According to a neuropsychologist, these are ways to deal with stress
Life is stressful. There are places to go, people to see and things that need to be done. Even if you have a moment to yourself, you feel like you need to be doing something. Like clean the kitchen, fold the laundry, call your parents… And even when you’re all alone, you’re never really alone. Your phone will constantly remind you of what the people around you are doing and what you should be doing. So how do you make sure that stress doesn’t get to you?
1. Stress is your friend
Wait, what? Yes! Stress is your friend. As soon as you view stress as something that can help you instead of something that will make you die an early death, you will reduce all the harmful effects that come with stress. Because the only reason stress is making you sick, is because you think it will. Stress is what gets your body ready to act. And that means that stress is actually something that should be welcomed and used to tackle all the challenges you face. If you stop being scared of stress, you will reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases from 43% to zero.
2. Don’t watch the news
If you spend a lot of time watching the news, it will seem like the world is falling apart. Because a lot of the news coverage is negative. If you watch a lot of negative news stories, it could cause stress. Both mentally and physically. So try and reduce the amount of time you spend watching the news. Or stop watching it all together. Cancel the newspaper subscriptions and skip the news channels. If you don’t see it, you can’t stress about it. Another good alternative would be to look for happy newspapers or websites. News channels that only focus on the good things happening in the world. That will restore your faith in humanity and with that, reduce your stress.
3. Listen to classical music
If it works for babies, then it might work for you too. Especially music by Bach is known to have a relaxing effect. So next time you’re running errands or working on some chore, play a little Bach and see how calm you feel after!
4. Gratitude
When you express gratitude for the things in your life, big or small, it can have a positive effect on your mental health. According to neuropsychologist Ellen Botman of Happy Brain Clinics, when you write down all the things you’re grateful for, you’re training the bodies stressresponse. And that means you’ll be able to better deal with stress whenever it comes along.
5. Take a walk
We know walking is good for you. But especially if you spend a lot of time at home without ever really having to go outside (like when you work from home) it could be really beneficial to actually ‘go to work’ by going for a walk before you start the workday. Not only will it reduce your stress and boost your immune system; if you walk from and to your house before working from home, you will have a better work/life balance.
With these tips, you might significantly reduce your stress and feel much better because of it!
Also read: Do you have any of these symptoms? You may be facing a burnout
Source: Elegance | Image: Unsplash, Abigail Keenan