Stress management through 5 simple ways

Stress is a common occurrence in every human being’s life. Be it work related, or home, anything could trigger the crippling pressure that comes with stress straight to the mind and heart. Stress hinders you from channeling your creativity and makes you feel sluggish, unproductive and insecure. In some situations, if you’re lucky, you’ll be able are able to remove the stress creating elements but in most case, you’ll be struggling, feeling helpless and disappointed.  Taking charge of your feelings might be difficult for you in the beginning but be patient because no matter how out of control things appear to be spiraling, you STILL need to take control of your life. Until you can take back what’s yours, the stress sharks will constantly swim in cortisone infested waters that is your mind.

You want change? Then follow these simple steps for a healthier and happier life. So wherever you are, you can fix your stress by managing it from its core. Let us begin:

1.      Move your body

There are thousands of advantages of exercising and the most important one right next to losing weight is that it reduces stress and you become more active and less depressed. Exercise has physical benefits and mental both. So when you are stressed, start working out. Take a walk, start running, stretch and dance. We know that if you are stressed, you don’t want to do anything but since YOU are in charge of your body, you should be able to make your body move when you want it to. You’ll want to sit and not do anything in the beginning but when you’ll get up and start walking, eventually your body will want to do more because it would be feeling better. It not only relieves stress, but it also reduces fatigue and improves focus and alertness. Exercise produces endorphins that are nature’s painkillers. They will improve your sleep as well while making you feel happier. It’s just a walk – take it.

2.      Get Organized

If you have everything scattered around you, of course, you’ll feel like you have a thousand things to worry about rather than a hundred. So what you need to do is get organized, make a to-do list in your diary or on your phone and see what needs to get done. Take notes of every financial transaction you make so you know where you are spending and why. It will make you organized in a monetary way and you’ll be able to cut down on the unnecessary expenditures. Try using the ATM once in a week, it will make it easier for you to track your money. Clean-up your room and get rid of junk that is making your living space congested. When you are organized, you’ll feel less burdened and you’ll feel light and happy. After you have planned everything, you’ll be able to prioritize things and tasks on your list and would be able to work on them in a less stressful manner. This will make you feel in control of the situation and eventually you’ll feel in control of your life. It will make you feel positive and will help you feel more accomplished than the day before.

3.      Change your Social habits

This goes both ways. If you socialize a lot and that too on a daily basis, then taking some time off for yourself is the way to go. A little bit of solitude goes a long way. This does not mean that you should lock yourself up in a room and sulk as to be ‘anti-social’, no, instead, plan something you can enjoy on your own, and outdoors too.

You might have to cut out what is toxic and this means you may have to cut yourself off from your friends too. This will help you see where you stand in your circle and will also help you determine what goals you had in mind and how far you are in achieving them. Meeting friends subconsciously urges you to become more vigilant and active while achieving more in your life. In the other case, meeting toxic people every day is sure to affect your aura and you’ll feel less and less important every day. This would increase your stress level and eventually you’ll give up on a happy life altogether. So it is crucial for you to focus on your socializing pattern and make necessary changes so you can feel better in the end.

4.      Fight it off

This is the second most effective way to reduce stress right next to exercise. You’ll have to start any form of combat sports to release all the negative energy of your body. Getting a punching bag is an excellent way to reduce frustration and tension. It will keep you active and will teach you self-discipline and control your anger while channeling it in a cathartic way. It will help improve your balance, flexibility, and coordination. You can go through some excellent and affordable boxing gloves on the internet and see what fits your style and what appeals to you. It will not only make you feel less angry at the world, but you’ll enjoy kicking life’s butt while you lose weight and become stronger. The eventual goal is a stable life, with time for work, relations, relaxation, and fun—and the resilience to embrace life under stress and meet all challenges head on.

5.      The 4 A’s

While you work on the things mentioned above, you need to follow four things that will change your perspectives in a broader spectrum. You have to ‘Avoid’, ‘Alter’, ‘Adapt’ and finally, ‘Accept’. To break these down, you have to know that living in a stressful situation is bad for your mental and physical health and you have to learn to say ‘no’ occasionally. Don’t take favors you cannot return and know your limits. Know the difference between ‘have to’ and ‘want to’. When you feel like something is too much, say no. then, avoid people who make you feel like you are nothing and sit with people who are well-read or well-versed, people from which you can learn something new. If you cannot cut the negative people completely, limit the amount of time you spend with them. The next step is taking control of your surroundings. Alter the things that make you sad or stressed. Don’t watch the television channels that make you anxious, take less traveled routes so the traffic doesn’t add to the anger or frustrated. And lastly, you need to accept that you are stressed and you actually ‘want’ to do something about it. Organize your to-do list, cut out the things that are not an immediate issue and learn how to prioritize. Compromise on the things you cannot change overnight and slowly work towards them. Look for the upside in things that are going downhill and know that you will eventually accomplish.

Always know that you are unique and that the world needs you. Even if you think it doesn’t, you will see that it does want you to be more positive and productive. Stay positive, walk around and think happy thoughts.