7 Ways to Relieve Stress

Trying to relax takes effort. Daily stresses increase our blood pressure, create anxiety, and can turn us into horrible monsters nobody enjoys. There are two ways to deal with stress: you can either bury it away until it becomes unbearable and you wind up screaming at a young child because he can’t fight back, or, you can tackle stress from the beginning by using exercises to release some of the pressure.

To be sure, removing stress means tackling the cause of the problem (i.e. if your job creates a problem, then maybe you need to look at your job), and not simply washing it away with happy thoughts. But you can lessen the impact of stress by doing some very simple things.

Here are some tips to help remove stress:

1. Take time to stretch. Stress is stored in our shoulders and necks; releasing the tension means releasing the energy.

2. Talk with someone. If you communicate to a person that you are feeling stressed and need to talk, that will help lessen the intensity of what you are feeling and may result in helping to find a solution. But be sure the person is the right person and it’s the right time however –the bus driver and the bartender don’t want to hear it.

3. Take a walk. A study recently discovered that a ten-minute walk was equivalent to four hours of happiness.

4. Set some time off from stress causing activity. Adhering to some ‘down time’ scheduled in your day is a great way to recharge guilt free. Many people are stuck with stress because they don’t know how to let go. Knowing a break is coming can be enough to help you cope.

5. Eat good food. As ever, bad food equals a bad mood. Too much caffeine, sugars or processed food can affect your overall wellbeing. Remove the crap from your diet and your life.

6. Get some human contact. Ask a friend for a shoulder rub. As a human you are naturally inclined to be gregarious; the energy from others can help dissipate stress.

7. Find something that you can do to relax yourself regularly. Drink a herbal tea, or listen to some music.