Some things are inevitable in life and stress and anxiety are unfortunately a few of them. As much as we may tell ourselves that we are immune, we are not. Whether we suffer on a small or large scale, finding a way to deal with them can sometimes be challenging. We are going to take a look at just a few ways to help ease stress and anxiety and hopefully get you back to your happy place as soon as possible.
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Exercise
Although it may initially seem like another con just to get you to go for a run, it is actually far from it. There is a fair amount of science attached to the benefits of exercise when it comes to stress. To understand the full benefit, we have to look at some of the primary causes of stress and anxiety. One of the top reasons for stress and anxiety is a lack of sleep.
Falling into the lack of sleep circle is quite dangerous. Lack of sleep can heighten levels of stress. Exercise releases endorphins. Endorphins help promote sleep and not only that, they are a natural painkiller. Stress and anxiety are both in fact, triggers of pain receptors, so they can both be lessened with a little exercise.
Meditation
First of all, we should get our minds around precisely what meditation is. In its essence, meditation is simply a time where you can be completely silent and add clarity and balance to your thoughts.
Sometimes all we need to manage stress and anxiety is to be able to quantify what is causing it. Meditation isn’t about achieving nirvana or a complete hold on one’s mind. It can be used to give yourself time to escape from stress and balance your thoughts. You can take a yoga class and incorporate both exercise and meditation into your life. I highly recommend it.
Animal Magic
Some anxiety and stress sufferers find it difficult to find comfort in people. A great alternative to this is to have some animal time. Time spent fussing and playing with any animal can increase the amount of oxytocin. Oxytocin is a stress-reducing hormone, and the more you produce, the quicker the stress dissipates.
Animals such as dogs can also provide comfort, the likes of which you can generally only find from humans. This feeling is called grounding or weighting. This can also come from a weighted blanket. They work in the same way as comforting contact. That pressure is called the deep pressure touch and in itself can work wonders on stress and anxiety.
Relaxation Exercises
Relaxation exercise work in a different way to both meditation and regular exercise, even though they are really both rolled into one here. Relaxation exercises like yoga or chi based activities come highly recommended.
What these exercises do is encourage the relaxation of each individual muscle group as well as the mind. When doing this, you are allowing your mind to focus its concentration elsewhere and step away from the stress and anxiety.
By the time your exercise session has finished, your mind and body are both in a completely different place.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
The first thought that comes to the mind when therapy is mentioned is, “I’m not at that point and don’t need to see anyone.” However, CBT itself is a fantastic process that works wonders for some. It doesn’t work for everybody but CBT, at its core, helps take the association of negativity and replace it with positive behavior.
Cognitive behavioral therapy is most beneficial should your stress and anxiety have a deeper route.
Planning
Planning is fantastic, especially when it comes to lowering anxiety. There are several things that cause anxiety; one of those is time. Time anxiety is a real thing and can cause varying degrees of stress. It can be dealt with by adding a little planning to your life.
Sometimes all we need to squash time anxiety is a time map or plan. By managing your day to day routine with a planner and assigning viable time to tasks., you will find that your anxiety is lowered after a few days of this routine.
Routine on its own is an excellent treatment for anxiety as it helps us prepare well in advance for the majority of our day.
Aromatherapy
One of those fantastic things that our mind reacts to is the sense of smell. A smell can trigger a happy memory or even lower our heart rate.
The introduction of a scent that we know to relax us can, in fact, be the answer to some of our small stresses. Now, you don’t need an aromatherapy room or specialist for this. All you need is access to a bath.
The process is as simple as purchasing some aromatherapy oils. One of the most popular for relaxation is lavender, and recent medical studies have shown its relaxation properties and its ability to lower heart rate. So adding a couple of drops to your bath may be a great solution at the end of a long, hard day.
These were just a few tips you can try when it comes to coping with your stress and anxiety. If things ever get too much, don’t forget to talk to your doctor and remember you are never alone.
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