When we get older, we slowly start to take on more responsibilities. We begin to take charge of our own lives, and at times it can all get to be a lot. Whether it is worrying about grades, extracurricular programs, or for some of us trying to choose and then get into the best college possible, we all are susceptible to getting stressed or being apprehensive about the future.

Our generation stresses taking care of our mental health and making it something that we talk about rather than something we sweep under the rug and ignore. It’s vital that we take advantage of this and take care of ourselves mentally and emotionally before it develops into something that can’t be easily handled.

Whatever you might be going through there are always step you can take to help slowly take the stress away and calm your mind, body, and soul for at least a moment or two.

The most basic thing you can do is just to breathe. This can sound incredibly cliché, we breathe every second of our lives, so how does this work? When we take slow deep breaths, it can force us to take a much-needed pause in order to make some of the anxiety and stress go away.

Another way breathing can be helped to take away stress is through meditation. Personally, I use a meditation app called Breathe. It takes you through different meditation sessions that can directly help in times of stress and anxiety through breathing and focusing on specific thoughts to help regroup emotions.

Relaxing physically can also help relax our minds. An excellent way to do this is by just taking a hot bath to help relax every muscle in the body. Bath salts or even a good bath bomb can work well in relaxing the body even more so while also giving off good scents to help boost your mood. Overall, never underestimate the power of a good bath and good bath products.

My favorite stress reliever, and probably the most effective, is exercising. Though some of us lack the willpower to go to the gym consistently, it is proven to be one of the best ways to get rid of stress, anxiety, or any bad energy that you may be carrying around. Working out releases a chemical in our brains called serotonin, which is the chemical that makes us feel happy and hopeful.

You don’t have to run on the treadmill for an hour or bike for ten miles. Instead, you can do things like yoga, dancing, or swimming. Whatever your preference may be, when you go into a workout feeling bad, it can be guaranteed you will feel better coming out of it (if you don’t over-do it).

Life gets harder as we go through life and face different obstacles that we may not always know how to handle. It’s good to learn how to cope with hard situations early on in life, so we don’t let our emotions swallow us whole.