Stress Management Tips: Activities to Manage Stress
We can all agree that stress is no fun. It can come on suddenly and have a crippling effect on your mental health. Luckily, with the right tools, anyone can find the best method to alleviate stress. These stress management tips are here to help tackle any aspect of life that’s started to take a toll on your life so that you can reclaim your own power and control.
Consider Your Stress Bucket
The stress bucket is a metaphor used to explain how stress affects each and every one of us, as well as how to replace stress with a healthy activity. Start by imagining a bucket in your body that collects your stress. Each stressor in your life represents more and more water being added to the bucket. The more stressors you have, the faster the bucket will fill and eventually overflow.
Stressors come in all shapes and sizes but could be anything from dealing with big changes, a lack of sleep, burn out, financial trouble, health concerns, relationship problems and more.
So how can you lighten the load? By engaging in positive coping activities that relieve stress, you’re able to release your stress. These positive coping strategies represent a tap at the bottom of the stress bucket, allowing the stress to flow from the bucket.
Stress Management Activities
If you’re serious about managing your stress, following these stress management tips will help you get to a much better place. Keep in mind that you’ll need to be patient and consistent with your efforts, taking little steps each day.
Pick at least one or two of these activities to help you get started!
- Guided Meditation - Instead of picking up your phone and getting on social media first thing in the morning, try meditation instead. Even just 5 minutes of guided meditation can change your entire outlook and attitude for the day. The app ‘Insight Timer’ is great for free guided meditations.
- Deep Breathing - Deep breathing exercises can easily combat stress within a few seconds. They work to calm your nervous system and can be done anytime or anyplace to reduce stress. Start out by taking a deep breath to the count of five and then holding it for 2-3 seconds before exhaling.
- Social Media Break - Social media can cause more stress, especially if you find yourself comparing yourself to others. Try taking a break or cutting back your overall time spent on social apps. Pro tip: use the app settings to restrict how much time you spend on them each day!
- Exercise & Good Nutrition - Have you been getting in movement each day? Or eating food that fuels your body and mind? If not, start out by going on more walks each week and adding a few extra vegetables to your plate.
- Connect With Your Support System - This could be a phone call with a close friend or getting back into a sports group. Talking to people you trust about what you’re experiencing will show you that you’re not alone.
You’re Going to Be Fine!
I know that life might feel insurmountable right now but that won’t always be the case. Use these stress management tips to deal with stress in a healthy way and connect with Tranquille Therapy’s community to access mental health resources!