10 Ways to Relieve Stress

Dealing with stress can be deeply unpleasant and the discomfort can be extremely challenging. Discover 10 easy steps to ease daily stress or a heavily stressful situation...

1. Listen to some soothing music. For five minutes, listen to some instrumental sounds or jam out to one or two of your favorite tunes that you can focus on before returning back to your day. 

2. Relax with your friends. Reach out to friends who would be happy to listen and could possibly help you with your stressful situation. 

3. Start a hobby! This could be playing a musical instrument, new sport, or do something artistic. 

4. Watch a movie or play a game, but make sure it's not a scary one! 

5. Read a good book or journal your thoughts. No matter if if you read a chapter or complete an entire novel, reading word for word in a book can be a good relax mechanism to lower a stressful moment! 

6. Practice deep breathing. Breathe in and imagine your breath is a wave: it comes in through your toes and washes up your body all the way to your head. As you breathe out, imagine wave washing back down through your body, down to your toes, and out to sea. Do this a few times until you feel more peaceful. 

7. Volunteer your time. Helping someone else is a great way to help yourself. Find a  non-profit organization within your community or perhaps a cause that you care about. This creates a win-win-win opportunity because you're feeling better to help others, the charity gets the help they need, and you're giving back in a meaningful way. 

8. Do some chores. It may sound crazy, but tasks like raking leaves making your bed, or cleaning your room can actually help you calm down. 

9. Spend time in nature. A stroll to your garden, neighborhood park, national park, or to a body of water like a lake, stream or ocean can help reset yourself into the present moment. 

10. Love your pet. It's a proven fact that animals can lower people's stress levels. Play with your dog, pet your cat, listen to your bird chirp, or watch your fish swim. These are great ways to relax.