If your stress is high, and you are having trouble slowing your breathing, try offering some resistance to slow down the breathing process. Purse your lips, clench your throat, or breathe through another object like a straw to cut down on the amount of air flowing in and out. This will force you to slow down your breathing in order to get the air you need. If you have a little more time (that is, you aren’t surrounded by other people expecting something immediately), you can take a little more time to breathe properly. Find a comfortable position, sitting, standing, or even lying down if possible. Breathe gently and regularly, in through your nose and out through your mouth. Repeat for three to five minutes. By focusing on your actions, you can stop thinking about what is stressing you. [2] X Trustworthy Source National Health Service (UK) Public healthcare system of the UK Go to source
Relaxing your forehead, especially the area between your eyebrows, is another good facial muscle to force into a less stressful position. A furrowed, or tightened brow, is a common sign of anger or stress, so forcing it into a relaxed state can help to diminish those feelings.
Find an area of your body that feels tense, and gently massage it to relieve some of the tension. If you are not comfortable giving yourself a massage, then consider visiting a professional massage therapist. [5] X Research source
Keep CDs or a music player nearby, and take the effort to turn it on if you start to feel stressed. Get into the habit of listening to music when driving, walking around, or doing anything that doesn’t require you to communicate with others. [7] X Research source Singing along can also be a good way to engage your brain in something other than your stress. If you can’t get any music to sing along to, humming your favorite tune or just singing out loud without the music can work just as well. Just be sure to take note of your surroundings, and try not to sing so loudly at the office that you distract others.
Lavender has been used in aromatherapy studies and it seems to reduce stress. [9] X Trustworthy Source PubMed Central Journal archive from the U. S. National Institutes of Health Go to source Try wearing a lavender scented lotion or adding a few drops of lavender essential oil to the edge of your sleeve so that you will be able to smell it all day.
Try to work in a few minutes of exercise when you’re feeling stressed, or perhaps set aside some time every day to do some physical activity. For example, you could take a brisk walk around your neighborhood, go on a bike ride, or hit the gym right after you get off of work.
Sometimes a simple chore like washing dishes, organizing a closet, or anything else that requires your concentration, can help to take your mind off the things causing you stress. This will allow you to relax and refresh.
Find a quiet, comfortable place that you can make as dark as possible. Figure out how long you intend to nap. 10-30 minutes is good for a power nap, though you may want a little longer if you are really tired. Set an alarm, and make sure that when it goes off, you get up and back to work. Don’t forget to block out a little bit of time for you to fall asleep before setting the alarm. If you are at work, and can’t get comfortable, consider taking a nap in your car or going home for a nap during lunch if you have time. You can keep a sleep mask in your car to help block out the outside light and maybe even play some soothing classical music on your car stereo.
Sometimes stresses are signs of negative situations in your life. They could come from toxic friendships or troubles at work. It may also be stress brought on by getting too much in the way of negative substances, like alcohol, caffeine, or junk food. Identifying these stresses can help you address them by changing your behavior. Your stress may also be the result of cognitive distortions, where you incorrectly interpret the world around you. Try to stop negative thoughts and change negative thought patterns such as catastrophizing (only thinking of the worst case scenario) or filtering (where you ignore potential good aspects and focus on the negative). Recognizing that you are making these mistakes can help you find ways to move past them and calm your stress. [15] X Research source
It’s possible that your to-do list is too long, that you notice more things on there than you have time to accomplish. This can clarify your working conditions and help give you reasons to turn things down. Your first responsibility is to your own health and time, and if you don’t have time for something, it’s good to know that and say no to additional tasks.
Keep in mind that eight hours of sleep per night is considered ideal not only for your health but also to relieve stress at night. Some people need a little more or less, though. Depriving yourself of sleep can make your stress levels worse, so make sure that you make sleep a priority. Go to bed at the same time every night and develop a bedtime routine to make it easier for you to fall asleep and stay asleep.
Autogenic relaxation. This refers to focusing on something that comes from you. Think of an object or repeat a mantra in your mind. This should be a place, object, idea, or statement that gives you some happiness and allows you to relax. By thinking of this other thing, you take the focus off of your stress Progressive muscle relaxation. This exercise involves you slowly clenching and relaxing the muscles in your body. Tense for about 5 seconds, then relax for 30, thinking not just about moving your muscles, but how it feels when they are relaxed. It can help to start in one part of your body, maybe down at your feet, and work your way up your body, tensing and relaxing all your muscles in succession. Visualization. This involves you forming mental images to take your mind to a relaxing place. As you visualize, think about the way your different senses feel the place you have gone. For example, if you are visualizing yourself on a beach, include thoughts about the sound of crashing waves and the feel of sand between your toes.
During your worry time, try to use problem solving to find solutions to some of your worries that you can control. For example, if your boss is angry and overbearing, then you can decide to look for a new job. If you are worrying about problems that you cannot control, then look for ways to reduce your stress instead.
