7 Weird And Wonderful Ways To Reduce Stress
Stress is an unavoidable part of life, just like the rising sun and tax season. Of course, there can be good stress, that helps you to stay motivated and on track, but there’s also the bad kind, which does the exact opposite. When stress is left to build and fester, it can cause and trigger a number of health issues, including anxiety, depression, heart disease, and even diabetes. To avoid these problems and stay at your best, you need to take control. Here are seven weird and wonderful ways you can manage and reduce your stress.
Grab Yourself A Crunchy Snack
As anxiety starts to build, the muscles in your jaw and face become tense, often leading to grinding teeth and jaw ache. To remedy this, you should try munching on crunchy foods, like carrots, apples, and nuts. The rhythmic motion and sound that you create lulls your body into a calmer state, while also relieving the physical tension you feel. The added effort it takes you to eat these snacks can also distract you from whatever was causing you stress to begin with.
Let The Curses Fly Free
It doesn’t matter whether you’re quiet and reserved or swear like a sailor, dropping the occasional F-bomb now and then is a great way to relieve your built up stress. This is because cursing taps into the emotional area of your brain, allowing you to release your pent-up feelings, even when you’re at home alone. Screaming into a pillow, and hitting or breaking things works much the same way. Just make sure that you do these things in a safe environment.
Do Something For Someone Else
Doing something for someone else, rather than focusing on yourself, is a great way to promote positive feelings, like joy and optimism, which help to combat and reduce your levels of stress. For this reason, you should find ways to give to those around you. This could be something as small as complimenting someone’s shoes or something as significant as learning how to become a surrogate. As long as you’re having a positive impact, you’re helping yourself too.
Visiting Your Local Pet Store
From cuddling a cat to staring into the fish aquarium, there are a number of ways to boost your mood and reduce anxiety in a pet store. You could even adopt a friend to take home with you. After all, it’s pretty difficult to be sad or stressed when you have something furry and friendly roaming about the house. If you can’t get a pet of your own for one reason or another, you could consider volunteering at your local animal shelter or offering to walk your friend’s dog.
Host A Solo Dance Party
Putting on your favorite song is sure to brighten your day and enhance your mood, whether you’re a fan of pop, rap, heavy metal, or classical. To boost these effects, you should sway, jiggle, spin, and jump to the beat you’re listening to. This will help to distract you from your stress triggers while also sneaking in a little exercise, which is a known stress reliever. The next time you’re struggling to focus, try taking a short break and having a dance party of your own.
Try Out A Little Aromatherapy
You might not have noticed it yet, but scents and smells can help to remind us of certain memories, including those that make you feel calm and happy. For this reason, you should try out a little aromatherapy and see which scents help to reduce your stress. Some of the most common include lavender, fresh cut grass, and cinnamon. Once you’ve found a few scents you love, you can invest in some scented candles, soap, and bath bombs with those smells.
Try Some Relaxing Products
There are so many products on the market that can help you to relax and destress. Take a look at some of the different options out there and figure out what’s best for you. Remedy Review says CBG is a good shout! Others may find things like green or chamomile tea make good stress-relievers, whilst others might find a good bubble bath is their go-to. Many enjoy cannabis products too, like these Live Rosin Carts. They’re more popular than other types of cannabis products due to their ease of use, but products containing CBD can work well for some as well.
Reach Out To Your Friends
A lot of the time, relieving stress is as easy and finding someone to vent to. With that in mind, it’s important that you prioritize spending time with your friends and family. Instead of spending a few hours watching television alone, you could call up your sister or aunt and grab a coffee instead. This offers you the opportunity to have a good chat and get some perspective on your issues. Spending time with loved ones is also fun, which should distract you and boost your mood.
Stress is a thing we all have to deal with at some point, but that does not mean you should let it rule your life. Instead, you need to take action and do what you can to manage it. Hopefully, a few of the unique tips above will help you with that.
10 Comments
Lynne B
I found this very interesting. The very first suggestion to eat something crunchy is a unique and unexpected way to reduce stress.
Vickie L Couturier
i sure could use this right now,,so i amd copying these to try out,,surely wont hurt and may help
Tamra Phelps
I need to try a few of these! My neck and shoulders have been so tensed up for weeks now. I’ll try these.
Calvin
Nice list of working unconventional ways to relieve stress
Kristen
Interesting about trying crunchy foods to relax your jaw muscles! I never would have thought of that but will definitely try to see if it works.
Amy D
Yay! I do all of these things, especially dropping the “F” bomb. Mostly I feel better when I do something nice for someone else. Yesterday, I cooked dinner for a friend who just had a baby, and it put me in the best mood knowing that I helped her out.
Kristi
I really love these ideas. Having a solo dance party always perks me up!
Dorothy Boucher
I think these are wonderful ideas and I think its so important for all of us not to feel ashame to want to reach out for help.
@tisonlyme143
Samantha SULLON
It is so helpful that you created this guide! I absolutely think eating crunchy foods, aromatherapy and having your own solo dance party helped me destress. I have done those following and they actually do work. Thank you for this awesome post!
Lauryn R
These are great ideas for helping to relieve stress! As someone with high anxiety I stress out a lot. I have been wanting to get a pet for some time now, as I know that it would help me a great deal. I plan on getting a kitten soon. 🙂