25 Healthy Ways to Deal with Stress

    

Hi everyone! Recently, I haven’t been posting as much as I’d like to, and I apologize for that. I’ve been stressed with school, work, and other life happenings. Because I’ve had a lot of stress in my life recently, I want to talk to you all today about some healthy ways to handle the stressors of everyday life.

When we’re stressed out, it’s very easy to form unhealthy habits to cope with it. These unhealthy habits could include smoking, “eating our feelings” as I like to call it, drinking, or forming irregular sleeping patterns. Instead of succumbing to unhealthy stress relief methods, I have compiled a list of different ways we can positively deal with stress.

Here’s the list!

Start waking up earlier. The earlier you start your day, the more likely you are to be productive.

Prepare for the morning the night before. If you get your clothes, purse/bag, meals, etc. prepared for the next day right before you go to bed, you’ll be much more relaxed in the morning when you’re getting ready for your day.

Wear more comfortable clothes. If your work clothes are uncomfortable, see if you can purchase more comfortable ones. You will be a lot more relaxed if you have clothes that fit well.

Avoid relying on substance aids. Substance aids can include tobacco, alcohol, caffeine, or drugs of any kind. Unless you are prescribed something, try to avoid taking it to cope with your stress.

Keep an agenda. Whether you use your phone or keep a physical planner is up to you. If you make sure to write down appointments, deadlines, and important dates, you will be much less stressed because you won’t ever forget anything.

Check your agenda often. It doesn’t do you any good if you don’t look at it!

Say “no” more often. I’m guilty of being the type of person who tries to take on everything at once. It’s important to know when to say “no!” We are all just human. As much as we’d like to be perfect and do everything, we have limited time and energy. It’s okay to say “no” to things we can’t handle when we’re already busy and stressed.

Evaluate your priorities. We must find balance in our lives and prioritize the things that are really important to us.

Fix or abandon toxic relationships. We can have toxic relationships with anyone in our lives. I’ve personally had toxic relationships with friends and significant others. I’ve become much happier now that I’ve cut those people out of my life. However, not all toxic relationships are easily avoidable. If you have a toxic relationship with a family member, for example, you might want to work as hard as you can to fix it instead of abandoning that person altogether. It’s important for you to try to remove the toxicity from your life, regardless of how you do it.

Manage your time well. Spend more time on the things that are top priorities in your life, and you will find greater success in the areas that are important to you.

Focus on what you can control. Some of life’s stressors are out of our control. Instead of lingering on things you can’t change, try to work on the things you can change. Chances are, you will relieve so much stress just by shifting your focus.

Find opportunities in life’s challenges. Life presents us with challenges in many forms, and many of them contribute to our stress. Try taking a different perspective on challenges in your life. Instead of viewing them as challenges, turn them into opportunities.

Read a book. Taking an hour or two to sit down and read a great book will help your mood more than you realize. It’ll let you escape from your stress for a while and delve into a different world.

Watch a funny movie or TV show. Let yourself laugh a little by watching your favorite comedy.

Talk to someone you trust about your feelings. Whether it’s a family member, friend, or a professional, talking about your feelings to another person often helps to alleviate stress.

Write in a journal. If you don’t feel like talking to someone about your feelings, you could also write them down in a journal to get the negativity out of your system.

Have a bubble bath. Get your bath bombs ready. Relax and enjoy a nice bubble bath.

Cook yourself a healthy meal. Instead of getting fast food or takeout, opt to cook yourself a healthy meal. You might find that the act of cooking itself is a great stress reliever. And you’ll feel fantastic after eating a healthy, home-cooked meal!

Make time to exercise. Set aside a certain amount of time every day or week to exercise. You’ll feel great, boost your self-esteem, and love yourself more!

Pursue a passion project. A passion project is simply a project you can work on consistently that you are passionate about. (Mine is this blog!) Think about something you’re truly passionate about. It could be writing, cooking, painting, building things, etc. Then, set aside time each day or week specifically for your passion project. Doing the things we are passionate about helps us to relieve stress and live more fulfilling lives.

Spend time with your friends, family, and loved ones. Often, spending time with the people we love makes us feel happier. Call up your best friend to hang out or organize a family get-together.

Be extra kind to the people around you. Putting smiles on other people’s faces will warm your heart and make you a happier person. You could volunteer for a cause you care about or even do something as simple as holding the door for someone. Kindness and happiness often go hand in hand. Be extra kind, and lots of good karma will come your way.

Take a break from social media.  Social media can be very overwhelming sometimes. You may find that taking a break from it helps to relieve your stress. Your break could be for a couple of hours, or it could be for a week. Whatever you feel comfortable with doing!

Let go of the past. We can’t change the past, even when we wish we could. If there’s something in the past that you’re unnecessarily holding on to, make an effort to let it go and move on with your life. There’s no sense in stressing out over things that have happened in the past. We should learn from our mistakes in the past, but only focus on the present and future.

Smile! If you smile more often, you’ll likely feel at least a little happier just from the act of smiling. Give it a try!

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Originally posted on styleofchange.net