In the West, and indeed around the world, people are reporting higher levels of stress in their lives. Partially due to work, family commitments, and simply having a lot on their plate that they cannot manage, which unfortunately can be very difficult to mitigate!
Depending on your level of stress, there are some ways that you can reduce this illness and start to feel better about your life. It will take some work but don’t worry! Not all of the tips are hard, and some of them are enjoyable.
Here are five tips that you can use to reduce stressors in your daily life.
- Be Quirky!
This may be more difficult depending on the type of job that you have. For example, you can’t dye your hair pink if you work in a five-star hotel! However, you can still be quirky in other areas of your life if this brings you joy. Instead of opting for a leather sofa, buy a bean bag couch, for example. Or purchase brightly colored clothing that has caught your eye. Or start a project that you have been putting off for a while. These aren’t necessarily quirky things, but they can help to get your energy going in different areas of your life, which can help to reduce the focus on the areas that are stressful.
- Download A Meditation App
Meditation apps are everywhere these days. Once again, depending on your level of stress, there will be an app that can help you manage it and reduce it from as little as 10 to 20 minutes a day. Most of these apps will aim to have you meditating by yourself, which is a stress-reducing skill that you can practice anywhere.
- Exercise
Exercise is a great way to relieve stress as it releases endorphins, oxytocin, and adrenaline, which are all feel-good chemicals. It can also help you get rid of excess energy, which may be contributing to anxiety and stress overall. Also, exercise will help to keep your weight under control and keep your heart healthy.
- Eat Healthily
Diet plays a huge part in stress levels and general health. So be sure to eat your five a day, drink plenty of water, and aim to consume three meals. Try to avoid stimulating beverages or foods. Aim to keep saturated fats to a minimum too. These can be changes that you make gradually, but they will help to minimize your stress.
- Stay Organized
Staying organized can be hard if you are a busy person. But much like the meditation app, there are now calendar apps that can keep your week organized and inform you of when you have meetings coming up or when you need to attend appointments. The more you avoid getting things done, the more stressful they will become, and you will feel overwhelmed. Staying organized can also be as simple as placing post-it notes around your work area to remind you of when you need to do things. If you are overly stressed, try to take baby steps in your daily life towards achieving difficult tasks.
