Stress and anxiety dominate our lives. It is not possible to eliminate these emotions from our lives, but learning to deal with these two can help you in leading a happy life with a more positive outlook.
Listening music
Music is a great medicine to calm your anxiety and stress. Nothing works better than calm and soft music to soothe your nerves. A recent research shows that listening to soothing music gives you great relief from feelings of stress and anxiety. Music therapy is neither costly nor is it complicated or has any side effects. However, it should be noted that individuals who suffer from stress and anxiety, should listen to calm and soothing music and not loud music. Loud music agitates your mind and increases your anxiety or stress level. Whereas soothing music lowers your blood pressure, calms your mind and helps in relaxation of your body. To avoid this phenomenon, one should try and listen to classical music which is not only pleasing to ears but also acts as a means of your relaxation. An individual can create a playlist for his/her various moods. For example, he/she can make an upbeat mix list for listening, when he/she needs more energy. Music helps you get free from stress and anxiety in a passive, enjoyable and convenient manner.
Meditation
The process of meditation involves deep breathing. When an individual is involved in meditation, the brain functions like the time when we usually go to sleep. However, this process involves certain positive benefits. These benefits cannot be achieved in any other state of brain. One of the most primary benefits of meditation is that, during meditation certain hormones which facilitate good health are released. These hormones will calm down the otherwise tense muscles and veins in the head and free you of your stress. If you have acquired headache, this too can be reduced with the help of meditation. Since your mind is in a deep trance during meditation and is not working overtime, you do not experience any further level of stress or anxiety.
Breathing exercises
Breathing exercises are a great stress and anxiety reliever. They are taught in the ancient practice of Yoga and hence should be learnt from a professional yoga instructor. These exercises have numerous positive benefits for an individualâs body. Deep breathing oxygenates the blood in your body. It helps in the awakening of your brain, muscle relaxation and in calming the mind. Breathing exercises are simple and can be done anywhere. These exercises have an instant effect and thereby help you in de-stressing yourselves very easily. A great breathing exercise to start with could be the one nostril breathing taught in Yoga. You need to inhale air from one nostril while blocking the second one with your index finger. Now let this air out through the second nostril, while closing the former one with your rest three fingers. This technique helps a lot in reducing your stress.
Yoga is a saviour
Dating back to nearly five thousand years, yoga is considered as one of the best forms for relieving yourself from stress and anxiety. Yoga is one of the oldest practices of improving yourself and ultimately curbing stress and anxiety. Yoga is a combination of various stress management processes like meditation, breathing, imagery and exercises through postures and so on. One can benefit himself/herself immensely from yoga due to the amount of time and energy required to practice yoga. Yoga shows its benefits from the very first session itself. When you feel stressed, you can practice some breathing exercises in office. When at home and feeling tensed, you can perform some simple Yoga postures which will channelize your stress and let it out.
Pets help reduce stress
Nothing works more for an individual with high levels of stress than a soft paw rubbing against your hands or a pair of eyes looking longingly at you. Pets, as found in a recent research, have the most positive influences in the lives of people. Social support, great stress relievers, all these qualities are found in pets. Taking your pet out for a walk is not only good for the health of your pet but is also helpful in reducing your anxiety or stress levels. Moreover, walking is a good exercise for your overall health. Hence having a pet is beneficial for de-stressing yourself. When one takes his/her pet out for a walk, people come and talk on the pretext of your pet. Your social circle widens and you make some friends. Research also shows that having your pet around when you are doing some stressful job, diminishes the stress levels. This is however not the case when one has his/her best friend or spouse around. This may be simply due to the fact that your pets love you unconditionally and never judge you, which your human friends do. Pets are the best antidotes for loneliness which often leads to stress. A pet around you even while living alone in an apartment will make you feel comfortable. Pets not only are good companions, but you can share any secrets with them, (which may be the reason for your anxiety) without worrying about it been disclosed. They are also very efficient in dealing with your phases of silence and never disturb you during these phases, but they are always there to de-stress you whenever you need them.
