Stress Reducers

Top Ten Stress Reducers

Given the fast pace and general demands of our lives, we could all use some new stress reducers.  So here are some ideas:

  1. Turn out the lights and watch a comedy:  One of the best ways to reduce stress is to make your own living room into your personal stress reducer.  Just put a movie you love on the CD player—something light and fun preferably—, make some popcorn, invite your significant other over, turn out the lights, and just let your favorite screen crush take you away from your troubles for a bit.

  2. Write Out a Plan of Attack: Sometimes, if you have a particularly pressing problem that needs to be addressed, no amount of escapism will help and the only real solution is direct attack.  Get together with someone whose advice you trust or who you know has expertise in the area of your problem and write out exactly how you will go about attacking the problem that is weighing on you.  Sometimes just knowing exactly what you are going to do is enough to relieve a great deal of stress.

  3. Go Workout: Sometimes the worst thing you can do is to sit down when you get stress.  Stress is a form of energy, but usually it is too overwhelming to be dealt with just mentally.  A great way of taking out your frustrations is to go for a run or engage in some sort of physical activity like a sport.  This will help burn off some of the undirected energy towards a goal.  After your work out, you might find that much of the stress has burned off and you are ready to go back to work.

  4. Reduce your Caffeine Intake: Another way to reduce stress is to do it chemically by taking stress inducers out of your system.  If you drink a lot of coffee, try to cut back a bit.  (It is probably not a good idea to go cold turkey, but if you can limit yourself, you may find that it is easier to control your emotions.)

  5. Take a Relaxing Bath: One of the favorite of all stress reducers is the bath.  Bubbles, warm water, and no phones nearby.  That’s all that I need to say.

  6. Go out With Friends: After a hard day when you don’t have to go into work again the next day, or don’t have any major projects, it is good to go out with your buddies and blow off some steam.  Maybe have a drink.  Just remind yourself that you are more than your job.  (Be careful to not get so blitzed that you don’t show up for work the next day, however.  The stress of unemployment is not easy to deal with.)

  7. Just Do It: I don’t mean to steal the slogan from a certain sneaker corporation, but sometimes the only solution to a problem is to go work on it.  This is especially true if it is something that you have been procrastinating on.  If you have an essay due for school or a work project that you have been dreading for whatever reason, the best way to reduce your stress about it is just to work on it.

  8. Take a Power Nap: Occasionally when you are so worked up that you can’t effectively get anything done, the only solution is to lie down for a while and take a nap.  Sometimes, if you are so stressed and blocked that you can’t even concentrate, a nap or even a longer sleep, is just what the mind needs to reload.

  9. Practice Yoga, Meditation, or Other Stress Reducers: Some of the best stress reducers are very simple practices that involve breathing exercises or meditation.  These types of exercises can be especially helpful if you suffer from anxiety or other mild psychological strains. 

  10. Sex: Of all the stress reducers, there is something to be said for the relaxing effects of making love.

 

 

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