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Our lives have become a rat race. We wake up and hurry through our morning routine, rush to work, stress at work to meet a deadline, rush back home after work and while lying in bed at the end of the day, we wonder where our time has gone.
This coupled with uncertainty and worry about the world around us, our situation and life in general can lead to more stress and anxiety levels in our generation than our parents’.
Taylor Swift’s famous song “You Need to calm down” is what you actually need to do here. Stress and anxiety built up over time cause many health problems. Over stressing and worrying can cause mental issues while unhappiness over not meeting our goals will eventually lead to depression in the long run if we continue running down this path.
Here is where I’d like you to stop and smell the flowers instead (quite literally, sometimes). Take a break and indulge in yourself and activities that you enjoy to help find the balance in life. You deserve it and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
No one and nothing, and I repeat NO ONE and NOTHING, is worth your peace of mind.
P.S. If you are someone who has chronic stress or perpetual anxiety, I’d suggest talking to a mental health professional.
The next time you find yourself stressing, here’s a list of 8 things you can do to calm yourself down and reduce the stress, anxiety and worry.
#1 Breathe
Stress and anxiety cause people to take quick, shallow breaths which in turn is a signal to the brain to initiate a fight-or-flight response. Take slow, deep breaths to reprogramme your brain into calming down. Breathe in. Hold for a couple of seconds. Breathe out.
#2 Meditate
Meditating is a perfect way to calm your anxious nerves. It essentially makes your mind think about things other than what is stressing you out, sometimes about nothing, which helps.
#3 Aromatherapy & Essential Oils
Aromatherapy is a practice used to improve your well-being by inhaling scents which stimulate your olfactory senses to produce the desired effect. Different oils have different properties that help our mind and body. With respect to stress and anxiety, here are two popular and effective oils to the rescue.
#Lavender oil
One of the best-known oils to calm your nerves is lavender oil. It lessens body and mind anxiety. You can get a diffuser with a lavender oil pack. Or you can take a few drops on your hand, rub them together and inhale.
# Lemongrass oil
Another stress relieving oil that is known is lemongrass oil. You might have got a whiff of this scent in spas and massage rooms. Lemongrass is also known to reduce anxiety.
#4 Warm bath
If you have a bath tub at home, drop some bath bombs in and soak yourself in it. Alternatively, you could put a few drops of lavender or lemongrass oil in it. If you don’t have a bath tub, don’t fret, a warm/hot bath is still a great way to relax those stressed muscles and sneak in some time alone.
#5 Listen to music or a podcast
Listening to your favourite playlist will help calm your mind and subsequently your body down. Music soothes the soul too. So, put in your earphones and sing along or jam to your favourite tunes.
Some people turn to podcasts for the same. A calming voice reading out a nice, happy story might just be the stress buster you needed.
#6 Write it down
Sometimes when someone asks us what we’re worried about, we can’t seem to articulate correctly or effectively. The troubled thoughts mess with our heads. When this happens, journaling your thoughts and writing them in your notebook might help. Or you could write your thoughts down as a counter to getting angry or anxious. You’ll find that this is an effective way to get negative emotions and thoughts out of your head.
#7 Drink something warm
Drink something warm and soothing to relax your body from the inside. It should be non-alcoholic and coffee is excluded as well. You could try some green tea or warm milk instead.
#8 Cuddle with your furry or your loved one
Cuddling and affection release oxytocin, the happy hormone, and reduces the production/secretion of cortisol, the stress hormone. So, the next time you’re stressed, spend some time playing with your four-legged bestie or grab your partner and cuddle away.
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