10 Simple Ways To Fight Off Stress

Stress, whether you like it or not, is a normal part of life; you either chomp it down to pieces or let it gobble you up whole. Fortunately, finding a solution on how to cope with stress is made easier today. With the rise of the Information Age, anyone can get information about stress from a vast number of sources: the internet, books, magazines, tv, and other forms of media. Your imagination is the only limit. However, since choosing from an extravagant list is overwhelming, and could be stressful, too, this article has streamlined for you 15 simple but proven ways on how to best deal with stress.

1. Smile. Find time to smile and do it often every single day. Be sensitive and open your heart. You will be surprised at how easy it is to find things that would light up that beautiful face in an instant.

2. Give hugs, get hugs. Touching and being touched is a powerful stress reliever. It’s a magic potion that leaves the body, mind, and soul feeling good.

3. Take periodic breaks from work.Whether you are a home-based freelancer or a fulltime office worker, sitting in front of the computer for three straight hours is stressful enough on the body and mind. So give yourself a break from time to time. Get up and walk, sip some coffee or tea, have a light chat with your officemate, or any other activity you have in mind just to take away your focus for a short time.

4. Say No. You don’t need to please everyone. Sometimes, your eagerness to puff up your image or impress other people leads you to taking in too many commitments that you can barely squeeze in your planner. Know your priorities and learn to say no politely.

5. Get plenty of sunshine. Bask in the glorious warmth and light of the sun whenever it shines in the morning. It’s good for the body and refreshing on the spirit. It’s a good way to start the day and boost your mood.

6. Always prepare everything in advance. To cope with stress you need to be on top of things. Stress is often the result of being unprepared, causing you to worry too much. So if you have an important presentation due next week, finish the presentation now and allot time for rehearsal. That way, you will feel less anxious and stressed about it..

7. Plan. Knowing how to cope with stress effectively means knowing how to plan your days and weeks well. Keeping a schedule is beneficial especially if you are a busy person with a lot of businesses to take care of. It will help you see what your major and minor priorities are so you don’t just jump from one commitment to another without much thought.

8. Get enough sleep. Too much work and too little sleep will wear you out in the long run. It doesn’t matter if you are in your early 20s or late 40s. Everyone needs plenty of time to rest.

9. Work out. Get physical and aim to be fit. Stress drags down the body so it is best to counter it with energy-upping activities such as playing frisbee or tennis or running on the treadmill. Just go with whatever will suit you.

10. Use stress to de-stress. Yes, you heard that right. Remember the saying “there’s cash in trash”? Well, one of the most creative ideas on how to keep stress at bay is to actually “use” it in a productive way. If writing poetry or dancing is your thing, set a specific time when you can purely concentrate on writing or dancing.