Many people feel stressed by everyday life in today’s times. There is much to be stressed about – work, school, family, rising costs, and so much more. If you are feeling stressed, don’t feel that you are all alone. Chances are that some people very close to you such as your friends and neighbors are feeling it too.
There are things that you can do to relieve stress that will not cost you anything. There are also things that you should not do, such as drink or gamble. These things will likely only increase your stress levels. You can speak to a professional to help you find ways to relieve your stress.
If you are feeling stressed, you don’t need to try to handle it all alone. There are ways to reduce stress that can help you to feel better. You can talk to your primary care physician to see how they can help you.
This article will help you to find free or low-cost ways to manage your stress. It will help you to see that there are others that suffer from it, as well. You can also do more research to find the information that you need.
Stress Relief Tips
- Activity – You need to stay active to help reduce your stress. Even taking short walks or playing fetch with your pets outside for a few minutes can help you. There are some exercises that you can do, as well: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/. Just keep moving and you can reduce the intensity of your feelings.
You should have about 150 minutes of exercise each week. This is about twenty minutes or so each day. Remember, exercising can also reduce the risk for strokes and heart attacks. It also helps with other mental health issues such as depression and anxiety.
- Take Control Over Your Life – Take back control over your life to help give you some relief. You can do this by changing jobs if you are able, changing your lifestyle, leaving stressful situations, and more. Sometimes you feel as if you have no control, but you are the only one that does have control over your life. You can take control if you try.
Begin by taking small steps. If you are going to change jobs, begin by looking for other jobs that fit your talents and experience. You want to have another job lined up before you leave your last one. If you are in a bad living situation, check into other homes or living situations.
- Make Connections with People – A good network of friends, family, and coworkers can help you, too. Set up coffee dates, walks, and other fun activities with them. Even talking with them for a short time each day can help you. They will help you to know that you aren’t all alone.
Talking with them can help you to find solutions to any problems that you have, too. They can help you to see things from a different point of view. You might be able to find solutions that you had never thought about. Even having someone listen to what you have to say is helpful.
- Me Time – Sometimes being with people is what is stressing you out. If this is the case, make sure that you have some me time each day. This is time set aside to be on your own doing your own activity. They could be simple activities or just doing nothing at all.
Some activities that you could do are to read a book, take a bubble bath, meditate, or do yoga. These are just some things that you could do to get some me time. Find a way to totally relax, maybe even take a nap during the day. You just need to find some time to be alone without distractions.
- Make Some Challenges for Yourself – Set up goals and challenges for yourself. If you have begun to exercise, challenge yourself to do more each day. If you are reading to relax, set up a number of pages or chapters you should read each day. Challenge yourself to clear your desk off at work at least once a week. Make small challenges that you can complete in a short amount of time.
You can also challenge yourself to begin a new sport. This is something that will keep you busy with practices and games each week. It also helps you to keep active and your mind off your problems. This will help you for a longer period of time.
- Don’t Take Up Unhealthy Habits – Avoid any unhealthy habits such as smoking, drinking, or caffeine. These can be helpful in the short term but can cause more problems for you. Gambling is another bad habit that some people take up thinking that they will just win the money that will take care of all their troubles.
You want to take up healthy habits such as exercising and taking me time. You want to remain healthy and make healthy choices. Here are some ideas for you. You might even learn some new habits that are beneficial for you and your issues.
- Help Others – There is proof out there that when you help others, you help yourself. This doesn’t have to be anything big or anything that takes up time. Even small things like buying someone’s coffee in the morning can help you to feel better about yourself. It will keep you smiling throughout the day.
If you want, you can begin volunteering at a cause that means a lot to you. Schools, nursing homes, and hospitals all have volunteer opportunities for you. If you have an affinity to animals, you could volunteer at a shelter or the zoo. Find something that matters to you and see if you can volunteer.
- Work Smarter – As the saying goes, work smarter not harder. This means that you should prioritize your work. Work on the things that are most important things – those things that will make a big difference. Leave the smaller tasks for later so that you aren’t stressing over the big things. This will help you to relax a little while you are at work.
You also need to accept the fact that you won’t have time to get everything done each day. Some things can wait until the next day, and some can wait even later than that. Put those off when you can. You can still get them done on days when you don’t have as many big things to get done.
- Try for Positivity – Try to think positive each day. At the end of each day, try to find three things that were good about the day. If you can’t think of three good things, try for one. Just find a way to think about something positive.
There are some journals that can help you with this. They have some ideas of things that you could look at to see if they were positive. They also have positive affirmations that you can give yourself at the end of each day. This could help you to stay more positive.
- Accept That There are Things You Just Can’t Change – There are some things that, no matter how hard you try, you can’t change. You have to accept this and move on. This is a difficult process but it’s something that you need to work on. This can help you to feel some relief.
Instead of trying to change things that you can’t, focus on those things that you can change. Back to the job analogy, if you are having difficulty at work, you can concentrate on looking for a new job. Complaining about the work situation won’t help you much, but finding a new job can solve the problem completely. Just concentrate on what you can change.
Conclusion
There are many things that you can do to reduce the stress in your life. Most of these things are free or very low cost and can be done without much effort. Try to do some of these things to relieve some of your stress. You want to concentrate on doing things that you can work on and not those things that you can’t change.
Some of these things you might end up enjoying and looking forward to. That is the hope for these suggestions. If nothing seems to help, call your health care provider to see if you can get some professional help. You don’t want things to get so bad that you feel that you have no options.
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