28 Calming Things to Do When You Feel Stressed Out
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Stress is all around us. It doesn’t take much to feel like everyone else is on top of their life, and you’re the only one who can’t untangle themselves from the knot. But it’s not worth stressing over — there are many things you can do to destress and come back refreshed and rejuvenated, even if your schedule looks packed as a result.
1. Meditate While Taking a Walk
Meditate while walking. You can do this ANY time! How? Focus your attention on the present moment by focusing on your breathing. While walking, this can be very easy. Just focus on your breath as you walk. If your mind starts to wander, take notice of that thought, smile and let it go. This is an opportunity to practice letting go of negative thoughts and not being hard on yourself. You are now back in the present moment again, only this time you’re aware of what was going on inside your head! Meditation is something that helps with anxiety and stress. I find myself in constant meditative mode as I’ve trained myself to be aware of the Now moment, which is the only moment there is.
2. Take Yourself on a Date
Now, this has nothing to do with a partner, but more with the person you are. Take yourself on a date. Go out to dinner and instead of sabotaging yourself by eating unhealthy or drinking too much, eat healthily and eat portions that will make you feel pleasantly full. You will find many healthy options on the restaurant´s menu or ask for a few suggestions. Sometimes when we hide behind alcohol or food we miss out on a lot of opportunities to actually enjoy our lives as it is. You deserve that relaxing dinner and glass of wine or even special dessert. I started taking myself on a date regularly years ago. I also started buying myself flowers.
3. Stop Scrolling Mindlessly
If scrolling mindlessly is something that stresses you out, stop it! Get off those screens and start doing some instant gratification. Take a break from social media, get a game of your choice and shut everything else off. This may only be for ten minutes, but it will allow you to relax more easily. The brain loves any kind of rewards or distractions so try turning off your devices for just ten minutes a day to help reduce stress levels. This is a little more difficult for me but at some point at night I force myself to close the computer and although sometimes this feels a little abrupt, it does work.
4. Go to Bed Earlier Each Night
Getting enough sleep is important because when we are lethargic and tired, our bodies cannot function properly. So, naturally, you will feel more stressed. Instead of feeling stressed out at work and then going home to a stress-filled relationship, it’s best if you go to bed earlier each night and get some quality uninterrupted sleep. Although I find myself going to bed late at times, over the years I must admit I’ve got better and better at this. Some things take longer to change than I thought, but I’ve improved a lot since I started!
5. Eat Slowly
One of the world’s most successful meditation teachers, Pema Chodron, says that when we pause before taking our first bite, we can pause and feel grateful. Eating slowly calms the mind and body. It allows us to take the time to really savour each bite. When we eat quickly or in a hurry, we tend to overeat. Eating slowly helps keep our weight down, which decreases stress levels. This is true for both your health and your wallet! I find I eat faster when I don’t do my meals at the correct times, and that’s because I end up very hungry. This is something I’m still working on! 🙂
6. Listen to Music
Research shows that listening to music calms the nervous system and can lower blood pressure, heart rate, and muscle tension. It also helps you to relax, feel energized and focus. It’s true. Music is one of the most calming things around, so get your favourite player out and listen to your favourite songs. I particularly adore classical music and Chopin will always calm me down.
7. Practice Loving Kindness
This practice can be done in different ways, but the idea is kind of similar: think of someone you love who lives far away and they are going through a difficult time. Think of the one who is close to you. If you can’t think of anyone you love, think of someone who might be difficult for you to love and visualize that person in their position. The practise teaches us to remove our own judgment and see things from a compassionate and understanding perspective, as well as learn compassion towards others.
8. Surround Yourself With Positive People
Being around people who have happy minds helps us to have a happier life! These people are usually very positive and full of light. Besides that, if you are around people who are negative, you will be drawn into their mindset and will follow suit. I believe that the human mind can attract negativity and it is best to surround yourself with positivity because it will help to keep your mind positive as well.
9. Have a Laugh
Laughter is like a stress buster! I love being in the presence of others when they are laughing. It feels so warm especially when you hear a laugh from a child. It brightens anyone’s mood. At work, if I feel that the day is turning into a stressful one, I will stop and play some music or watch something funny. It helps me to relax, refocus and reframe my attitude. That’s why I find comedy movies a stress reliever because although laughter helps to release our tension and stress, it doesn’t work instantly 🙂
10. Do Some “Fidgeting”
Fidgeting, or “non-exercise activity,” can help us to think more clearly and feel more inspired. If you can’t stop worrying at work, try rubbing your palms together, tapping your feet, shaking your hands, etc. We do these fidgety things without realizing it, but when we do it on purpose, we can help our brains become more active. We can also feel inspired and creative.
11. Read a Positive Book
Just as music has been proven to lower stress levels, reading positive books can have the same effect. Reading is a very personal and intimate experience that involves imagination and creativity. It also helps us to learn and improve our own language as well! Reading is a very relaxing experience, and we believe it can be an effective way to help relieve stress. Also, reading may cause us to feel more creative, which can help us think more clearly and imaginatively. This is especially true when you read poetry or short stories. Poetry induces aesthetic experiences that produce contentment and peace.
12. Incorporate More Movement Into Your Day
Moving can make you feel more energized and inspired. A way to do this is to exercise by taking a walk or doing some stretches after a hard day at work. It might sound simple, but it definitely helps! However, I know that for some people this is a difficult thing to do. I, too, find it challenging to move more often but I have found that sometimes it really helps relieve stress. It can be an exercise in self-discipline!
13. Pray More Often
Praying to a Goddess or a higher power is one of the most powerful ways to connect with our spiritual side and feel more at peace with the world around us. Connecting with our spiritual side helps us to sense and feel the presence of everything around us, including our loved ones who have passed away.
I believe that our spirituality can help us to overcome the challenges of life.
14. Do Something Nice For Someone
This may sound simplistic, but it’s amazing how this small thing can make you feel better. Spending a day doing something nice for someone else can help you to feel more light and have a new perspective on the world around you. I know that I always feel more energized when I have given of myself in some way! It makes me very happy to see another person’s happiness, so this is such a great way of feeling inspired and uplifted!s
15. Become More Assertive
Being assertive is a skill that we can all learn, whether we have social anxiety or not. Being assertive means that we are being honest about our feelings without being aggressive or disrespectful, with the goal of achieving resolution and improving the situation. It is important to learn how to say no and to be assertive because this helps us to put a stop to things that are making us feel overwhelmed.
16. Write a Thought
Many people believe that writing can be a good way to relieve stress and anxiety. We all tend to hold onto stress and anxiety until we express them in some way. Writing can help us release our negative emotions, whether they are anger, sadness, or simply the need to vent them.
17. Get a Cup of Tea/Coffee
Drinking tea or coffee is a very relaxing experience and can help calm your nerves. Even if it’s not warm or hot, the smell alone is enough to relax our minds! There are some teas and coffees that are renowned for their calming effect. I personally love chamomile tea and I have found it to be very relaxing.
18. Reduce Your Emotional Baggage
This is one of the most important things to do if you feel that your life has become over-stressed. If you are carrying too much emotional baggage from the past, it will make it harder for you to enjoy your life. We all have had difficult moments in our lives and it is OK to be still with your feelings of depression and upset. It’s important to work towards becoming neutral towards negative emotions. This can only be achieved when we stop running away from our emotions.
19. Go for a Walk
Going for a walk is one of the most relaxing ways to get some fresh air and clear your mind. It can also help if you feel like you are suffocating in your own headspace. A walk can help to calm you down and relax you.
20. Look for the Positive
Sometimes when we are feeling stressed and anxious, it is difficult to see the positive side of things. This is because our perception of reality has become more negative than positive. One way to look at this issue is that many things in life do not change, they only go around and come around. If you find yourself feeling like this, try looking for the positive side of the situation.
21. Learn a Musical Instrument
It is NEVER too late. Music can be a great way to let all of your negative emotions go. It releases energy and emotions and can help to reduce your stress and anxiety. Playing music helps our minds to focus more clearly and we tend to feel more energized. I personally love playing piano and I recently bought a violin so I can learn to play! I think that it’s really important to have a instrument that you can play well so that you can feel motivated and inspired.
22. Let Go of Control
Sometimes we can get so wrapped up in wanting everything to go our way that we forget why we do certain things. It’s important to let go of the need to have control of every moment – this is a sure way to increase stress and anxiety. Remember we’re not letting go of control, but of the illusion of control 🙂
23. Take a Bath
Taking a bath is one of the best ways to relieve stress. Our minds tend to wander when bathing, so it becomes easier for us to relax and feel less stressed. Of course, it’s best to take a warm bath and spend time relaxing in it. It’s very beneficial for our bodies to stay warm and bathe in the warmth of water. You can dim the lights and close the door to your bathroom. It is the perfect place to release any negative feelings you’re having about a certain situation.
24. Connect with Nature
Connecting with nature is one of the most effective ways to fight stress and anxiety. Whether it is spending time at the beach, or just enjoying the last rays of sun on a nice sunny day, we all tend to feel happier and more connected to nature. Plan a day and spend more time outside, whether it is in your own backyard or a national park.
25. Learn to Take Responsibility for Your Feelings and Actions
Being responsible for our own lives is one of the most important things we can learn. When we are young, we tend to rely on our parents to take responsibility for us. As adults, it’s important that we learn to take responsibility for our feelings and actions in any situation. Taking responsibility helps us to face our problems with a clear head and less stress and anxiety.
26. Write Down Your Feelings
Writing down your feelings is one of the most effective ways to relieve stress. Knowing what you are feeling will help you to learn more about yourself, which can help you feel grounded and not swayed and overwhelmed by your emotions. Start by just writing one thing you are feeling in that moment and continue to write every day. Writing down your feelings can help you to become less stressed and anxious.
27. Reflect on Your Past Achievements and Accomplishments
When we are feeling overwhelmed by life, it is important to reflect back on the things that we have achieved. Reflecting on our past helps us to feel motivated and inspired to do more in the future. It is easy to think that we are failures and that life has passed us by. Of course, this isn’t true and it’s important to remember what we have achieved up until now.
28. Take Some Time for YOU!
You can’t be there for others if you aren’t there for yourself first. It’s important that we don’t neglect ourselves and our own feelings. We need to learn how to pay attention to our own needs in order to be better able to meet the needs of others.
Learn to Relax!
So there you have it, 28 ways that you can help yourself to decrease stress and anxiety. I think that if you do them all you’ll notice a huge difference. I most definitely have. Get started with some relaxing candles and a hot bath tonight, then watch how your stress and anxiety levels start to disappear.
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. Please share with your friends if you did.
