It isn’t easy to live a life in today’s time. Everything we do, we are encountered with stress. Can’t remember when the last time was when a single day went without anxiety or fear. The very reason is the fact that life is on fast-track. People have demands which made them compete high and end up miserable all the while. Haven’t we seen the rat-race in the office? And haven’t we seen the never-ending comparison of living standards at home? To get more and more, we are always running and to do so we are attracting too much stress. Imagine the life of a saint who demands nothing except for the three necessities of life—food, clothing, and shelter. Mind you, the necessities are treated as mere necessities and it never turns into greed. Whereas for us, every necessity has become greed—for luxury food, expensive clothes, and modern-styled housings. To attain them, we are slogging day and night to earn enough to afford them.

With stress comes physical and mental effects. Assuming that stress will not affect oneself is like turning a blind eye to the facts. Additionally, assuming that one’s stress will not affect the others close is like making a fool out of oneself. High-stress levels can thwart productivity and bring the dark abyss to life. No one can eliminate stress or ensure it never returns, one can only be prepared to face it and reduce it with some measures.

Don’t be scared of stress, be scared of not knowing how to tackle stress.

Here are some simple tips to keep stress at an arm’s length:

Deep Breathing and Meditation

Forget about your stress by a deep breathing session. This exercise is possible anywhere (even in a dreadful board meeting.) Deep breathing helps the health as well as offering a peaceful mind for those minutes involved. Our brain sleeps while our body is meditating. No thoughts are entertained and thus, the focus is glued to the movements of inhaling and exhaling. Don’t hesitate to breath-in and breath-out at unusual places fearing the reaction of people because they themselves need it as their stress level is no less than yours. Go and encourage them to do this to relieve the stress and increase the peace ratio.

Medically, deep breathing also helps to lower the cortisol levels also called the stress hormones which regulates the body’s reaction to stress.

Game-playing

Grab an x-box and start playing. If parents ask to stop, say it is a necessity for your well-being. Games in any form are helpful to keep the mind engaged in thinking and away from stress. Mobile games, desktop games, or video games; make sure you have your favorites and play frequently. Not many will suggest this as games are an addiction and it eats away your brain’s functionality. But as likely said, games too should be indulged to a limited extent, till the time it is a cure and not a curse. Mind it, don’t pick the wrongs ones though, more harm will be done. Some games are stressful to the contrary and destroy and paralyses one’s mind.

The best is to go the conventional way: go out and play with friends. Outdoor games will not just help burst stress but also help to keep the heart pumping and the body in shape.

Soothing Music

Either listening to Hollywood/Bollywood songs or instrumental music in a loop, both will soothe one’s soul and take on a journey to nirvana. Whenever we hear a song whose lyrics relates to our life perfectly, we go into a state of trans believing that we are not alone here, and this has happened to others too. Also, some music mesmerizes our soul and cleans the mind free of worries and tension. Music also helps to refresh the mind and bring hopes for the future. An unknown strength is gained from the music and the willingness to keep moving with life.

Many use this remedy as the first choice to overcome stress. Be it night or day, sleep issues or day’s depression, music really helps. One of the reasons why our mothers sang to us before we went to sleep. The mind loves to hear soothing words before it shuts down for the day.

Massage

When the body finds relief, the mind does too. Try a massage if your head is yelling at you and seems to never stop. Body massage with essentials oil helps to lose the tight muscles and helps the circulation of blood. This, in turn, helps the brain with better blood circulation. When the body starts relaxing, the mind slows down its marathon of thoughts and starts focusing on the body’s voice. It understands the peacefulness of the body and flows in its power of enchantment. Body and mind are interconnected, one gets affected so does the other. Keeping the body happy is equally as important as keeping the mind happy.

Frequently indulging in massages will help to throw away the negative energy clinging to the body. Also, it helps to re-energize the mind and its thinking processes.

Art Therapy

Don’t worry if you suck at art, you don’t need skills, you just need material. This is not a competition you are participating to so simply take a brush and paint your thoughts. One can do any form of art to distract the mind from stressful events and put it into some work. Be it drawing, graffiti, sketching, painting, craftwork, and more; all you have to do is start watching YouTube tutorials and embark on a ride of art. Some alone time with creativity does lots of wonders.

Top it with music in the background to make it the best time of your life.

Nap and Walks

What’s better than a sea-side walk with breeze storming through the hair and the sea’s howls in a rhythmic melody? Be it sole-walking or accompany-walking, short walks help to calm the running mind. The vision of the never-ending sea mesmerizes the mind and helps to think positive. If the sea can keep on going and find paths to expand its reach, why can’t we? If the sea can stay calm and at the same time be the most powerful, why can’t we? If the sea can conquer every land and cross every border, why can’t we? We should be like the sea—limitless.

Rejuvenate with short naps as it helps to reboot the mind’s engine and give it the speed it requires. Naps are like restarting the body and mind. Once a while, everyone should shut their racing mind and sleep to let dreams bring the happiness needed. Scientifically, it is proven that naps trigger dreams influenced by the real-life events—only these dreams are soothing and designed as per the mind’s need. So, take a nap and go for walks irrespective of the place, because it is very helpful.

Play with pets

Who’s your best buddy? your dog? your cat? your turtle? your parrot? your rabbit? or your coyote? You can have any pet that you want provided it is legally allowed. Playing with your pet is one of the best ways to forget your worries and live in the present. Pets help to bring happy moments in life. Just like kids, pets are fun too as they are no different from a child. The innocence and the playful nature of the pets bring the child out from inside you. The love radiating from your pet makes you feel better about yourself. One major thing that makes you feel comfortable around pets is that they don’t judge you or ask you ‘what has happened?’ or demand an answer for every behavior. You feel like spending more and more time with pets and you should because it is the best therapy.

Take your pet for a walk or hug your pet to sleep or dance with your pet to your favorite number or play games; spending time with your pet is the best time spent away from the stress of life.

All these tips are quick remedies which will help you battle against the mild stress attacks that everyone faces on daily basis. Have these stress relievers handy to restore your inner peace and health when it is wrecked by the monster called life.

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