We all hate being stressed. Nothing good ever comes of it, and it can be the most frustrating thing to deal with. Maintaining a stress free life is easier said than done, and takes concentration as well as hard work. Although stress is a mental condition, it can show up physically in your body in many ways. It can completely exhaust your brain, which means that symptoms of stress can turn into emotional, physical, cognitive, and even behavioral manifestations. Stress can affect your body fat, shorten your life expectancy, and weaken your immune system, among many other complications.
We have all probably seen examples of these complications in our own or others lives. They might have left us feeling helpless and confused and unfortunately, probably more stressed. So how do we get rid of stress or at least reduce it? There are many things in life that can cause stress, therefore it is important to address multiple areas to work towards a more stress free future.
You might think that getting a hold on your stress is too big of an undertaking, or maybe you just feel lost on where to even start. Here are some extremely simple ways that you can start to live a more stress free life and be free of these complications:
4 Simple Ways to Maintain a Stress Free Life
#1. Meditate
There are many different forms of meditation, but all help to enforce mindfulness. Practicing mindfulness, or awareness of how our own brain thinks and processes things, helps one to better deal with emotional situations as they come along. Knowing how your mind might react to different situations, the feeling that comes when you are about to blow things out of proportion, or being in tune with your anxieties helps to diffuse situations as they come along. When you are mindful, you are aware. And with awareness comes choice in your actions. It’s this control that can help to relieve stress by creating a more balanced and calm life.
If you don’t know where to start, maybe try the “Relaxation Response” practice that is recommended by WebMD! Here they suggest a technique that trains your body to have the exact opposite reaction that it is put through in a fight or flight type of scenario. Instead, this type of meditation teaches your body to achieve high states of relaxation, and therefore cut the consequences of stress on the body.
#2. Exercise
We have all heard that exercise is good for you, but do you understand why? It isn’t solely meant for gaining the exact type of body type that you want. It goes beyond aesthetics and actually interacts with your brain as well.
Exercising regularly can directly affect your brain’s chemical levels and help them to produce the right kind of chemicals that it needs to combat stress. Exercise produces endorphins, which are the body’s’ natural painkiller and pleasure provider. Keeping these chemicals in the brain at the correct levels can help with sleep patterns, mood stabilization, and self-esteem issues. Mayo Clinic suggests that “Whatever you do, don’t think of exercise as just one more thing on your to-do list. Find an activity you enjoy – whether it’s an active tennis match or a meditative meander down to a local park and back – and make it part of your regular routine”.
#3. Laugh
Laughing may seem silly to list for stress relief, can it really have literal and applicable effects to the neurological system and stress relief? Why yes, it can. Laughing helps to shut down the production of cortisol in the brain as well as produce Endorphins. Cortisol is what your body produces when it floods your body with glucose in a fight or flight reaction. It can make your heart beat faster and your brain kick into overdrive. Laughing can help because not only does it cause literal physical changes, but also positive mental ones as it puts people in a better and more positive state of mind. There is no better way to relieve stress than to have a good belly laugh! Dr. Lee Berk, an associate professor at Loma Linda University in California, says “laughter appears to cause all the reciprocal, or opposite, effects of stress”. To read more about Dr. Berk and his studies on laughing, you can read this article at www.time.com.
Laughter appears to cause all the reciprocal, or opposite, effects of stress – Dr. Berk
Click to tweet#4. Build Relationships
Building relationships is extremely important when it comes to stress management. Having others to emotionally rely on helps with the feeling of being understood, having somebody to listen, as well as somebody to connect with. The American Psychological Association states “loneliness has been associated with a wide variety of health problems including high blood pressure, diminished immunity, cardiovascular disease and cognitive decline [and that] in fact, low levels of social support have been linked to increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease, infectious diseases and cancer.” In order to build these relationships, there are a few things to keep in mind. Make sure you seek out peer support, work on your social skills, be proactive about your relationships, and follow the things that you are interested in.
Author Bio: Christopher Dill
Christopher Dill is the lead SEO ninja at The Dill Design. He has a passion for helping businesses grow through digital inbound marketing and increasing organic sales and conversions. Chris also manages responsive web design projects for SMB’s.
from Dai Manuel: The Moose is Loose http://ift.tt/29qUuzE
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