3 Simple Relaxation Techniques For Easing Stress & Anxiety

We all deal with anxiety and stress from time to time. In fact, it’s probably the number one complaint and cause for visits to the doctor’s office. And stress and anxiety can lead to a number of health problems including insomnia and heart disease.

In short, too much stress is a bad thing.

Here are three amazing relaxation techniques to ease anxiety and stress.

#1 Meditate. You’ll be amazed what five minutes of meditation can do for your overall sense of well being. That’s it, five minutes. Contrary to popular belief you don’t have to sit on the floor for an hour and chant. Start with five minutes of focusing on your breathing. As you begin to reap the benefits you’ll want to meditate longer. It’ll improve your physical and emotional health. You’ll not only be able to relax immediately when you’re feeling stressed, you’ll begin to manage stress much better. 

Next time you’re feeling overly anxious or stressed go find a quiet place where you can be undisturbed for five minutes. Sit down so you’re comfortable, on a chair or on the floor, whichever works best. Close your eyes and simply focus on your breathing. As thoughts come into your mind, and they will, don’t judge them or react, simply set them aside and continue to focus on your breathing. You’ll feel so much better – instant relaxation.

#2 Daydream. If you’re struggling with meditation or that’s just not your style, daydream instead. Imagine yourself some place relaxing. Some place that makes you feel happy and free. Find a quiet place, or just close your eyes at your desk, and allow yourself to daydream for five minutes. Make your daydreams as vivid as possible. Imagine what things smell like, what they feel like. What sounds do you hear?  

#3 Change your mindset. They say that we attract what we project. With that line of thinking the more you focus on how stressed you are, the more stress you’re going to feel. You’re going to attract stress and anxiety to you. A quick shift in your mindset, however, can provide instant relaxation. 

Next time you’re feeling stressed or fearful, stop your anxiety ridden thoughts and think about five things you’re grateful for. Think about what brings you joy, about the good people in your life, think about what makes you feel happy and good. Sometimes simply thinking about all that you have that’s good can help make the things that are stressing you out seem quite insignificant.

Stress is a part of our life. Sometimes it’s helpful, sometimes it’s harmful. If you feel you are chronically anxious or if you suffer from anxiety or panic attacks, it’s important to put these three tips to work for you. It’s also important to see a doctor to help determine if you suffer from an anxiety disorder.

Stress and anxiety don’t have to rule your life.

Adopt These 3 Habits Today To Beat Stress, Anxiety and Depression

Whether you have intermittent bouts of stress, anxiety and depression or it’s a chronic problem, you can change. When you adopt positive habits, they can have a powerful effect on many areas of your life. Let’s take a look at three habits you can adopt today to ease stress, anxiety and depression.

Move your body. Our bodies were not meant to be stationary, sitting on the couch or at a desk all day long. Your body was designed to move. When you move your body you release hormones and activate systems that keep you both physically and mentally/emotionally healthy.

Movement helps not only alleviate stress and anxiety, it helps your body manage it better. It can be compared to vitamin C or zinc for avoiding or reducing the symptoms of the common cold. Movement helps you reduce the symptoms or avoid, stress, depression and anxiety.

What do we mean by movement? Just that, walk, dance, swim, run, do yoga or stretch. It doesn’t matter so much what you do. What matters is that you move your body. A common rule of thumb is to take 10,000 steps a day and/or exercise for 30 minutes.

Moderate exercise is often the easiest to adapt into your current lifestyle. You can walk for 30 minutes, do yoga, jog, swim, dance, and box – whatever you desire. Find something you enjoy and get your amazing body moving like it was designed to.

Quiet your mind. Meditation is the simplest way to quiet your mind. And the wonderful thing about meditation is that there is no right or wrong way to do it. You can walk and meditate. You can sit and meditate.

You can focus on your breathing. You can visualize a scene that makes you feel relaxed. The goal is to simply quiet your mind. To learn to clear away unconscious thoughts. Once you can learn how to control your thoughts and quiet your mind, you can instantly have a better reaction to stress and anxiety. It changes your mindset.

How long should you quiet your mind? When creating a new habit, it’s best to start small. Create a habit you absolutely know you can stick to. Start with 5 minutes of meditation. Add it to the beginning or end of your day, whichever is easiest.

Fuel your body. Your body needs a variety of nutrients and vitamins to help it run optimally. When you fuel your body well, you’re better able to manage stress and you’re simply going to feel better. Depression and anxiety don’t stand a chance. When you put harmful things into your body like too much alcohol, caffeine, sugar and nicotine then your body becomes stressed and it cannot manage the things life throws at you.

Take a multi-vitamin. Cut back on alcohol, caffeine and sugar. And add a serving of fruits or veggies to each meal and snack. This is an easy way to make sure you’re giving your body the nutrients it needs to function well.

Experts say that it takes three weeks to adopt a new habit. These three stress, anxiety and depression reducing habits are simple to adopt. The tough part is committing to them for those first three weeks. You can do it! Your body and your future are depending on you.