases hormones (endorphins) that improve mood and decrease levels of stress-causing hormones, like cortisol and adrenaline.

Not taking life too seriously can help everyone live an easier, happier, and better life.

Deep breathing

It’s a good skill to practice as you start or end your day. This activity can be performed whether you are at work, at home or traveling.

Try this „abdominal breathing” technique to regain control of your mind.

Find a peaceful place to sit and place one hand on your chest and the other on your abdomen. Take a breath in through the nose, trying to make sure that your diaphragm inflates rather than your upper chest. Relaxed breathing comes from the abdomen instead of the chest, and that’s what you’re trying to achieve here. Take 6 to 10 deep, slow breaths, until you feel calmer.

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Be grateful

Make a list and continue to add to it every few days. You will realize how much you have to be thankful for, no matter how big or how small. It is great to have a visual reminder of your blessings.

Choose not to stress

It might seem like there are outside forces causing you to stress, but, it’s in reality, originating from the thoughts you’re thinking in your mind about the situation that you’re in. If you had the choice not to stress, you’d probably choose not to.

Realizing that the choice is yours is something that most of us forget about at the moment when we’ve already portrayed ourselves into a self-imposed corner and think that there are no other options but to stress out about it until conditions change.

It’s essential to remember that you control how stress affects you. You can control the stress or let stress control you.

ALSO READ: 7 Simple Quotes About Life And Happiness

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