Follow These Healthy Ways To Relieve Mental Stress
All of us experience mental stress in our life. The difference lies in how a person reacts and handles it. Our genes, past life, personality, financial and social status can impact us in dealing with stress. Read further to know about healthy ways to relieve mental stress.
What Is Mental Stress?
While facing a challenge, demand or unexpected life events, we feel stressed. We feel hard to cope up with mental or emotional pressure. Negative life changes such as losing a job or getting a divorce, as well as positive life changes such as getting a promotion or having a baby, can cause mental stress. Stress is not always unpleasant. Sometimes, stress can motivate us, help us focus, and get the task done.
Whenever we feel stressed, our body releases stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline, which helps us to react quickly to dangerous situations. But too much stress can leave us overwhelmed and hard to cope up with. In the long term, it can be harmful to health. Although we cannot avoid stressful situations, we definitely can relieve mental stress in healthy ways.
Healthy Ways To Relieve Mental Stress:
A Japanese proverb says, only staying active will make you want to live hundred years. One of the secrets to a happy and long life is exercising. Exercise helps the release of endorphins in our body. Endorphins are natural substances that help relieve mental stress and pain.
Regular exercise can improve your mood, self-confidence, and stress-induced sleeping troubles. Any form of physical activity can be an essential approach to ease stress. So, find an activity you enjoy and include in your schedule throughout your week. You can try walking, jogging, dancing, bicycling, yoga, gardening, swimming, etc.
Take it slow. Say no when needed. Dealing with more than you can handle will leave you feeling overwhelmed. Remember that handling multiple tasks not only puts you under stress it also reduces the effectiveness of the task. Choose which work needs immediate attention. Think about delegating the things which can be done by someone else.
Watch what you eat. Stress can negatively affect blood flow and blood pressure. Eating nutrient-rich foods can help you reduce mental stress. A few examples of foods that are rich in nutrients that improve blood flow are salmon and tuna (omega fatty acids), blueberries (vitamin E & polyphenols), and dark chocolate (catechin). Learn about foods that help lower your blood pressure.
Avoid negative coping mechanisms. Drinking alcohol, excessive caffeine, or smoking can make you feel better at the moment, but actually, they will worsen your stress and cause physical health problems. Try not to follow or reduce these habits as much as you can.
Surround yourself with supportive people. Family and good friends motivate you to be the best version of yourself. People with very few social connections are more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety. Sharing your problems with someone you trust makes you realize that you are not alone and your feelings are not unusual. It can help relieve mental stress.
Pick a relaxation technique. There are various relaxation techniques such as breath focus, guided imagery, body scan, mindfulness meditation, yoga, tai chi, and repetitive prayer. Guidance to follow these techniques are available online. Choose the one you like and follow it regularly.
Sound sleep to relieve mental stress. Good sleep can relieve stress quite effectively. If you are under stress, you may not be able to get deep sleep, and lack of enough sleep can make your stress worse. The following tips will let you have a good sleep. Go to bed at the same time each day. Try listening to soothing music.
Avoid using electronic gadgets and caffeine intake before going to bed. Use your bedroom only for sleeping. Avoid napping during the day. If you can’t sleep, don’t try to stay in bed. Do something which you find relaxing and go to bed when you feel tired.
Keep journaling. Journaling will let you clarify your thoughts and feelings. It also makes you explore and release the emotions involved. It is a practice of self-knowledge and emotional healing and can reduce the negative effects of stress.
Realise & Value yourself. Social withdrawal, being less flexible or indecisive, having problems in getting sleep, smoking or drinking alcohol more than usual, or struggling to manage anger could be the signs of your mental stress. Don’t ignore how you feel and behave.
Recognise the things which make you feel stressed. Categorise them into solvable problems, problems that can be better with time, and problems you can’t do anything about. Realise and release the worry regarding the second and third categories. Focus on what you can solve.
If you have failed, don’t push yourself too hard. Spend a few minutes every day to feel thankful for things you have in your life. Review your lifestyle and come up with plans to lower your troubles. Have realistic expectations and goals to avoid mental stress.
Pay Attention To Emotional Wellbeing:
If you constantly feel sad even after trying some things to reduce stress, you need professional help. A mental health care professional can find the exact causes that trigger your stress and suggest you a specific therapy to deal with your mental stress. Know about the symptoms and treatment of clinical depression.
