Some stress is just a fact of life. Even so, stress should not be permitted to take over our lives. With determination and effort, you can make stress a minor component, rather than a major component of your day. Here is some advice about reducing your stress levels.
Think about calmness when stress starts to overwhelm you. Imagine that you are taking a hot shower, or watch as a huge wave of relaxation comes over your body and washes your stress away. You can also increase peaceful feelings by learning deep breathing techniques and focused meditation.
Develop an affirmation or a positive statement that can bring happiness to your life when you are stressed out. Saying the affirmation is a good way to stop self-criticism before it starts, which reduces stress levels. Remind yourself of your qualifications or reassure yourself that you are calm. Use whatever words feel most encouraging to you.
Writing about your stress can be a powerful strategy to reduce the anxiety of stressful situations. There are problems in everyone’s life that causes anxiety. They may not be things you want to share with other people. Writing out these things for yourself can give you some perspective and meaning. Think about keeping a notebook with all your writing in. By doing this, you will have a useful resource to refer back to in the future if you are ever faced with similar problems.
There are many factors that cause stress, so you first need to find what is causing these feelings. If it is something that you are able to remove from your life, then you should consider doing just that. Your life will be transformed!
Some people use video games and hobbies as an outlet to escape and relax from their lives. Sometimes though, these hobbies can cause frustration and lead to more stress. Your goal should be to enjoy a relaxing escape that serves the purpose of calming you down, not aggravate or add to your stress with additional frustration.
Try standing by a stationary wall, place your hands on it and push with all your might, digging your feet into the floor. When you stretch and exert your hamstrings in this manner, it helps to alleviate stress.
You can document each joke or other funny event into this journal. Not only will perusing the journal be a lot of fun, but the act of writing events down helps to make your mind emphasize them, so writing down everything fun will make your life feel more fun!
Pay attention to any area of your body that you might clench up when you are stressed. In particular you may notice it in your hands, jaw and shoulders. Once you are aware of your stress body areas, make an effort to relax and stretch these when you feel the tension rising. Relaxation and reduced tension will result from this.
To avoid encountering stressful mishaps, prepare ahead of time for things that might go wrong. Keep a spare key someplace safe, have a backup plan for a babysitter and keep a meal at work. Having a plan and knowing how to take care of it beforehand will help you to deal with any problems should they occur.
Before you take action when you are under stress, take the time to breathe first. Before you engage back into the situation, take some deep breaths counting to ten. Waiting a few seconds will help you control your stressful reaction and behave more calmly and more professionally.
Learn to forgive others if you want to reduce the stress in your life. Worrying about the mistakes of others can lead to irritability and anxiety.
Try to cut back on caffeine consumption during the day. Caffeine raises cortisol levels. Cortisol is called “the stress hormone”, so the more coffee you have, the more stressed out you will feel over time. If you replace your coffee with drinking green tea, it will get rid of stress and not increase it.
Your body cannot function properly if it has not had a sufficient amount of sleep. Without the right amount of rest, you will be unable to think properly or manage your stress levels. If you want to stay alert throughout your day and keep your body running at full potential, you should get all your sleep.
Spend a little time each day doing something that you love. This helps you deal with the stressful situations that arise during your day. Find an activity that you enjoy, and set aside some time for that activity every day.
Eat a light snack if you’re feeling stressed. Foods that contain carbs produce more serotonin, a kind of chemical in the brain that puts you in a better mood. While you may want to watch your calorie counts, it may be useful to know that whole grain carbs, like cereal and wheat breads, can offer a temporary remedy to get you over a stressful hump in your day.
Making the effort to keep stress as a minor annoyance, instead of a major one, takes time. Tuck these tips away for a time when you’re experiencing stress, and then you’ll feel more in control of your feelings. Don’t let stress take over your life; use these tips to deal with it.
