Feel on top of your emotions and don’t let stress affect your wellbeing!
- Figure out how stressed you are right now!
- Learn techniques to reduce your stress levels
- See stressful situations as a challenge, not a threat
The profound physiological effects of stress on our bodies means that managing stress is essential for a happy, healthy life.
Try our techniques to totally change your outlook towards stress and make you feel untouchable!
1. Find the cause
Often we don’t realise that we’re stressed or why, but we can all get affected, and you don’t have to be a high flyer to feel it!
Here are a few questions to ask yourself to help identify just how much stress might be affecting you:
- Do you enjoy your daily life?
- How many people depend on your support?
- Do you feel supported by people around you?
- Are you recently separated/divorced/a new parent?
- Are you recently bereaved?
- Have you moved house or changed jobs recently?
- Do you work long or irregular hours?
- Do you have a hectic commute or travel on busy roads?
- Is your workload bigger than you can manage?
- Do you sleep well?
- Are you under significant stress in any other way?
- Do you feel guilty when you are relaxing?
- Do you have a strong drive for achievement?
- Do you often do 2 or 3 tasks simultaneously?
Now you can identify where your stress is coming from, it’s time to start finding ways of letting it go.
2. Be connected
People who are involved with those around them have lower stress levels:
- Tell a friend: sharing with your friend in a gentle manner every now and then can be helpful (as long as the friend is in a happy place themselves).
- Enlist some support, whether it’s from your family, friends, work colleagues, or your boss.
- Hug more! Physical contact is crucial to reducing stress levels.
- Even strangers can help, a chat in your local supermarket can make you feel immediately less lonely.
- And don’t forget your pets – stroking and spending time with your animals has been proven to reduce stress.
- Hug more! Physical contact is crucial to reducing stress levels.
3. Release tension
Try these techniques to physically breakdown your tension:
- Get a massage and feel the worries melt away from your body. Aromatherapy oils in massage increase the effects, try lavender oil, or rose oil. If you don’t have the time or funds to book a spa massage, try self-massage. You could just sit on the floor and massage your own feet.
- Palm your eyes – great for tired eyes and tension headaches. Here’s how: Close your eyes and place the palms of your hands over them, now let the muscles around your eyes, cheeks and jaw relax totally. Relax your neck and shoulders. Stay like this for 2 minutes and then gently open your eyes again.
- Bathe in salt – take an Epsom salts bath, and add some magnesium flakes. These natural minerals are nature’s tranquilisers and you absorb them into the skin, leaving you feeling much more relaxed afterwards.
- Tapping pressure points – a simple, easy version of acupuncture, but without needles and you can do it yourself. Simply tap 5-7 times on each of your meridian points (these include the inner corner of your eyebrows, under your eyes, your collar bones, the top of your head) – we have included a link to a short video demonstrating how to do it below.
- Organic Burst Maca is an amazing adaptogen that supports healthy hormonal balance, which is very important when your body is pumping out a lot of stress hormones. Try 1tsp in your breakfast bowl.
Add Epsom salts and magnesium flakes to your bath. The minerals help your body relax and de-stress.
4. Switch off
A great way to help you deal with stress is to switch off or distract yourself away from those circular thoughts that run over and over in your mind:
- Get your pencils out and try some adult colouring-in! There are some beautiful books available that you can use as a stress-relieving activity. You’ll find yourself daydreaming, and this trance-like state (almost like being hypnotised) is an amazing way to reduce stress.
- Playing sport not only releases endorphins that naturally make you feel great, but it takes your mind off any troubles because you’re focussed on something else.
- Meditation can be tricky for many people, but they say you should meditate for 20mins a day, unless you’re too busy and then you should meditate for an hour! Simply closing your eyes, slowing your breathing, focussing on relaxing each part of your body from head to toe is a meditation.
- De-oxygenate – when you’re stressed, your breathing rate increases, you end up with too much oxygen in your body, and you might even hyper-ventilate and faint. To calm things down again, sit, close your eyes, breathe in through your nose for 4, pause, then gently release the air through your nose for a count of 8, repeat for 2-3 minutes. By lengthening the exhale, you’re returning to a normal balance and you should feel calmer.
- Practice yoga – this ancient practice brings together physical exercise (endorphins), meditation and controlled breathing to help train your body to be calm, strong and centred.
C&J Tip: When you’re under stress, you can help your emotions stay more ‘normal’ by keeping your blood sugar levels in balance. Try Organic Burst Spirulina between meals to provide protein and B Vitamins for steady energy.
Colouring in can shift you into a trance-like state, where you let go of life’s stresses.
5. Shift your perspective
Try these tricks to help you see stressful situations as a challenge not a threat.
- Spend time thinking about the things that you value most in the world before heading into a stressful situation. This gives you positive associations and reduces your stress levels.
- Read about, watch or (even better) DO acts of kindness. Buy a cup of tea for someone in need, or donate to your favourite charity. A good deed makes everyone feel warm and fuzzy - the ultimate stress buster. In a fascinating study, stress was reduced in a group who were shown a film about Mother Theresa’s life.
- Play your favourite music to lift you up and out of your stress and anxieties, this will give you a boost of happy hormones.
- Take an Instagram break and appreciate some stories or words of wisdom from the people who inspire you most.
Some More Resources:
Tapping your pressure points: The Tapping Solution
Palming your eyes: The Bates Method
LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK
Have you managed to control your stress with any of the techniques?
