The rhythms of modern life, the abundance of workers, family and financial responsibilities lead to growing emotional stress. Stress worsens health, leading to insomnia, depression, digestive disorders, problems with memory and attention. A doctor can help in this situation, but if you do not want to contact specialists, you can try to cope with stress yourself. This is real if the culprit of the condition is not a mental illness, but a commonplace tension or overwork.
Doing sports
Sports activities are one of the best ways to relax your body and mind. Exercise improves mood. To make the result noticeable, you need to do it regularly. Doctors advise training at least two and a half hours a week.
The load should be moderately intense, for example, brisk walking. More intense exercises, such as swimming or jogging, need to do at least 75 minutes a week. But even little training is better than not training at all.
Full sleep
Lack of sleep is a common cause of stress. Unfortunately, this is a vicious circle: tension does not allow one to get enough sleep. Unpleasant thoughts spin in my head, not allowing me to relax and relax normally. Someone in this case resorts to sleeping pills. It is a bad idea.
It is better to learn how to relax as much as possible before going to bed. Make the bedroom an island of calm, where nothing will remind you of stress. Do not engage in mental work a few hours before bedtime so that the brain can relax and tune in to rest. You can take a warm bath or read a book. Helps to go to bed and get up at the same time. So the mind and body will get used to the regime.
Deep breathing technique
The methods of dealing with stress include the ability to relax consciousness and relieve stress. You will be surprised how much better you will feel when you master the correct breathing technique. It includes 5 steps:
- Take a comfortable position with palms on your knees and feet on the floor. You can lie down.
- Close your eyes.
- Imagine being in a pleasant relaxing place: on the beach, on a beautiful field with tall grass.
- Start breathing slowly, deeply and measuredly, only through the nose.
- Spend 5-10 minutes in this position and return to your usual activities, but in a new state free of stress.
Proper nutrition
A competent and well-balanced diet improves well-being. It also helps regulate mood. The diet should include vegetables, fruits, whole grains and lean protein to maintain energy. Stick to this menu all the time.
Refusal from caffeine, nicotine, alcohol
Refuse these products or at least reduce their consumption. Caffeine and nicotine are stimulants that increase stress levels. Alcohol is a depressant if taken in large quantities. In small doses, it has a stimulating effect. Replace coffee and spirits with water, herbal tea, or fruit juices. Maintain a healthy water balance for your body to better cope with stress.
Rhythm slowdown
Sometimes it is necessary to exhale and slow down to deal with stress. There are several ways to do this:
- Move the clock 5-10 minutes ahead. So you can come a little earlier, not being afraid to be late.
- Drive less busy roads while driving to avoid stress in heavy traffic.
- Break large tasks into small ones. For example, reply not to 100 messages in a mailbox at once, but to some of the most important.
Mind relaxation
In order for the mind to rest from stress, take time for relaxing practices:
- meditation;
- yoga;
- tai chi gymnastics;
- listening to your favorite music;
- spending time in nature.
Hobby
You can’t refuse hobbies, otherwise stress will accumulate, and your mood will worsen. It is not necessary to devote all your free time to a hobby, but such activities help to cope with stress:
- reading;
- knitting;
- watching films;
- collecting puzzles and solving puzzles;
- cards and board games.
Discussion of problems
The next way to deal with stress is to discuss harassing things with family, friends, a doctor, or a psychologist. You can even talk to yourself: all this is done sometimes. Discussing the problems is in a positive way.
Getting rid of irritants
Determine which things trigger stress: work, relationships, and more. Try to keep them to a minimum. Work can be changed, relations can be clarified or cut short. Having identified the causes of stress, it is easier to develop a scheme to address them.