Quick and Easy Ideas for Managing Stress and Anxiety
Every day we are doing our best to deal with all the things. For many of us there is no break, no escape, no time away from the onslaught of our family’s needs, work’s unending plea for more time, and the endless list of household chores. How do you manage the feelings of overwhelm, anxiety, and stress that come from this new lifestyle? Let’s take a look at some simple and effective strategies to help us cope.
The following strategies are not designed to rid you of anxiety and overwhelm. They are designed to help you decrease the feelings and then manage those feelings. Honestly, anxiety and stress are not bad things to experience. When kept in check, they actually help us to do “the things” better. We need to find your sweet spot and then learn how to stop anxiety and stress from pushing you past your ideal activation level. Think bell curve distribution and your sweet spot is a range that spans the top of the curve.
Why are we talking math when we are supposed to be managing anxiety? It is important to understand that there is an optimal amount of stress and/or anxiety that is helpful to experience. The suggestions below are meant to help you manage the stress, keep it in the optimal range, not remove it entirely.
Try these:
Deep Breathing: Slowing down your breath rate will force your body to slow down. By slowing the body down, you reduce your heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration rate. Each of these physiological processes affects your perceived stress level. By slowing them down, you are making your body relax and by extension, reducing your stress level.
Taking a hot bath or shower: Many of us carry tension in our muscles- tensed shoulders, tight backs, clenched hands. Hot water and steam will almost instantly reduce tension in muscles and help relax the body.
Exercising: Physical activity is not only good for overall physical health, it has been shown to have benefits on our mental health too! Exercise pumps you up and the bodily response is to release endorphins (body’s feel good neurotransmitter). This is also known as a runner’s high. But you don’t need to run to feel it. Any type of physical movement that gets your heart pumping will have this benefit.
Making a puzzle: Delving into a jigsaw puzzle may not seem a likely candidate for stress relief. However, it does have some anxiety busting benefits. Doing a jigsaw puzzle provides a focused way to use your brain in novel and creative ways. It also forces your focus onto a task that is benign and gets you to unplug. The repetition of sorting, finding, and placing pieces can be almost meditative in nature. All great ways to reduce stress (unplugging, distracting, and meditation).
Taking a walk: Think stroll rather than power-walk. This is about getting a change of scenery, taking time to unplug and decompress. Get out and get to know your neighborhood. You might just find that you never noticed it before. Everything looks different from the sidewalk! Plus you’ll get the benefit of distraction, movement, and possibly solitude to help relieve some of the stress you’ve been feeling!
Coloring: Yes, coloring. This is another activity that promotes unplugging, repetitive action, and distraction. Another form of meditation and you’ll have lovely art too! Download printables, use your kids old coloring books, draw a design free hand and then color it in. No judgement, just enjoyment!
Asking for a hug: Personal connections are hard to find right now. If you live with loved ones, give and get hugs. Physical touch has been shown to reduce stress in both the giver and the receiver. There is also some research that suggests hugging can help bolster your immune system. Any way to keep the immune system strong sounds like a good idea to me!
Petting your fur baby: There has been quite a bit of research done on the effects of human-animal interaction and human well-being. In general, humans who interact with animals (petting them, playing with them, or simply being near them) experience positive outcomes which include stress reduction (lower cortisol levels, decreased blood pressure, slowed heart rate).
Doing your hobby: Maybe you need to find a hobby first. That too has a positive effect on stress reduction. Getting involved in your hobby will promote self-care which is a key component to reducing anxiety. Your hobby will also help you to focus on something you enjoy and stop engaging your always-thinking-about-something mind.
By no means is this an exhaustive list of easy and simple activities to help relieve stress. If you are struggling with anxiety and stress that feels too difficult to manage with these strategies, we are here to help and support you. Please give us a call or use our contact us page to reach out and set up your first appointment