Stress is a silent killer and sadly we all have to deal with it. What most of us never realize is that we don’t have to stress out for everything. Some things just aren’t worth the energy. Here are some easy ways to unload and de-stress so you can finally live your best life.
Go Off the Grid
One of the easiest ways to bum yourself out is by comparing your life to others’. In a world of social media and reality shows everywhere we look, we often start to feel inadequate. One way to put a stop to those thoughts is to just get off social media for a while. Celebrities take “social media hiatuses” all the time, and for good reason.
By “unplugging”, you are forced to focus on your life at hand. Talk to your parents and/or siblings about their day. Take a walk around your neighborhood or even just go for a drive. You’d be amazed at how much stress you take on by constantly trying to find something to post about instead of living in the moment.
During your time off the grid you may discover how good your life actually is. Whether you’re in your 20’s, 30’s or maybe even older, just remember that there is no standard on life. It doesn’t matter how long it takes to get there, as long as you get there. Who knows, maybe you’ll like it better without social media!
Identify Your Stressors
What do you find yourself getting stressed out about? Take a day to monitor when you start feeling agitated or stressed out. You’ll soon realize that your triggers aren’t as important as you feel they are. What’s is important how you react to them.
Did someone cut you off on the way to work this morning? Who cares? Let them! It’s not the end of the world and it’s not our job to police other people. As long as you’re okay and your day isn’t altered, move on!
Just chill out and take a breath and know that you’re wasting energy on something that isn’t important. If you break down all of your stressors like this you will learn that almost nothing is worth the stress. We kill ourselves by how we react to minor inconveniences. Adopt a ‘who cares’ attitude to these small instances, but remember what you do need to care about. Some things require focus, others don’t.
Eat better
It’s going to be tough to kick the fast food habit. We’re not going to beat around the bush. Your body essentially treats you the same way you treat it. If you eat a lot of junk food, your body will react by making you feel sluggish and unhappy.
Once you start eating healthier and drinking more water you will immediately feel the difference. Ironically, drinking less sugary drinks and coffee will leave you feeling more energetic. Don’t ask me how it works, it just does! You’ll definitely see a dramatic mood increase.
Meditation
Meditation is not for everyone. If you’re more high-strung and don’t like to sit still, we recommend skipping this one. Meditating can do exactly what it’s meant to do if you just let it- clear your mind.
There are plenty of helpful apps available, like Headspace, that help you learn to turn your brain off for a few minutes. Sitting in a quiet, euphoric state is extremely liberating and you’ll never know if it’s right for you unless you try.
Get Enough Sleep
At some point in our lives we all think we can function on little sleep. The truth is once you get to a certain age you will cherish sleep. Going to bed at a reasonable time will leave you with more energy to get things done the following day. Getting things done will then unload all the stress of knowing you have been putting off chores.
Choose a schedule that works best for you because not everyone has the same day-to-day. Shoot for at least 6 hours of sleep and you’ll be fine. You should also aim for waking up early on weekends. Knock out those errands you’ve been putting off and keeping in the back of your mind!
Put the Phone Down
This one sort of ties into unplugging. Don’t wake up and immediately check your emails. Wait until you’re at work to deal with work-related things. There’s no sense in having your brain think about the workplace while you’re at home relaxing. Our jobs are the biggest stressors we have in life so why prolong it? Leave the emails and analytics for the office and reserve your home for focusing on yourself. The rest can wait.
Organize Your Life
Okay, this one might just be me. Whenever I’m feeling stressed out all I have to do is start cleaning. Organizing my belongings and trashing things I don’t use anymore calms my nerves and takes my mind off of my stressors.
Decluttering and organizing will lift a weight off your shoulders. Knowing that things are tidy and you’ve unloaded unnecessary items will leave you feeling accomplished. Think of it as tidying not only your belongings, but tidying up the brain as well!
Make a to-do List
Someone told me that making lists changed their life for the better. Once I started to do the same, I immediately saw how easy things got. We all have our to-do lists in our mind, but physically writing these lists bring them into reality. Physically seeing something will make us want to take care of it more.
There’s something satisfying about crossing something off of a to-do list. One less thing to worry about is one less thing to stress about. This is probably the easiest way to de-stress and you’ll wonder why you never did it before.
Go to the Gym
This last one is simple. Take your frustrations out at the gym. Run, jog or even just walk on the treadmill to spend all that energy you built up while being upset. Focusing your mind and body on exercising is one of the best ways to de-stress. In fact, your body produces endorphins that boost your mood while exercising!
