Nobody enjoys feeling anxious and restless. But, the demands of life can often place you in stressful situations that compromise your health and overall well-being. When you find yourself stressing over the different demands of and situations in life or you want to find some answers on what to do if someone is having a mental breakdown, do everything you can to put a halt to it and regain control.
For some people, de-stressing means taking a breather and doing some yoga or taking a long and relaxing warm bath. These are wonderful techniques to try when life is making you anxious and weary, physically and emotionally.
To help you further manage stress, provided below are six other strategies that can work for the long term.
1. Tune in to yourself.
Whenever you find yourself in intense situations, take a few minutes to extricate yourself from it and focus on your breathing. Afterward, assess your physical state. Do you feel any discomfort around your neck, shoulders, and lower back? Are you jittery and do you feel a migraine coming? Does your stomach feel like it’s in knots and are you clenching your jaws?
Tuning in to yourself will help you realize what your needs are at the moment. Upon realization, you can determine how to address these needs so you can go back to the situation you have temporarily left, in a much better and prepared state.
2. Drink a warm or hot beverage.
Drinking a warm beverage forces you to slow down. You cannot (and shouldn’t) hurry consuming it; otherwise, you’ll burn your tongue. Also, studies reveal that warm beverages, in particular, can boost the immune system.
Professor Ron Eccles, director of the Common Cold Centre at Cardiff University, found that drinking hot beverages is highly beneficial in treating coughs and colds. It is worth noting as well that a warm or hot beverage can comfort you like a hug does.
But perhaps the best thing about it is it’s affordable and accessible. So, make it a habit to treat yourself to tea, coffee, or any other drink that you prepare hot whenever you need to calm your body and spirit down.
3. Break down your responsibilities and goals into mini tasks.
Some responsibilities and goals can feel quite overwhelming and stressful. So, every time you feel like you have to tackle an enormous goal that requires a lot of time, it always helps to break it down into mini tasks. From feeling overwhelmed, you will find yourself approaching the goal with a bit more confidence and focus.
Additionally, turning big goals into bite-sized chunks of organized smaller goals will allow you to manage your time and energy better so that your physical and mental well-being do not suffer. You will be able to monitor your progress, stay encouraged, and feel a sense of accomplishment even in the midst of the process.
4. Acknowledge and celebrate your triumphs.
There’s nothing more reassuring than knowing that something good will come out of whatever hardships you are dealing with. The problem is it’s not always that easy to see the results of anything that you have poured your energy and time on. Thus, it will help lower your stress to celebrate whatever little successes you find in your situation.
For instance, once you have finished a demanding project at work, set aside the weekend for some self-care. Treat yourself to a beauty enhancing facial treatment to rejuvenate your skin after a period of not getting enough sleep and being able to eat well. Or, go on a staycation with the people you love.
Rewarding yourself with joyful experiences can improve your physiology and psychology immensely.
5. Try different places to do your work.
When you are tackling an important task, one of the tendencies is to work in the same spot for hours. This can actually make you feel more tired and tense. Whenever this happens, it has been proven beneficial to snap out of such a situation or break the cycle. By doing so, you can refresh your mind and body, and even gain a new perspective to boost the quality of your work
One of the recommended tactics for this is to take your work elsewhere. From your office cubicle, perhaps go to a nearby coffee shop or the outdoor space of your office building.
If you can find someone to go with you, that would be even better. It’s nice to have someone to talk to about your concerns because they can share their points of view and improve your understanding.
6. Practice patience.
This tip is certainly not the easiest to execute but practice patience deliberately every chance you get. Doing this is guaranteed to change the way stressful situations affect you. The shift in mindset patience creates boosts positivity.
For instance, when you have patience, setbacks can cease to feel like time-wasters and instead, turn into opportunities for you to either rest and practice self-care (such as getting a massage or professional skin care treatment), or tap into your creativity. Patience, indeed, is a virtue, and it will help you keep an open mind, which is vital in tense situations.
Stress is an uncomfortable experience that nobody wants but is an inevitable part of life. However, you must acknowledge that it is not always bad.
You can discover new strengths when you deal with or manage stressful situations. And hopefully, this is what exactly what will happen to you when you follow the techniques for de-stressing shared here.
AUTHOR BIO
Vandana Luthra founded VLCC in New Delhi, India as a beauty and slimming services centre in 1989. Today, it is widely recognized for its comprehensive portfolio of beauty and wellness products and services and also enjoys a high level of consumer trust. The VLCC Group’s operations currently span 330 locations in over 150 cities and 14 countries across Asia and Africa.
