Tension. Pressure. Anxiety. Stress. We've all experienced what it's like to stumble across these challenging situations...
To those who may be inquisitive in ways of coping with these circumstances, here's a list of relieving, and serene tasks and activities to try this year:
1. Manage your time. This is always first and foremost! Be sure to set goals, prioritize your tasks and the amount of time it may take to complete them. Never underestimate your abilities, and always begin working with a positive mindset and a smile! It's quite amazing what results we can retrieve by just a simplistic change in attitude! We've all done it, but try to not contemplate, gain indecisiveness, and put things off to the last minute. This will dig miles and miles of strain further to the dirt!
2. Make sleep a priority. Having it be a vast portion of our physical health, sleep surely does wonders. Benefitting our heart, mind, weight, quality of life, energy, immune system, creativeness, motivation, grades, sharpening our attention, avoiding accidents and/or other distractions, steering clear of depression and further stress, sleep is the "Beyoncé" to reducing your stress levels.
Trust me, you don't wanna go throughout your day like Chandler:
3. Stay hydrated! Drink plenty of water! In fact, dehydration steers the body into slow-motion! When you don't give your body the fluids it needs, you simply putting stress on it. Stress can result in the same responses of dehydration. Nausea, headache, increased heart rate, and fatigue are just a few of side effects, so drink your H2O, my dudes!
4. Learn something new. It's okay to go out of your comfort zone, try new things, find a new hobby or even passion! Doing what you love and loving what you do shall release strain and fulfill one with pleasure and exuberance! It's good to work and focus on the tasks that are set as the top priorities, but also setting aside "me, myself, and I time" should also be located in the list of things to accomplish daily/weekly/monthly to consistently allow happiness to outpour! Remaining content with your life is a big plus!
5. Engage in small acts of kindness. "How you make others feel about themselves says a lot about you" (Unknown). Even if you incorporated in the smallest deeds, they may mean the more than you'd ever think to that person. This can allow for a rocket of respect, self-quality, and love, to take flight, and soar above the stress!
6. Turn off all electronics and distractions. Turning off your virtual world and turning on what has to be done will be the most proactive decision you will ever make! It's quite amazing how oblivious some of us may be on the account of the amount of distractions that lie before our naked eyes! Shutting off our technology will truly impact the way we prioritize and accomplish the incomplete!
7. Meditate and/or do yoga! Practicing mindfulness can decrease and also treat depression! Yoga and meditation are most certainly a win win for the mind, body, and soul!
8. Listen, play, or sing along to music. Whether it be the story behind the lyrics, the sick beats, or the artist's voice, music is specified to be therapy for all! Though he doesn't know it, Spotify and I are married. I take him with me everywhere and anywhere I go! Also, he's super flexible with time, and he responds to all of my emotions with just the right playlists!
9. Look up at the stars. Go outside. Be adventurous. Take your mind off of things. Relax. Breathe deep. Don't overthink. Dream on.
10. Socialize! Communicate with the ones that give life meaning! It can be relieving to have a little heart-to-heart conversation with your family and friends!
11. Paint on a surface other than paper. Painting either your nails, on a canvas, on rocks, or even the walls set the mind at ease!
12. Dance like nobody's watching! Express yourself! Letting all emotions hang lose without a care in the world is super duper healthy for all individuals, for it increases flexibility, makes the heart go "boom boom," and last but not least, releases tension!
13. Workout. Healthy living is happy living!
14. Write in a journal. Recording your thoughts, emotions, and dreams on paper is a great way to inspire, motivate, and dedicate yourself to what you aspire to achieve! Reflecting upon your mentality may also encourage you to work harder to examine how far you've come, and how much has changed!
15. Declutter your workspace. Throw things away you do not need, and stay organized! The more work you examine in or on your workspace, the more anxiety will begin to build up within you due to perceiving all that has to be completed, and what is (literally) standing in your way!
16. Share the love, and hug! According to Sheldon Cohen and Carnegie Mellon, published in Psychological Sciences, hugging is stated factual to reduce stress due to conveying support and an act of trust through just a simple, loving hug! Hugs are a prime component of social support in account of intimacy. Other than stress, hugging can also help alleviate elevated levels of heart rate, heart disease, and blood pressure! The more hugs, the merrier!
17. Begin to accept things that may not end up perfect. Perfectionism has lied or may still lie within some of us to this very day. I would like to make it a notion that we are human beings, we are imperfect souls, and grasping onto the ideology that nothing and no one is perfect, is another key to reduce stress. Many of us go throughout our day(s) comparing ourselves to other individuals, aspiring to look or act like a certain someone is what others feel as if they need to do to be accepted by society.
18. Eliminate negativity from your life. Be sure to replace any negative thoughts wandering throughout your mind into positive, happy intentions! If you go throughout life looking down upon anything or anyone, you won't soar as high as you'd ever desire to.
19. Eat healthy! Don't forget to eat throughout your busy schedule! Staying away from junk food, and instead, consuming clean, nourishing food for our bodies can deliver beautiful results! For example; feeling good and not down in the dumps, more energized due to a smaller intake of unnatural sugars, maintaining a healthy weight, reduce risks of chronic diseases, and promote your overall health.
20. Retail therapy. Who doesn't love to shop till they drop?! Though it may lighten the load in our purses and pockets, purchasing new clothing, accessories, and/or gifts for others can greatly boost our confidence and self-worth, gradually decreasing our negativity and stress upon the world outside the department store's doors.
