In modern times, our lives can get so busy that they seem to be moving faster than we can keep up. Between going to work, studying, raising children, maintaining relationships and networking, many of us just can't find time to do anything else. There are more tasks than there is time for. Sometimes we find ourselves skipping deadlines and getting overwhelmed by work. This leads to problems with our spouses, a decline in health and eventually stress. Not only does this cause a reduction in the quality of your work, stress can be hazardous to your health. High stress levels can lead to nervous breakdowns and even strokes. Your life can be very busy and stress may be an unavoidable part of it. However, there are ways to keep it very low and live a healthy, balanced life. Here are 12 ways to reduce stress and have a peaceful and calm mind.
Brew a cup of green tea
When you encounter a situation that frustrates you and causes your anger and stress levels to skyrocket, simply think green tea. This variety of tea has been used for centuries to calm our nerves and reduce angry emotions. It contains a chemical that is known as L-Theanine. This chemical relaxes our muscles and soothes the nerves. As a result, stress levels go down. As such, next time you are stressed, brew a cup of green tea and relax in a healthy way.
Enjoy a mango
Isn't it interesting that a simple mango can eliminate your stress one delicious bite at a time? This tropical fruit is well known for its juicy, tasty goodness. Now, we know that it can relieve stress. The mango contains a chemical known as linalol. This one reduces the levels of stress in our bodies. Despite the juice dripping down your hands and on your favorite shirt, the benefits are well worth it.
Take a long, deep breath
It doesn't get simpler than this. When you are stressed, simply take a number of deep breaths slowly. Scientists have confirmed that breathing deeply reduces your heart rate and blood pressure too. You can decide to get fancy and engage in pranayama breathing. This is a yogic method of breathing where you use a nostril at a time. Not only does it relieve anxiety, it helps you to balance out your mind and your body.
Engage in meditation
For thousands of years, meditation has helped us to relax. It involves going to a quiet place that is peaceful, sitting in a relaxed manner and concentrating on your breath. Five to ten minutes of meditation is enough for one session. If you want to beat the stress of your life, engage in two sessions of this practice every day. Not only are you able to guard against stress, meditation eliminates the chances of depression. With every breath you take during a meditation session, your anxieties will disappear.
Enjoy a Do-It-Yourself hand massage
Massages are well known to be highly effective stress relief methods. They get rid of stress in the main muscle groups of our bodies. Sometimes, you may be far away from a professional masseuse who can give you that deep tissue massage which you dream of. Thus, you can give yourself a quick hand massage instead. Simply get some soft, luxurious lotion and apply it evenly on your hands. After that, gently knead the muscle that is at the base of your thumb. If you spend quite some time typing away at a keyboard every day, this type of massage is great for you. It will eliminate any tension that you have in your hands, arms and shoulders.
Give yourself a cold treatment
When you feel stress coming on, simply get your wrists cold and wet. Head to the nearest faucet and pour cold water on your wrists. Also, dab some ice-cold water behind your earlobes too. There is a network of major arteries right under the skin in these areas. Therefore, cooling them can distribute cool blood all over your body and relax you.
Be grateful
Life can be full of challenges and uncertain moments. In such times, it is easy for us to focus on what is wrong in our lives and forget the good things that we have. This creates stress which can accumulate over time. To avoid this, simply write down three things that you are grateful for every day. Not only does this create a spirit of gratitude, it reduces one's stress levels by fostering optimism.
Notice and eliminate self-judgement
Most of us are afraid of being judged by the society and everyone else around us. Harsh criticism from those around us can cause discouragement. Even worse is self-inflicted criticism. When you judge yourself internally, the negative effect is more pronounced and leads to stress. Thus, you should always stay alert so as to capture the inner voice that criticizes you whenever it speaks up. After capturing it, replace it with an encouraging word or statement. This eliminates its effect and creates internal calm.
Set a routine
The word routine brings to mind feelings of boredom. However, it can actually help to create a sense of mental peace that stays with us throughout the day. A daily routine eliminates the number of decisions that we have to make every day. This results in less mental workload and pressure. As a result, we reduce stress levels and free up our minds to handle bigger, more positive tasks.
Critically analyze the thoughts that are causing you to be stressed
Most of the time, we create mountains out of molehills. By turning over a simple problem in our minds for a long time, we make it look huge when it is essentially a small one. Problems trigger negative thought and this type of thought enlarges them until they look very big to us. As such, whenever you have a problem, it is important to think about it from a positive point of view. Not only does this make you feel better, it creates a suitable environment for finding solutions. This eventually gets rid of your stress.
Take things easy
Due to financial, social, academic or even religious pressure, we approach life too seriously. By doing this, we pile up goals, chores and tasks until we have no room in our day to breathe. This causes a tremendous amount of stress to build up. It is important to plan. However, do not pile up too many things to do in a short period of time. Ensure that the things you do in one day are enough for that day and not too much. In addition to that, schedule in some time for breaks from your schedule. This will keep your stress levels low and even promote your productivity.
Observe stressful situations from a detached point of view
One of the ways to eliminate stress is by observing your stressful situation from afar. In your mind's eye, take a step back from it. Observe your thoughts and the stressful feelings that you have. Imagine that they have nothing to do with you and are happening to someone else. How would you advise them to deal with it? In most cases, you will find yourself giving very practical and effective advice. After doing that, adopt this advice yourself. This will help you to solve your problem and also reduce your stress.
The Important Take Away
Stress is harmful to us on physical, mental and emotional levels. It can cause us to destroy good relationships, harm ourselves or others and even suffer fatal health attacks. The tips above can help you to reduce or even get rid of stress in your life. Applying them will help you to have a more comfortable, stress-free life.