5 Ways To Relax NOW
Are you stressed to the max? Stress is the leading cause of many mental and physical ailments, including weight loss and gain, depression and anxiety. Stress can even have a devastating impact on your immune system, too.
When you begin to feel stressed, you should immediately put into practice some stress relief techniques to thwart off any other oncoming symptoms. These are some very easy and practical ways you can start using to help yourself relax.
- Close your eyes, draw a deep, cleansing breath in, hold for 5-7 seconds, then slowly exhale. Repeat this ten to twelve times, or as needed.
- Stretch. Stress can cause tense and knotted muscles throughout your body. When you’re feeling tense and anxious, stand up and do a few quick stretches. Simple stretches can help loosen tense muscles super fast and reduce the amount of tension you’re feeling.
- Meditate for 20-30 minutes each morning and evening. Meditation is helpful in calming your mind, which in turn, calms your body. Simple meditation, like getting quiet and focusing your mind on a central thought, can help you find peace and regain your composure.
- Read a joke book. Science has proven that laughter is a healing agent. Grab a funny book or watch your favorite comedy and enjoy a few laughs. This can do more good than you might think!
- Go for a walk with someone you love. Grab your partner and head outdoors for a late evening walk together. Enjoy the sunset as you stroll quietly together. Rather than talking about your day at work, or problems at home, focus on your relationship and love for each other.
Stress Management Tips For Working Fathers
There are many resources for working mothers, but working fathers often get overlooked. You work hard to provide for your family and feel the same amount of stress and pressure (if not more) as working moms do. This article will give you some practical tips to effectively manage your stress.
How To Be Nice To Yourself
Are you feeling tired and rushed all the time? Do you seem to always give to others and rarely receive anything in return? Here are some nice things you can do for yourself today:
Buy yourself some flowers. Flowers brighten anyone’s day. Why wait for someone else to give you flowers? Buy yourself a bright, pretty bouquet and place it on your desk or somewhere nearby. A simple, inexpensive bouquet of flowers can do wonders to brighten your mood.
Head to the gym. One of the first things that goes when we neglect ourselves is our body. Buy yourself a gym membership, then visit regularly. A few trips to the gym every week is not only good for your body, but you’ll be able to work out all your frustrations, as well.
Drink more water. It’s a fact that most people don’t hydrate enough. Buy bottled water to have on hand. It will be much easier to say no to another soda if you can grab a bottle of water to go.
Take a Yoga class. Yoga is known for its healing and calming powers. There are often Yoga classes for beginners, which are great to teach you the basics of Yoga. Sign up for one and try it out.
Schedule a spa day. Sometimes you just need to unwind and relax with no worries and nobody around. Call your favorite spa and schedule some “you” time there.
Keep a journal. Journaling is a great place to vent about all your frustrations, too. It’s a safe place, for your thoughts and eyes only, where you can write about everything happening in your life. If you keep a journal only for such a purpose, you can burn it or shred it after all the pages are filled. It’s a healthy, disposable therapy session.
Lay off the junk food. Practice healthier eating habits by ditching the junk. Instead of that mid-day candy bar, pack yourself a healthy snack of nuts, fruits, or raw veggies with dip.
7 Stress Triggers and How to Stop Them in Their Tracks
If you find yourself constantly feeling stress on every level, you can learn how to stop that stress dead in its tracks. Here are seven of the most common stress triggers and how to stop them before they get the best of you.
- Negative people. People with a negative attitude can make you feel stressed just by being around them. Pick and choose your friends and acquaintances more wisely from now on. Stay away from those who seem to stay on a negative kick all the time.
- Being late all the time. Do you find it difficult to get anywhere on time? The stress of arriving late is not good for you. Allow yourself an extra 20 minutes next time.
- Extreme work load. If you’re always taking on more and more work, it’s no wonder you are stressed out all the time. First, stop piling more work on top of what you already have. If possible, start delegating tasks to others. The quicker you can eliminate your exhaustive work load, the sooner you’ll eliminate all that stress.
Low self-esteem. If you suffer from poor self esteem, you are much more likely to berate yourself and unreasonably expect more from yourself. Work on raising your self-esteem and you’re likely to notice an immediate lightening of your stress level.- Unhappy with your life. Do you constantly struggle with the idea that your life is not what you thought it would be? Unhappiness triggers stressful feelings. Find ways to accept your life and everything in it. Discover joy in the little things.
- Feelings out of control. This trigger is explosive for some people. When you feel like you’re not in control of yourself or surrounding circumstances, you tend to feel a great amount of pressure and stress. Learn how to control your mind.
- Violent arguments. Volatile relationships are breeding grounds for tremendous stress. If you are in such a relationship and are constantly engaged in fights, do everything you can to get away from that situation.