How to Relieve and Manage Stress

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By southernemma
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Relieve and Manage Stress

Stressed out? Learn some quick and healthy ways to reduce, manage and eliminate stress.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

an open mind
20-30 minutes a day

Step 1

Determine the source(s) of your stress. What causes your blood to boil on a regular basis? Makes your muscles tense? Makes you want to pull your hair out? The sooner you are able to target what triggers your stress the closer you will come to discovering methods of dealing with it.
Step 2

Evaluate your diet and lifestyle. Things such as smoking and excess alcohol consumption only aggravate stress. A healthy diet and plenty of water can help reduce daily stress.
Step 3

Get plenty of sleep. Eight to ten hours of sleep is essential for stress reduction, among other things. Have trouble sleeping? Try taking a relaxing bath before bedtime, reduce TV watching in late evening, or drinking a cup of chamomile tea. Try to go to bed around the same time every night.
Step 4

Get some exercise. Walking for 20 minutes a day can help reduce stress along with numerous other physical activities.
Step 5

Find quiet time each day. Whether its meditating, praying, or just practicing deep breathing, all these techniques are proven to help reduce and relieve stress when done on a regular basis. Learn to clear your mind of the events of the day and focus on total and complete silence and peace. Usually twenty minutes a day is found beneficial for stress management.
Step 6

Learn to laugh. Laughter is a proven way to lower stress hormones, boost the immune system, and improve digestion. Don't feel like laughing? Fake laughter seems to be just as beneficial and can lead to genuine laughter.
Step 7

Get a massage. Massage therapy helps manage stress by improving circulation and helps remove toxin build up in the muscles. It's also a good time to clear your mind and just relax.
Step 8

Keep a journal. Journaling is one of the best ways to vent stress and frustrations in a non-agressive way. Keeping track of daily events can also enlighten you to what is causing your stress and also give you a clue as to what may be helping reduce stress.