Keep Calm: 6 Strategies for Stress Reduction and Emotional Balance
Today, stress is a common occurrence in modern life. We think about a lot of tasks, we are in a hurry, and at the same time we solve work issues – all these factors increase emotional tension and cause irritation.
Stress is a feeling of being overwhelmed and unable to cope with psychological pressure. It begins with the understanding that we can’t control the situation. There are so many tasks, thoughts, and emotions the nervous system and body can’t stand it. However, is it possible to change this scenario and avoid stress? The answer is yes. Check out some actionable stress management tips and mental health strategies below.
Start a healthy lifestyle
If you’re facing stress and you can’t influence its source, then concentrate on taking care of yourself. Give up bad habits, for example, cut back on caffeine, stop drinking alcohol, and start eating healthy. This will help you become less irritable, improve the quality of your sleep, and make you feel lighter throughout your body.
Also, start taking time for yourself and go in for sports. It can be just jogging, exercising in the pool or gym, cycling, or boxing. Any physical activity will give vitality, reduce anxiety, and significantly improve concentration. But most importantly, regular exercise will reduce stress hormones and increase the production of endorphins.
Learn emotional self-support
The main rule in the fight against stress is to change your attitude towards yourself. Often, faced with difficulties and plunging into anxiety, we automatically begin to criticize not only those around us, but also ourselves, and sometimes for no reason at all. Chronic self-dissatisfaction caused by external factors significantly affects all areas of our lives. It’s extremely harmful and doesn’t help us in a stressful situation. On the contrary, it raises the level of internal stress. Therefore, first of all, learn self-support strategies.
Don’t neglect sleep and rest
People who are constantly under stress suffer from insomnia, and vice versa – those who don’t sleep well are constantly under stress. That is why sleep is an important ingredient in mental health.
The optimal amount of sleep for an adult is 8 hours, and the best gap for high-quality sleep is from 10 pm to 6 am. During these hours, the body produces melatonin, a hormone that helps the body flush out accumulated toxins.
How to make falling asleep easier? A couple of hours before you go to bed, listen to soothing music, read a book, take a bath, meditate, and just relax. Also, you can benefit from modern IT solutions. Many types of smartwatches have sleep trackers that monitor heart rate, calculate sleep and wake times, sleep phases, and give recommendations on how to improve the quality of your night’s sleep.
Filter and organize your information
The nervous system responds to all stimuli around, including light, colour, sounds, and informational noise. Thus, filter the information and shield yourself from negative things that harm you. How to do it? Reduce the sound irritants around – turn off the TV and PC, and put the phone away. Use earplugs if the environment is noisy. Also, try to reduce eye strain – scroll fewer social media feeds, eliminate flashing lights, and sleep in the dark.
But most importantly, filter the content you read and listen to. If you have more than five news feeds in your feed, it creates informational and emotional overload. So, remove unnecessary subscriptions in your social networks and instant messengers to reduce the information impact on your brain.
Surround yourself with positive people and set boundaries
Humans are first and foremost social beings, and we need to be around other people in order to feel a sense of community. The environment in which we live is important to us – it directly affects us. Therefore, the quality of the environment affects our emotional state.
Exclude from your environment people who humiliate, insult, and treat you badly. Limit communication with those who doubt your abilities or qualities. If it’s impossible not to communicate with them, stop verbal passive aggression, jokes, and sarcasm in your address. The ability to defend personal boundaries is an important and necessary skill.
Hire a car and go on a road trip
A change of scenery is the best way to get rid of stress. Therefore, it would be a great idea, for example, to pick up a car in Glasgow and enjoy a leisurely weekend with friends or family.
Yes, exploring new places gives you unique experiences that positively affect your emotional state. At the same time, driving scenic routes makes it possible to collect your thoughts. So, follow Rental24.co.uk to find cars for hire in the UK, organise a fun-filled ride, and finally get rid of the stress.
In summary, the modern world is full of stressful situations. Fortunately, we can deal with them if we pay attention to ourselves and our mental health. So, get active, surround yourself with positive people, organize information, and don’t forget to rest – these are the main rules for emotional well-being.
