Healthy Ways to Deal With Stress

When life gets tough, stress and anxiety may feel unavoidable. Whether you are overwhelmed at work or swamped with tests, it is important to know that you are not alone and that everyone feels stressed at some time in their life. However, there are both healthy and unhealthy ways to deal with life’s curve balls. Binge drinking to forget that you just bombed your final exam will not relieve your stress long term and will probably cause you to feel worse in the morning. For this post, I will share with you some of my stress-relieving techniques:

1. Sleep. I cannot stress how important those 8 hours of sleep are. You will feel well-rested in the morning and have an easier time focusing on the tasks at hand. Sleep will also allow you to skip that morning cup of caffeinated coffee that can be harmful to your overall health.

2. Go for a run. Whenever I am having a rough day, running allows me to shake the anxiety and think in peace. The happy endorphins aren’t half bad either.

3. Take a break.  When you get frustrated, trying to power through the task at hand is useless and you will not be able to perform to your potential. Taking a 10 minute break will allow your brain to rest and give it time to generate more (and hopefully better) ideas.

4. Call a friend. Sometimes bottling up your feelings can just leave you feeling even more stressed out. Talking about your issues with a friend can help lift that weight off your shoulders. He/She might even give you some great advice that you had not thought of before.

5. Organize. When you begin to feel like your life is absolute chaos, sometimes it helps to organize. Whether it be organizing research, forming to do lists, or even just cleaning your room, feeling organized will help you feel less stressed and provide at least some order in your life.

Photo Credit:

Photo By <a target=’_blank’ href=’http://www.flickr.com/photos/30549390@N06/4097009340/’>anna gutermuth</a> via <a href=”http://stockpholio.com/” target=”_blank”>StockPholio.com</a>