In today’s society, we have so many responsibilities that we have to deal with on a daily basis, that we often feel extremely overwhelmed.
We have to get the kids ready for school, drop them off, go to work, deal with office politics, spend hours commuting home, help the kids with their homework, cook dinner, attempt working out, spend quality time with our significant other, and so on.
Then we wake up and do it all over again…
It’s no wonder we’re all at each other’s throats.
Well, the truth of the matter is that there are only 24 hours in a day, which means that we can’t create more time and we certainly can’t cheat it.
What does that leave us with?
Since none of us have “God-Like” powers with the ability to create or stop time, the solution to relieve stress is to schedule stress-relieving periods into your daily schedules.
In this article, I’ve listed seven simple stress-relieving techniques that you could easily schedule into your daily lifestyle without taking up too much of your limited time.
Please give each one a try and you’ll soon be leading a more stress-free lifestyle.
Let’s dig in…
1)) Using Hope To Relieve Stress
Being hopeful is a quiet confidence that tells your brain that eventually, all will be well.
Write out a plan today about how you will tackle just one major problem in your life. Write it out step-by-step.
Make an action plan about how you will tackle each of those points.
Sit and relax, deep breathing, seeing only that beautiful picture. See all of your most pressing problems resolved. See how you will work to resolve each of your dilemmas.
When you sit up from your relaxed state, write out how you will tackle the problems you have just imagined.
Now, go about doing what you have written one step at a time. The ability to relax, meditate, imagine and plan to resolve a problem is a proven stress buster. You can take control of each and every problem in your life that causes you undue stress.
2)) Using Imagery To Relieve Stress
Begin by relaxing in a comfortable chair. Take deep, cleansing breaths, and then release them slowly.
Start by imagining a scene, place, or event that you recall as being safe, peaceful, restful, beautiful, and happy.
Bring all your senses into this imagery by recalling sounds of cool, running water, the song of birds, the smell of fresh-cut grass, the heat of the sun, etc.
Imagine that you are in a place free from stress and pressure.
Concentrate on developing your five senses. Savor the pictures of serenity. Smell the freshness of nature. Feel the warmth and comfort of the sun and the air. Behold of the beauty of the animals, of nature. Each image will be different for each person. Really focus on what you can see, taste, touch, smell, and feel.
Now imagine that all of your stress, worries, and concerns are being zapped from your body.
Feel each stress point release as if into thin air. As you feel the stress drain from your body return back to your picture of imagery. Relax there and deep breaths.
Imagery substitutes your actual experience with something much more ideal. It allows you a renewed sense of self-confidence to take on the stress of your life.
During imagery, your body is relaxed and recharged. Your stress levels lessen and adrenaline disperses.
It gives your mind and body a break from the stress of having control and you have complete mastery over your mind and body for that time period.
Imagery is a great life balancer, but the process does take some practice.
3)) Using Deep Breathing To Relieve Stress
Deep breathing is a very simple, effective way to relax. It is a core part of well-known relaxation techniques, everything from the "take ten deep breaths" approach to yoga relaxation and Zen meditation.
It works well with complementary techniques such as progressive relaxation, relaxation imagery, and meditation to effectively deal with stress.
To use the technique, take a number of very deep and purposeful breaths and then relax your body further with each breath out.
There is no magic to doing this. It is that simple.
Do you know what the best part is?
You can perform deep breathing exercises almost anywhere at any time, which is great for managing your stress levels on demand!
4)) Using Your Notebook Before Bed To Relieve Stress
If you toss and turn at night, unable to empty from your mind, the contents of a busy day, this is a great relaxation exercise for you!
- Bring a notebook to your bedside (Yes, good old-fashion pen and paper!)
- Turn on slow, soft mood music.
- Lay quietly and as thoughts come in to disturb your solace, write them all down.
When you are ready to fall asleep, you will have “dumped” all of the noisy thoughts and clatter from your busy day that would serve to steal your sleep from you. Writing it all out helps you to empty your mind of it.
Reread all of your notes making a mental memo to release all your worries down a sea of care.
Envision each of your worries out on a raft about to hit the waterfall. Watch as the raft is eaten up by the falls and so goes your worries.
Return to your slumber listening to your peaceful music.
At this point, you should have no problem relaxing and falling asleep.
5)) Using Simple Stretching To Relieve Stress
Lean your right ear down to your right shoulder and stretch the left side of your neck as you do.
Now, switch sides and do the other side. Now, look down and drop your chin towards your chest.
Now slowly, let your head roll to the right and then to the left. Repeat slowly until you feel yourself loosen up.
You can do this same exercise for your shoulders, too.
Try a few shoulder circles, as well. This is simple to do and when you take the time to do these several times a day, your range of motion will increase and you'll feel considerably more relaxed.
Not to mention improve the circulation of your blood.
6)) Using A Friendly Smile To Relieve Stress
Always begin your day with a broad smile on your face. Your purpose is to remain lighthearted and every time you see someone, give him or her, a big sincere smile.
You will be surprised how easily this action will affect your mood.
When you sincerely smile at others, it has a very positive impact on them and can even be infectious.
Now, I’m not talking about some fake creepy-looking smile.
You should actually genuinely want to smile at others; otherwise, they’ll sense that you’re being phony.
You could share a tasteful non-offensive joke or two and try to make someone else laugh.
Feeling lighthearted is a good thing!
7)) Using Simple Affirmations To Relieve Stress
Gently close your eyes and repeat positive affirmations. Tell yourself over and over what you want to believe to be true, such as: 'I am calm' or 'I am confident and sure of [fill in the blank]…'
Keep in mind that your body will feel what you believe to be true!
Do not underestimate the power of your mind, because it’s the most powerful tool you have to reduce stress.
Conclusion
Techniques such as Imagery, Meditation, Deep Breathing, and Affirmations may take some getting used to, but the potential impact is well worth the effort.
Just ask people who actually practice those techniques on a regular basis.
Here’s the thing…
You don’t have to implement them all at once.
Pick the one that interests you the most, and implement it immediately.
Stick with it for at least 30 days, and then evaluate how you feel to determine whether it’s had a positive impact on your life.
After applying these simple stress-relieving techniques to your lifestyle, you’ll notice an increase in the quality of your life within a relatively short period of time.
And I repeat, be sure to practice them on a consistent basis in order to reap the benefits.
While it’s impossible to totally eliminate stress from your life, you can however control the way you handle it.
Don’t you owe it to yourself?
I think so.
Begin applying the techniques today and zap that stress right out of your life!
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