Practical Ways For Stress
In order to learn how to manage stress, we first have to learn about it. Stress is a feeling of emotional or physical tension. It can come from any event or thought that makes you feel frustrated, angry, or nervous. Stress is your body's reaction to a challenge or demand. Research has suggested that stress can even cause your brain to become smaller, signifying that too much stress for the body is not good for us.
We cannot remove stress from our daily lives — because we don’t exist in our own bubble. However, we can learn how to cope with stress. In today’s post I’d like to speak about some of the practical tips to help you cope with daily stress:
Journaling
Being able to write my emotions have taught me how to cope with my stress. How do you start? Write as freely and without judgements on a piece of paper, on your Note app on your phone. Anything that allows you to record how you feel. You can even do a voice journal if you don’t like writing!
Meditation
In today’s modern world, we can find meditation apps like Calm, Headspace easily available to you. There are also lots of meditation videos on Youtube that are free. With meditation, you don’t have to start with hours. You can start with just a simple 10-minute breathing session to calm your anxious soul. With meditation, images of a person sitting up right often pops up immediately into our heads. However, we can also perform walking meditation as an alternative. While you walk, try to just focus on your breathing. As you practice more, you will get better at it.
Feeding your soul with nutrition
Our main energy source is food and when we focus on nutrition loaded food, our body is fueled better. A healthy diet is one that is balanced. If you’re starting to learn how to eat better, you can follow my friend Alvina Olivia. Alvina shares plenty of meal ideas in her Instagram, and encourage people to eat a healthier diet. Through creating small, achievable habits; we can fuel ourselves better!
Movement
Anything that gets you moving helps you destress. It can be going for a run, lifting weights, going for a walk. Anything that gets you moving is GREAT. Exercise has been proven by research that it is as effective as psychotherapies and medication. You can also combine meditation with movement (meditative movement). Qigong, tai chi, yoga are some types of meditative movements. Changing your posture, breathing, and rhythm can all change your brain, thereby reducing stress, depression, and anxiety, and leading to a feeling of well-being.
Do give these tips a try and see if they help you to manage your stress level. If you have any additional stress management tips, do share them too!