Did you know that around 33% of Americans say they feel they are under extreme stress? While not all stress is bad, if you’re under too much continual stress, it can cause problems with you physically and mentally.
Learning how to be stress-free is a process, but there are ways to relieve stress to get you started on the right path.
Continue reading this article to learn more about how to relieve stress.
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Get Physical
Getting physical allows you to release stress and boost feel-good hormones. When you feel good, it’s less likely that you’ll stress out over the small stuff. Many times, it’s not the big things that push us over the edge—it’s the small things that we don’t understand.
Going for a run or walk, taking a class at your local gym, or cranking out an online workout can be a good way to get physical and let the stress sweat away.
When you exercise, you’re more likely to get quality sleep and to feel more confident with your abilities to handle various things in life.
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Slow Down on the Caffeine
It’s easy to reach for a cup of coffee or a soda to change your state. Caffeine can give you a nice jolt and help keep you moving, but it can also cause you to feel more on edge and stressed.
How much caffeine you can tolerate will be different from the next person, so make sure that you pay attention to your body and don’t try to keep up with other people’s consumption.
See if you feel higher anxiety after drinking coffee and eating chocolate or if it’s about the same. If you notice it’s causing problems, try to reduce caffeine as you can.
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Spend Time With Loved Ones
Spending time with people you love reduces your stress. If you’re a highly social person and you don’t make time to be around people you care about, your stress levels will shoot through the roof.
When you hang out with friends and family, your body will release oxytocin. This natural stress reliever can help you feel relaxed by simply doing something enjoyable with people you care about.
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Have a Good Laugh
Laughing makes you feel better, and the good news is that it’s pretty easy to give yourself a good laugh. You can pop in your favorite comedy—even if you’ve seen it before. In fact, it’s good to build your arsenal of funny movies so you can put them in when you’re feeling overwhelmed.
Television isn’t the only way to get a good laugh. If you have friends that are funny or if there’s a comedy club close by, that’s another good spot to spend some time for stress relief.
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Say Yes Less
If you’re the type of person that feels they have to say yes all of the time—stop. Much of the stress we endure, we do so because we accept it.
If you’re in over your head and you don’t feel like you’re doing all of the things you should be, it might be a good time to start using those two little letters—NO. It’s not a bad word, and you don’t have to feel bad about it because you’ll be no good to anyone if you can’t function.
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Get Things Done
Do you find yourself procrastinating? It’s always easy to think that you’ll get to something tomorrow or the next day—but too often—those days never come.
You aren’t doing yourself any favors by putting off things you know you need to do. When you have a list of things you should do, but you haven’t, it’s one of the biggest stress factors.
When you say you’ll do something, make sure you do it, and you’ll feel a lot better for it.
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Listen to Music that Chills You Out
The type of music that calms you might be different than the next person. Some people like jazz and classical to calm their nerves while other people might feel calmer listening to heavy metal.
Whatever the case, find music that soothes you and keep a good playlist to keep you in the right mood, so stress can’t sneak up on you.
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Practice Your Breathing & Get Massages
We all breathe, right? Well, of course, but sometimes the way we breathe isn’t helping us, and it might even hurt us.
If you notice you’re breathing short and shallow breaths, this could add to your stress levels, and it might even make you feel dizzy. You should pay attention to your breathing and try to take deep intentional breaths for the best results.
When you relax and start to breathe, you’ll likely notice tension in your shoulders, neck, and back that you weren’t even aware of. Deep tissue massage is a good way to relieve this tension and relax your body.
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Play With a Pet
Playing with your pet is a great way to relax. They are fun and friendly, and if you have a dog, they offer unconditional love. Cats can be a little more on the you’ve-got-to-work-for-it side, but they are still good for you.
Pets can help keep you active, and they provide companionship, which is very important to reduce stress.
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Set Realistic Goals and Expectations
If you constantly set goals that are outside of your reach, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. You always want to grow and do more, but you don’t want to set yourself up for failure.
Figure out ways you can contribute more without putting unnecessary stress on yourself. That might mean incrementable changes instead of big jumps, but in the long run, it will be easier for you to get to where you want to go.
How to Be Stress-Free – You’ve Got a Jump on It
It does take some time to learn all of the techniques for how to be stress-free and to use them when you need them, but this will give you a good start on taking back your life.
Stress is a thief of joy and won’t allow you to relax and enjoy your life.
Do you feel like you need more help learning how to live a calm life? Keep coming back to our blog to learn the latest information.
