Have you ever felt like you just cannot unwind after a stressful week? Or that you can not keep your head straight before the next week because you know the next week will be just as stressful? Well we all know the fight-or-flight response and this is why you can not regain your contentment. It raises your blood pressure and gets your adrenaline going, but it is normally not a life-or-death situation, at least in most cases. To combat these effects for your upcoming stressful weeks, and for future reference, try these simple tips below and at the end of this article there is a link to a TED Talk video that will change your entire view on stress if you haven't already seen it.
Just breathe
Most of us forget about the easiest, most unappreciated thing to help us unwind, and that is taking big deep breaths, about five of them. Breathing is used in many meditation and yoga classes to relax the patient. Sometimes something so simple is what we need in the complexity of everyday life.
Tense Jaw
A lot of people hold tension in their back, neck, and jaws without even knowing it. No matter what age you are today we all hold more stress than our ancestors did. Trying to keep up with this ever-changing world is partly what causes it, and to help relieve the stress you build throughout the day, week, or weeks, just stretch and massage these areas for about 30 seconds or more, until you feel the tension release.
Play
Playing is not just for kids. Ever wonder why kids can be so calm and unstressed in certain stressful situations or weeks? It is because they play, laugh, and put their minds to something that does not involve important life decisions. Playing can be anywhere from creating something to purposeless fiddling, but it is far from meaningless. It is an important part of keeping your sanity in today's hectic world.
You canNOT control everything
Ever think when something goes wrong that it is all your fault, that you could have done something different and made it work out? Well some things in this world we can manipulate, change, predict, create, but others we can only be prepared for. Know when you can and canNOT control the outcome of something, whatever it may be. From simple matters to serious matters, we have to know when to beat ourselves up and when to accept the past. The most important thing to do is keep your head straight, know what is important, what we have control over and what we do NOT, and be prepared for it.
Engage with nature
In most of today's societies, people are becoming less involved in nature and more consumed by technology, machines, and well, just life. It is increasingly harder to connect with your senses and enjoy the most basic and yet complex things in life, and nature. Whenever you get a chance you should go for a walk in the woods, for a swim in the lake, or if you live in a cold region, go sledding, have a snowball fight. The point is to just engage your senses with nature. Smell the air, hear the crunch of the leaves, the crashing waves, or the fluff of the snow. See the beauty of the sunset, forest, or you know, you get the gist.
Considering any or all of these tips can help you unwind from a stressful day, week, or weeks, and give you a long-sought-after mini-vacation. Incorporate these tips into your habits and make your life that much better, or ignore these tips and look up your own. There are boundless amounts of tips out there for your individual preferences, these are just some of that I have always done that
help me, but everyone is different, yet much the same when it comes to relaxing, and most can be done in 15 minutes or less.
P.S. Some experts say that stress is good for you and those who believed stress was good for them actually lived longer than those who believed it was bad for them. Here is a link to the video below, this will change your entire view of stress. Listen to this expert below:
