When it comes to handling stress, finding healthy ways to deal with that stress is a must. Whether you’re struggling to finish an extensive work day, running behind on the countless errands you told yourself you’d complete by the end of the day or in a time-crunch to make a life changing decision, you must find healthy ways to deal with stress.
Stress reduction requires analyzing your current coping methods, knowing yourself and what your stress is rooted in, and learning how to find “play” in life’s seriousness in order to master your stress in a healthy way.
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Analyzing Your Current Coping Methods
The first step in managing stress is to take a deep look at your current coping methods, both healthy and unhealthy. Unhealthy methods range from withdrawing yourself from friends or partners, immersing yourself into a wild social life to avoid facing your problems, sleeping too much as well as eating too much or too little. Healthy practices include–but are not limited to–deep breathing exercises, mindfulness meditation, counseling and exercise.
Listed below are a few of the most common and healthy stress relieving practices that could benefit you, and here’s how:
Deep Breathing Exercises
Most people practice short breath exercises when really it’s deep breathing exercises that can help you reduce your anxiety and shift your energy to a more positive state. First, find a comfortable position to sit or lie down on where your back and neck are supported–whether that be on the floor with a pillow or in a chair.
Begin by inhaling through your nose until your stomach is full of air then out through your nose. Place one hand on your chest and the other across your stomach. As you breathe in, you should feel your stomach rise and as you exhale you should feel it lower–with the hand on your stomach moving more than the one placed over your chest. Finally, take three more deep, full breaths and really feel those breaths and your stomach as it rises and falls with each breath.
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Mindfulness Meditation
Meditation may be considered one of the most common mental health practices, however mindfulness meditation is best when feeling overwhelmed and looking to feel good. For those of you who don’t know, meditation is a practice while mindfulness is a quality that includes health benefits and positive qualities like self-esteem and self acceptance. Mindfulness is a state of being that emphasizes being present in the moment, and having non-judgmental awareness of your thoughts, feelings, body and environment.
Seeing as stressful situations are rooted in perception and the way we address these perceptions, it's important to prioritize not only the body but the mind and how it views situations that may cause stress. Using applications like The Mindfulness App, Mindful Daily, Calm or Headspace can help you practice a positive mindset through guided meditation and other breathing exercises when coping with stress.
Counseling
Sometimes the best stress relief is talking to an individual or counselor who specializes in stress management. While talking with family or loved ones may be a more convenient option than talking with a counselor, most people have found that a majority of stress-related challenges result in financial and communication challenges with the ones they love. For many, counseling serves as a safe space and healthy outlet for releasing emotion without the fear of judgment from the people they know.
Exercise
Stepping outside for just 30 minutes a day, four to five days out of the week is one of the best and most healthy stress relieving methods you can practice. Whether it's going on a walk or run, getting out of your work space or distancing yourself from technology, being outdoors is a reliable stress reliever that includes a distressing effect which fights anxiety, protects your vision and improves your ability to focus.
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Knowing Yourself and What Your Stress is Rooted in
Knowing yourself and what your stress is rooted in can help you to best understand why specific situations cause you anxiety. Re-evaluating the way you address stressful situations, identifying and examining your communication methods as well as response to these situations are some of the necessary steps that must be taken when truly getting to know who you are as a person.
Whether you’re a workaholic or simply struggling to separate your work life from your home life, assessing your current lifestyle and recognizing the potential areas of stress in that lifestyle are key to healthily coping with pressure.
When you feel stress, it affects your blood pressure and nervous system, but the good news is that you can reduce chronic stress if you reduce stressful situations in your life.
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How to Find “Play” in Life’s Seriousness
Being an adult is one of the biggest challenges people experience and though we’re told being a kid can only last for so long, that doesn’t mean we have to give up play. Taking a creative and fun approach to adulthood can help melt away life’s seriousness while still upholding your daily duties and responsibilities. While stress may be a common experience, the way you perceive that stress and allow it to affect you can have a permanent impact.
One of the easiest ways to naturally apply the lighthearted and relaxing mindset we see in kids is through positive reframing. Positive reframing includes viewing a negative or challenging situation in a more positive way that helps you to find the fun in solving your problems. A few easy ways to easily find “play” in life’s seriousness are making time for friends and family, learning a new hobby and scheduling periods in your day for relaxation and fun!
We hope you enjoyed our tips to manage stress levels. Follow our blog to see more wellness tips posted weekly, like our article about the benefits of coconut oil pulling. And if you're here for the swimsuits, be sure to check out our newest collection, BeachCandy Ranch.