10 Ways To Relieve Stress Easily

Dealing with chronic stress takes a long time and a lot of effort. But what do you do if you’re stressed right now and need to calm down?

Here are ten easy ways to break through that stress bubble and get on with your day.

1. Cut it short

The smallest things can stress us easily and that can lead to other things feeling more stressful, and on and on it goes. One of the best ways to stop your body from stressing is to fight stress the moment it starts when it’s at its weakest. If seeing too many unread emails in your inbox or five missed calls from your mother stresses you out, give a quick thought to whether you should really get yourself worked up over it and then just face it square on.

2. Take a deep breath

Breathe in and then breathe out. Meditation is a very beneficial way to calm you down, improve your focus and get rid of mental distractions. It’s really simple to do; just sit comfortably and take slow, deep breaths, focusing all your attention on your breathing and away from all that’s raging in your mind (that’s the hard part).

Breathe

3. Make a decision

Decisions, big or little, can be so stressful. While we always want to make the right ones, that can take time. However, if a small decision is stressing you out, make a decision and move on. You can ask yourself if the stress is as important as the decision. As long as it doesn’t have serious consequences, there’s no need to be going through all that stress.

4. Admit how you feel

A lot of times, telling yourself just how you feel can surprisingly calm you down. Admit to yourself exactly what the negative emotion you feel is and give it a name. Saying you’re “overwhelmed” or “exhausted” can go a long way to calming yourself down.

5. Strike a pose

You don’t need to transform into a supermodel in front of a camera, but striking a powerful, confident pose can help reduce your stress level, even if only for a few minutes. Before your big interview or meeting, look in the mirror and find those poses that can make you more confident and feel more powerful.

6. Eat

Stress-eating is bad; we all know that. However, stress can sometimes be intensified by mundane things like not taking care of your needs like food. If you’re anything like me, a few bites of great food can turn that bad mood around. Just ensure that you don’t overeat. That would suck.

7. Exercise

Working out may be the last thing you’d want to do when you are feeling stressed. However, exercise braces your body for stress because your body thinks you’re in a stressful situation (like you’re running for dear life). So, your brain releases chemicals to help fight that stress. A little exercise can make you feel so much better.

8. Laugh out loud

LOL! Laughing puts you in a better mood. It is known. Laughing is a better cure for stress than you know. Laughter really is the best medicine. Save a video that makes you laugh on your phone for when you’re feeling stressed out, or just relax on your couch and watch a good comedy show with someone you love.

9. Switch off your phone

Constant notifications and attention-seeking from your phone can really spike up stress levels, even if work isn’t stressing you out. Regardless of where you are, if you’re feeling a little stressed out, switch off your phone for a few hours. That disconnection may just be what will help you calm down.

10. Start fighting long-term stress now

The tips above will help you get through a quick bout of stress, but if you find yourself feeling that way more often, it could be a different, chronic problem. The best thing to do when that happens is to fight your chronic stress at the source. Start by learning what stress does to you and what you can do about it. Things like changing your expectations of things can help. Remember, the little things can make a big difference.