Everyone today is looking for ways to overcome stress. Ideally, people would want to retire to the beaches of Hawaii and live a stress-free life, but the reality is different. Retirees continue to deal with serious stress that plague them in the form of poor health, boredom, concerns about finance, or annoying neighbors at the assisted living home. Whether you are a retiree or you are still young, you should always learn to release the stress and be healthy both physically and mentally.
How Does Stress Affect Your Life?
Researchers are of the view that stress can be divided into two categories–good stress, which is eustress and the bad stress, which is distress. If you engage in pleasing activities that overload your nervous system, you may find yourself in stress but that is the good stress. This type of stress leads to better performance–students perform better when they are under stress of meeting a tight deadline. The only thing is that there has to be some balance–taking too much pressure and stress will hamper your performance.
People react differently even when they are under the same amount of stress. You have to understand that stress is actually how you react to pressure. That is why some people love public speaking because they know how to handle the pressure, while others hate it. The good thing is that you can take some steps to help improve your reaction to stress.
How to Be Stress Free
1. Meditation
Meditation makes you more refreshed and alert. The transcendental meditation technique is the most effective technique that you can use to reduce stress and anxiety. The technique involves taking deep rest for a few minutes to help reduce stress and fatigue.
2. Exercise
Research shows that exercise makes your body release endorphins that improve your mood and make you feel better about yourself. At the same time, regular exercise decreases the levels of stress hormone called cortisol. Those who exercise regularly are less likely to deal with anxiety, depression and sleep disorders.
3. Get Adequate Sleep
If you push your body too hard, this will make it difficult for you to have a good sleep, and sleep deprivation decrease alertness during the day. You should avoid intense training before bed and drinking caffeinated beverages after 6pm.
4. Try Acupuncture
This ancient healing system involves inserting tiny, hair-thin needles into certain acupuncture points in your body to accelerate healing. An acupuncturist can help turn off the "fight-or-flight" response, which in turn will allow your body to rest.
5. Eat Whole Natural Foods
You should include whole foods in your diet to learn how to be stress free with ease. Include vegetables, fruits, protein, and grains in your diet to improve your overall health. You will feel a lot less stressed when you engage in an activity with your tank full.
6. Change Your Perspective
Other things will not work unless you really make a change in the way you see things. You need to think optimistically to be stress free. Your stress will make things even difficult if you engage in negative self-talk and follow false beliefs. You need to learn to let go of things. There is no point in feeling stressed about things you have no control over–you cannot make bad weather go away or change certain situations, so why blame others or beat yourself up for that? Understand this and you will feel a lot better in life.
7. Do Less
Most people find them under serious stress when they expect too much or try overly hard for something and find them in stress when they fail. Many people spend all their time in making phone calls, running around with messages, answering tons of emails, and doing stuff like that to feel important. You will burn yourself out if you continue in that way. There is nothing wrong in being lazy occasionally.
8. Look After Yourself
Stress is mental, but you will get deep into this puddle if you do not do anything to improve your physical health. Poor health, in many cases, is often the source of stress. If you exercise regular and have a better body, chances are you will have a better self-esteem, which plays a big role in keeping stress at bay. Also, pay attention to your diet, avoid nicotine, and limit caffeine intake to improve your physical health.
9. Ask for Support
You really do not have to deal with all the problems alone. There are people in your life who will be more than willing to help you get out of difficult situations. Sometimes, all you need to do is to ask help from friends or family members around you. Do not shy away from talking to a friend or someone you trust to help find a way to tackle difficult situations. This is when others can guide you in the right direction and learn from other people’s perspective about how to be stress free.
10. Organize Your Life
You will be able to manage stress better if you learn to organize things around you. An organized mind is a happy mind. Instead of running around all the time with so much on your mind, try making lists to help remember things and develop a habit of keeping things in an orderly fashion because the sight of clutter can out you on edge.