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Feeling overwhelmed? Are you taking on more responsibility than what may be needed? Maybe you’re piling your plate up with more than what you can handle?
If this sounds anything like you I want you to know two things. One, you are not alone. I find myself doing everything I just stated above way more than I would like to admit, and way more than I should be doing. The second thing I want you to know is that if you can identify with anything I stated above, chances are you understand what it’s like to experience a great amount of stress, in such a short amount of time, as a result of overextending yourself.
This my friend has many names. Some that you may be familiar with are overwhelm, anxiety, and exhaustion. However, this feeling is most notably known as stress.
Stress is our body’s way of responding to overstimulation. When we experience a great deal of stress our body goes into defense mode. As a result of that we enter a “fight-or-flight” state of mind, better known as a stress response, which is our body’s way of protecting us.
Doesn’t sound too bad, right? Well it’s not, but if you’re a chronic stressor like me then you know that it can be very exhausting, and at times painful to constantly be under stress. There are many things you can do to help minimize your stress levels, such as squeezing a stress ball or even talking to someone about what’s going on.
However, while minimizing your stress levels is always a great start to experiencing less stress, it’s only temporary. To experience lower levels of stress more often your goal should be to relieve your mind and body of stress. To do this requires a little bit more effort, technique, and skill than just squeezing a stress ball or talking to someone.
Minimizing vs. Relieving Stress
I bet you’re wondering what’s the difference between minimizing stress and relieving yourself of stress? While they both sound similar and can hold the same level of intentions when it comes to reducing stress, there is a difference in how effective they are in decreasing your stress levels.
To “minimize” stress is to reduce it. This means that while you are aiming to decrease your stress levels you are only accomplishing doing so in a short amount of time. Chances are you are implementing quick fix techniques to reduce your stress levels in order to function as you please.
To “relieve” stress is to not make stressful symptoms as severe, painful, or overwhelming as they may be. This means that you incorporate effective wellness techniques that cannot be done in a short period of time. Instead they require a bit more effort forcing you to focus your attention and energy on the task at hand.
So how can you relieve yourself of stress? There are many ways that you can go about relieving yourself of stress. Stress tends to be a combination of mental, physical, and emotional symptoms. Therefore, you need to pay attention to the areas of your body that are affected when you are under a great amount of stress.
Maybe you get a severe headache or your body aches? Or maybe you experience a little bit of depression as a result of feeling out of control of your thoughts and emotions? Stress looks different on everyone and it affects everyone differently. This is why it’s important to know how your body responds to stress.
While it’s important to know your body’s response to stress it’s also important to know that you don’t have to suffer in that stressful state of mind. As mentioned above there are many things you can do to relieve yourself of stress. From physical activities, to mental activities the possibilities and opportunities of relieving yourself of stress are endless.
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Here are 10 ways you can relieve yourself of stress.
- Exercise
Exercising is a great way to relieve yourself of stress. There are so many health benefits that you can gain just from exercising alone. When you use this as a technique to lower your stress levels, you’re doing something good for your body and your mind. Exercise is a natural painkiller (and for the most part it’s free!). When we exercise we are producing endorphins in our brains that are reducing our level of stress. This in turn can improve our sleep patterns, help us fight against anxiety, and even fight against depression.
If exercise isn’t really your thing no worries. There are various forms of exercise that you can engage in to stimulate your mind and body. My current favorite simple yet effective exercise routine is the 7 Ways to Stay Fit When Stressed video by Blogilates. You can check it out below!
7 Ways to Stay Fit When Stressed
- Laugh
They say laughter is the best medicine and I couldn’t agree more! Laughter enhances our oxygen intake, stimulates our heart, and increases the release of endorphins. All of this contributes greatly to the reduction of stress. This means that the more we laugh when we feel stressed or overwhelmed, the faster we are reducing the release of hormones such as cortisol (the primary stress hormone) and adrenaline, and increasing the release of endorphins. This not only reduces our stress levels but also helps us build a stronger immune system.
- Inhale relaxing scents
Perhaps one of the most effective (and private) ways to reduce your stress levels is to inhale relaxing scents. Sounds silly I know but I promise aromatherapy is effective and it works! Some scents that can help you relax and reduce your stress and anxiety are rosemary, lavender, and lemongrass (or lemon).
Rosemary can improve your memory, your mood, your immune system as well as relieve the mind and body of pain. Lavender (my favorite) is well known for reducing stress, anxiety, depression, and even relieving the body of pain. This is a great oil that effectively promotes wellness and calmness. Lemongrass is more popularly known to cure the body of more physical and health related issues, such as digestive problems, stomachaches, and high blood pressure, but it is slowly becoming well known for reducing anxiety and stress levels.
*Wellness Tip: To get the most out of inhaling these super relaxing scents fill up your favorite room with the scent of your choice using an oil diffuser.
- Do yoga
I absolutely love yoga! There are many health benefits to doing yoga, which naturally means that it’s a great and highly effective technique for reducing stress. Practicing yoga can improve your mood, you physical, mental, and emotional health, as well as enhance your overall sense of well-being. The main intention of practicing yoga is to reduce any physiological arousal you may be experiencing prior to engaging in the practice. Stress can increase physiological arousal so to fight it naturally you want to engage in an activity that is calming, relaxing, and will allow you to have control.
- Journal
It’s a very simple and basic technique but also another one of my favorites. Sometimes talking to others about what’s going on with us isn’t always the easiest or the most comfortable thing in the world to do. Sometimes we just want to keep our thoughts private and in our control. If you believe you are one of these kinds of people then journaling is the right technique for you. Journaling is an effective way for us to gain control of our thoughts and emotions, clear our head, and better understand how we are feeling deep inside. A health bonus to journaling is that it helps improve our mental health.
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- Deep breathing
Deep breathing is perhaps one of the most effective forms of reducing stress. When we breathe deeply are we sending a message to our brain to calm down and relax. That message then gets transported from our brain to our body. Once the message has been sent, our muscles begin to naturally relax. Deep breathing also helps us clear our heads which allows for us to think clearly about our choices and decisions. It may seem like a silly thing to do, but it the by far the easiest and most accessible technique we have available (literally right at our fingertips) to reduce any overwhelm we may be experiencing.
- Reduce caffeine intake
You guys already know I’m a huge supporter of drinking water, and here’s one of the reasons why. While caffeine may taste good due to the sugary taste that we all tend to naturally crave, caffeine also naturally increases our cortisol levels. Why does that matter? If you recall from earlier, cortisol is the primary stress hormone. It increases our stress, anxiety, and adrenaline levels which can also get our heart rates up. So, when we’re already experiencing a great amount of stress, why would we want to increase? The answer to that question is we don’t!
- Set up a home spa
There’s nothing like a little bit of TLC than the one that you can give to yourself. Treat yourself to some much-needed relaxation by setting up an at home spa. This can and does literally look like anything that you consider to be relaxing. Whether that’s taking a long relaxing bubble bath, getting a massage from your significant other, or doing a DIY facemask, treat yourself to the good life in the comfort of your own home. You deserve it.
- Mediate
Ya’ll know I love meditation! Like many of the other stress reducing techniques on this list, meditation has amazing health benefits. 10 minutes of mindfulness meditation every day can significantly reduce psychological stresses like anxiety and depression. This can also help you achieve a higher capacity for relaxing, which in the long run will help you better manage stress, and experience less stress on a daily basis.
- Surround yourself with positive energy
Another very simple way to reduce stress is to simply surround yourself with positive people. We feed off of the energy of others, and if those who are around us are putting out negative energy, chances are we are taking that negative energy in. This will only put a damper on our mood and increase our levels of stress. Surrounding yourself with positive, light-hearted people will not only improve your mood and reduce your stress, but it will also help you adopt a regular routine of doing things that feed your mind, body, and soul in a positive and healing way.
It can be hard to control the overwhelm. Sometimes we become so consumed by our stress and the overwhelm that we forget to stop, take a deep breath, and engage in an effective wellness technique before moving forward. If you are someone who is guilty of this do not feel ashamed by any means. It’s a natural part of life.
Download this FREE list of Stress Relievers to keep on hand for you whenever you find yourself experiencing a great amount of stress but just aren’t sure what your first step should be in reducing is. Everything on this list is all 10 of the techniques listed in this post, and it’s yours for free!
Do you have any stress reliever techniques not mentioned here? If so share them with me in the comments below!
Until next time love bug!
-Xo
Kimora
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