4 Ways to Feel Less Stressed
Our lives can be busy and stressed out; whether it’s our job, family and friends, or even personal matters, it always seems like there are more things to do and worry about that time permits. In the mix of it all, it’s really easy to feel stressed, and this can cause short term frustration and sadness, as well as long term health problems. Here is a list of ways that you can start to feel less stressed.
1. Block Out Time to Relax
This is often an overlooked method to decreasing overall stress levels; specifically, for busy people who feel like they have a million things to do and not enough time and energy to get through it all. This problem is often caused by being too ambitious and trying to get as many things done as possible without relaxation breaks. Many feel like they don’t have enough time in their schedule to relax, but there’s a solution to this. Simply block out time to relax in your schedule, and fill the rest of your schedule with your tasks and responsibilities. The key is that you are prioritizing relaxing first, so that you will have time in your day to relax. This is crucial to decreasing stress levels, and it’s also good for your health.
2. Walk It Out
One of the most popular and effective ways to decrease stress levels also includes taking a quick walk. Although this is the most common method, walking isn’t the only physical activity that can help you alleviate your stress; really, any type of aerobic exercise will have the same beneficial effects. The reason why walking and doing physical exercise helps out with stress isn’t a mystery; exercise is noted to release endorphins, which helps you feel more positive and happy. Additionally, exercise also causes anxiety levels to decrease, which in turn, decreases stress. Even taking a 10 or 15 minute walk is enough to at least experience some of the benefits. If you don’t know how to start working out, here are the tips to get you started
3. Journaling
Journaling is also one of the primary ways you can take a breather mentally, and feel better relatively fast. The reason for this is because journaling can allow you to experience, at least to some degree, mental clarity and it can allow you to assess your emotions and take a break from stress and overthinking. Additionally, it’s also helpful because many find the process of putting pen to paper therapeutic and peaceful. There are also multiple ways to journal depending on what feels right to the individual; some examples include daily diary (simply recalling the day’s events) and gratitude journaling (writing about what you’re most grateful for). It’s also easy to journal, and nearly everyone can do it, making this a good way to attempt to feel less stressed.
4. Limiting Screen Time
This way is probably the hardest way to decrease stress for many people, but it’s immensely beneficial. Limiting screen time can help our minds take a break from the constant news, updates, and entertainment that is on the internet, specifically social media platforms. Staying away and taking a break from the internet, especially social media apps like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, etc, can help you detox your mind, and this is also backed up by science. Many suffer from having crazy times spent on screens, and being able to at least significantly lessen your time on the web will garner significant relief if you’re stressed.
Wrapping up
Trying to decrease your stress levels, however, is easier said than done. These four tips above are good to start with, but it can’t be a one and done method. Ultimately, you need to be able to gauge when you are feeling too stressed, and practice destressing through a variety of methods often. This way, you perform your best, feel good, and you don’t have to experience too much burnout.
