Seven Ways to Relieve Stress

These times can feel heavy on you, like you're carrying the world's weight on your shoulders. It's time to let go of that stress and relieve it.

Effective ways to relieve stress

Here are some easy ideas you can consider:

1. Get rid of thoughts that weigh you down

What thoughts crowd your mind? Whether you are worried about the future of humanity or a stack of papers on your desk, take a pen and paper and write it all down, going from the silliest thought in your head to the deepest and then putting every thought on your mind on the page. When you feel like you've got all of these ideas in, you're done.

Take a deep breath, pour yourself a soothing drink, relax, feel the relief of this easy brain dump, and then put your list down. You can walk outside or even nap if you don't feel fully rested.

2. Let go of everything you can't control in your mind

Later, hours or days later, empty your mind. If anything else has come up since then, add it to your list. While reviewing your fears, look for the ones you can't control.

Here are some of the things you can't control: the weather, the past, and the future, the thoughts, feelings, and actions of others, and the constraints of space and time. So, cross off every item on your list that you realize you have no control over, and when you cross it out, imagine those fears unraveling from your mind and your area of ​​responsibility and remove them from your mind.

3. Let go of the unimportant

Now go back to your list. You may find items that are not important according to your criteria; that is, items that you want to spend less time thinking or energy on, so find them and cross them out of your mind.

4. Making the best list ever

Should I write another list? Be patient a little. This idea is the expert David Allen's idea of ​​productivity, as described in his classic book Getting Things Done. This list is called the Someday/Maybe list. It's a list you want to keep.

If you look back through the brain dump, choose the items that you might want to do something about in the future or that you simply want to remember. Still, they aren't priorities for you right now, and then add those items to your “someday/maybe” list, and cross them off your "brain dump" list.

When you're done, you can rest assured that you've kept these ideas, and can come back to them at any time. Keep your "someday/maybe" list in an easy-to-reach place, and add to it whenever you want. You'll likely find that when you keep these items like this, you no longer need them to expend mental energy to worry about them.

Moreover, if you look at the "brain dump" list now, what's left should be just those things that you prioritize and can do something about right now, as you've lightened the load. Getting Things Done is an excellent reference for organizing your productivity starting from this point.

5. Regulation

List the possessions that you live with and maintain that can really burden you, so what are the items that no longer serve you? Start throwing things and lighten the burden. You may feel compelled to deal with this matter firmly by going through every corner of your home and keeping only the items that "bring you joy," as the Japanese organizing consultant Marie Kondo said.

If you have the time and motivation, get down to business and you'll immediately feel comfortable. If a step-by-step approach works for you, have some cans ready near your front door to collect any items you want to get rid of at any time. When one becomes full, bring it straight to the place where you donate the items, or at least take it to the trunk of your car, replace the entire box or bag with a new one and make this habit a part of your life, then you will feel more of the burden off your shoulders as time goes on.

6. Noise reduction

Just as clutter affects your physical environment, consider the mental, emotional, and spiritual impact of entertainment and the media you consume. Can you reduce noise and find more stillness, calmness, and peace? We are all aware that the different forms of media consumption available are highly addictive. So, this may be a challenge, but it is perhaps the most beneficial. Some strategies to consider include taking advantage of your phone's time tracker to set new goals for yourself. This results in reduced ongoing arousal.

You can also set rules for yourself and your family. For example, TV can only be on during certain hours, or when you're at home, all digital devices have to stay on their chargers in a common area of ​​the house, or every Sunday everyone takes a break from all forms of media.

Consider how you feel after spending time on social media or watching the news, and what if you were to step away from them for a while or only look at them for short, specific times.

Reducing the messages that flood your mind and affect your thoughts and emotions is a surefire way to shed more light on matters.

7. Taking care of the soul

Whether you consider yourself a spiritual person or not, allow yourself to explore what it means to live spiritually. If the material world has stood in your way, perhaps the antidote is by taking care of your soul. Take your newfound comfort to explore those great ideas that have been passed down through the centuries. You may experience the light or enlightenment you have truly been searching for.