10 Coping strategies for stress and anxiety!
We all battle from stress and anxiety through our hectic lives of balancing work, social life, responsibilities, and home life. A little bit of stress can actually catapult us into action, and motivate us to achieve a lot with our careers, or personal motivations, etc. However, too much worrying and stressing can negatively affect us both physically and mentally. I thought it would be a good idea to share techniques to help reduce stress that can be easily performed at any moment during the day- some tips can even be performed at work.
1. Try taking deeper breaths, try to expand the breath all the way to your belly. You can even try expanding your inhale to a 4 count, hold the breath for 4 counts, and exhale for 6 counts.
2. Avoid caffeine – I know, I know, easier said than done. Just remember caffeine affects our adrenal glands and makes it harder for us to relax.
3. Take a nice warm bath – or just take a 30 minute break for any form of ‘selfish’ time.
4. Exercise! Release some endorphins and get rid of some pent up energy!
5. Listen to some good music, anything you find soothing or pleasurable.
6. Eat chocolate! This is one of my favorite tips – chocolate releases phenylethylamine into the brain which helps to increase mood!
7. Laugh or smile – as per my previous blog entry, laughing and smiling releases endorphins, helping us feel better!
8. Try meditation, if you aren’t into meditating, then just try thinking about all the things in your life that are positive and that you are grateful for – believe it or not, this is actually a form of meditation!
9. Try writing it down. Pour all your thoughts, stresses, and worries into a journal, and let that journal be the holder of the information. Use writing as a form of a release, and the journal as a safe container for your worries.
10. Lastly, talk to someone. Confiding in someone releases the burden from your shoulders and may even help to see new perspectives on your stresses.