Techniques For Stress Relief And Relaxation

When was the last time you took a break from work? Did it feel like you were wasting your time relaxing? While it may bring about feelings of guilt, regular relaxation, and stress management activities are an essential part of your physical, psychological, and emotional wellbeing. 

The way your body responds to stress can be a telltale sign of how your life will be like in the near future. Unless your body can go back to deep relaxation, you might just find yourself developing unwanted chronic stress. 

How Can Chronic Stress Affect My Life?

Chronic stress is the kind of stress that could really weaken your immune system. Not only will it make you feel extra tired, but it could lead to a whole range of health problems. 

High blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes are just a few of the many lifestyle diseases you can suffer from because of chronic stress. 

There are various ways to deal with chronic stress. The first step is to prevent it from even happening. Learning different stress relaxation strategies could help restore the body in its healthiest form. 

Did you know that it is possible for you to be in a state where your body can become resilient to stress? You can train your body to become less reactive to stressors. This way, you can recover faster and get back to your natural, healthy state fast. 

How Can You Relieve Stress Fast?

How do you manage your stress?

Whether you are under a lot of pressure for a presentation that’s coming up or worried about whether you aced that job interview or not, all these moments can push you to try various techniques in handling stressful situations. 

You need to learn something you can do immediately. It has to be accessible at all times too. How then can you relieve yourself from stress? Here are some tips to help you out.

Tip 1: Admit that you are stressed

It is pretty obvious when a person is under a lot of stress, but it can be quite hard to admit that we can actually do something about it. Perhaps, you have spent so much time being frazzled and stressed that you have forgotten how it feels to actually be relaxed. 

Admit that you are stressed. Take a moment to listen to what your body is trying to tell you. When your eyes feel heavy, and your body feels too tired, let everything go and rest. When you’re happy, you can laugh it out easily. 

But when you are stressed, your body has a unique way of letting you know that too. Listen to it and make it a habit to watch out for body clues. When muscles tend to feel sore or your legs feeling cramped, you might be under a lot of stress. Recognizing this could help you in getting yourself some help.

Tip 2: Identify how you respond to stress

Internally, your body knows how to deal with stress, for better or for worse. First, it manifests itself through increased blood pressure levels, and the heart starts pumping like crazy. The muscles become constricted, making the rest of your body to work extra hard. 

Externally, however, different people have different ways of reacting to stress. Some might lose their appetite, even so far as not eating at all. 

Others indulge in eating their favorite foods, hoping the treats will help them forget about their worries. The sugar levels in the body get so high that the person becomes easily agitated, angry, and overly emotional. 

How you respond to stress will allow you to discover various ways you can alter such responses. Instead of eating sugary treats, you may want to engage yourself in another activity that helps you release your anxiety. 

Maybe you can try the arts or writing. You could perhaps also quiet your thoughts and emotions down by reading a book. All these are ways you can relax. In the process, you are also training your body to change the way it reacts to stress. 

Tip 3: Turn to your senses for help

To quickly relieve stress, try identifying which sense helps you feel calmer. This may require a bit of experimentation. As you go along and tap your other senses, make sure to record how your body responds to it. 

What specific sound or movement affects you the most? For example, if you turn to music, what type of songs do you listen to? Do you prefer specific artists or genres of music? What instantly puts you in a relaxed mood? 

Exploring a variety of sensory activities will help enhance your senses. More importantly, it enables you to gain more tools to combat the stress that you need to deal with in life. 

Tip 4: Look into your memories

If you are having trouble identifying sensory activities that could work for you, turn around and look for inspiration. Your memories from the past might just give you a hint. 

Take a moment to think back on the many ways that you calmed down as a child. Was it a stuffed toy or a blanket that made you feel secure? If it is, then perhaps tactile stimulation is what would work best for you.

Look at how the people around you are responding to stress. Follow the practices that you like and avoid those that you don’t like. For example, you don’t like it when your boss raises his voice over you due to stress. Then, try your best not to do it. 

You appreciate how your boss writes down simple notes of appreciation, despite being under a lot of stress. Follow the practice. Everything that you consider as a good response to stress may be something worthy of your time and attention. 

What’s Your Takeaway?

Stress has become a huge part of our modern lives, but it doesn’t have to be something you dread experiencing. When you discover the many ways you can help yourself relax and feel relieved, no amount of stress will ever pull you down. 

Instead, you will be able to teach yourself the many ways you can overcome stress and live a care-free life.