Chances are, you are already acutely aware of what revs you up and calms you down. You know what (or who!) pushes your buttons, just as you know how to chill out. But just knowing doesn’t cut it!
Sometimes when you need to chill out most, your poor brain is too pre-occupied — actually hijacked by stress — to calm you down. Your more rational, wise brain goes offline faster than you can say "stress!"
Your overwhelmed or triggered mind makes some thinking errors, which can lead to thinking in "black and white," where the contrast between your state of stress and feeling "chilled out" is enormous. Stress can make you underestimate your control, which in turn means your brain can't relax because it's constantly on the lookout for danger.
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If you're feeling the stress, don't be delusional and overwork yourself when what you really need is to relax. Recognize your limits!
What can you do to reclaim your brain power, health, and happiness?
Stress management is really energy management — physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual energy management. People, events, situations, and your own thoughts can trigger you, deflate you, or drain your energy. One difficult 5-minute conversation can pull the plug on your momentum. Recognize it, and in turn, raise your awareness of what you need to refuel.
Try using these 31 simple ways for dealing with stress when your anxiety feels out of control:
1. Right now… take three long, slow, easy deep breaths.
Repeat as you breathe, “I am enough. I have enough.” After all, isn’t the basic message of that nasty inner critic that somehow you are not enough for the situation — that’s why the stress feels oppressive?
What if your inner critic is just plain wrong? Stop believing those thoughts and practice some new ones! "Breath work" is the fastest way to chill out your frazzled brain and body.
2. Inhale and tighten up every muscle, as hard as you can, and squeeze!
This exercise can help you instantly release unwanted tension in your body. Tighten your fingers, arms, shoulders, toes, cheeks, abs, and even your face! Now exhale and stretch every little part back out. Get long, tall, and refreshed. Feel the blood start to bring in fresh oxygen and take away stale tension.
Have ten minutes? Do a full progressive relaxation with Dartmouth’s free guide.
3. Get yourself a massage, girl!
There's nothing like having self-care on your calendar! Massage is proven to bring down the tension. It’s amazing how mental stress translates to physical tension. Sometimes, the best way to achieve mental relief is through the physical.
4. Try some reflexology on yourself.
Use acupressure to self-calm. Give yourself a 2-minute ear massage. I dare you to do this in the middle of a meeting! Most likely, no one will even notice. And if they do, just coyly say: "Oh, my ear was itching."
5. Strike a pose!
Yoga combines breathing and stretching to decrease stress (and tone!) Again, you can use your body to calm your mind, release the tension. It’s not about the fancy lycra — yoga can be done at your desk.
6. Phone a friend.
The kind of friend who helps you get your perspective back, or at least gets you laughing. Connection is a basic human need, wired into your brain. And just when you need it most, you tend to withdraw.
Put a few folks on speed-dial and use that option readily.
7. Schedule some laughter into your day!
Set the timer for 15 minutes and give yourself permission to surf silly YouTube videos. It will be easier to get back to better concentration after you flood your brain with some refreshing chemical relief.
Curious about the science of laughter? It’s impressive and its benefits are numerous!
8. Go for a breather!
Get outside for 15 minutes in the middle of the day — cold or not — and get some fresh air. Take a walking meeting. Eat outside, or circle the building and notice the outside world.
This helps reset perspective, balance your brainwaves, and it removes you from the sea of stress clues so you can clear your head. Breathe!
9. Take a power nap.
Go ahead, put up the "Do Not Disturb" sign, close your eyes, and refuel for twenty minutes. A nap is way more powerful for your brain than that cup of coffee.
You're rebooting the system, replenishing the neurotransmitters and improving your memory.
10. Write down your top three worries.
Once you've written them down, consider this: What would you tell your best friend to do if she/he faced these?
Just naming them is helpful, but thinking about them from another angle can help you find new possibilities or at least regain a little perspective.
11. Do a worry "dump."
Start with a blank page and write down everything bothersome — big and little — rumbling around in your overly stressed out mind. Keep writing, then take a breath, smile, and send yourself a little love.
Now consider how would you like to spend your precious energy. Are these worries worth your time? How many can you just let go?
RELATED: The Scary Truth About What Happens To Your Body When You're Stressed
12. Make a list of 3-5 times you have succeeded.
In the face of any big or little challenge, it's important to remember that you have won at many points throughout your life. What strengths can you own and bring to your current situation?
In the middle of stress, it is easy and even natural to focus on gaps, failures, and insecurities, even to the point of thinking that everything is going to always fail. But really, just because you blew it as a parent this morning doesn’t mean your kids are going to need therapy for life.
Bring to mind some of your past successes in order to strengthen your confidence and creativity.
13. Find a little thing you can totally dominate.
Like tackling cleaning out one drawer with a vengeance, for example! This gives you some time to think and a sense of control over something!
Tidying
Keywords: anxiety, stress, relax, how to relieve stress, stress and anxiety
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