Stress Relief Activities to Deal With Anxiety

In this post, I would like to deal with stress relief activities that you can make your life more relieved and comfortable with. I will cover some positive and negative effects of stress. You will learn some practical stress relief activities that reduce stress quickly. Moreover, there are some books to read if you want to dig into the topic. That’s all I can offer you in this article. Keep reading and enjoy it…

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The nature of stress

Human beings are dealing with many psychological, physiological, and social issues since evolution, and one of them is stress. Earlier it was known as fear of fight and flight; it was simple as life was simple.

With the increasing complexities of life, stress is becoming more complex and affecting our lives badly. Luckily many positive things that benefit mankind in every aspect of life also advance through time and exhibit several positive activities that help minimize the adverse effects of stress on our lives.

“Primates are super smart and organized just enough to devote their free time to being miserable to each other and stressing each other out. But if you get chronically psycho-socially stressed, you’re going to compromise your health. So, essentially, we’ve evolved to be smart enough to make ourselves sick.”

Robert M. Sapolsky

By explaining the effects of stress on our health, productivity, social and family life, I want you to understand that stress is harmful but curable, and to cope with stress, you just need to understand that anybody dealing with stress needs help. Stress relief activities are innumerable. Like people in the world, I hand-picked some for you to reduce stress quickly.

There are many stress relief activities because everything is not for everyone; they work differently for diverse personalities dealing with complex stress levels in varying phases of their lives. As Andrew Bernstein says:

“The fact is that stress doesn’t come from your boss, your kids, your spouse, traffic jams, health challenges, or other circumstances. Instead, it comes from your thoughts about your circumstances.”

Andrew Bernstein

The approach of viewing the life happenings and incidents decides the level of stress in your head, and unfortunately, it does not stay only in your head. It dramatically changes the whole physical phenomenon of your body if not recognized and rectified soon.

Effects Of Stress On Health, Productivity, Social And Family Life

Health: Stress causes significant dilemmas to health like insomnia, irritation, lumbar pain aching, or headaches, migraine, and including life-threatening conditions like high blood pressure and heart disease.

Productivity: Stress alters your capability to recall information, rule new information you are receiving, and practice both analytical and physical responsibilities needing attention. In addition, mentally exhausted from all the worries, anxieties, and tension, people are more easily diverted and apt to make high-priced, serious, and disastrous blunders in the workplace. It also leads to poor time management.

Family Life: The most common effects on family relationships include arguments, fighting, poor communication skills, fatigue, and general exhaustion because of busy schedules. Confusion in children leads them to be more dependent on food, alcohol, and other materials.

Benefits of reducing stress on a daily basis

Advantages of stress management on your physical health

• Say goodbye to sleepless nights and sleep splendidly;
• No more excessive pounds; you control your weight tremendously;
• You may get sick less often;
• You will feel better quicker when you do get sick;
• Less muscle strain and anxiety;
• More maintained blood pressure and heart rate;
• Less likely to catch a cold;
• Less prone to have a stroke;
• Eliminate stress eating;
• It keeps acne at a nook.

Advantages of stress management on your mental health

• Less likely to suffer from depression;
• Increases memory and ability to recall information on time;
• Better relations with family and friends;
• You will find yourself constantly in a great mood;
• It will allow you to think more clearly.

Advantages of stress management on your productivity

• Strong company culture conducive to creativity and productivity;
• Healthy, happy, and motivated employees in the workplace;
• Less absenteeism in the workplace;
• Employee retention & talent acquisition;
• Active stress management programs and policy indicates care towards your employees and their health and happiness.

How can stress be reduced quickly?

The activities that release oxytocin and lower cortisol, adrenaline, and Norepinephrine can help lower blood pressure, racing heart rate and reduce simultaneous mood swings.

Oxytocin is your ultimate savior in the event you need a quick remedy to get rid of the stress. It is a hormone that is only enough to break down all three stress hormones. Oxytocin is also known as the love hormone. The positive physical touch of your loved ones could initiate the quick release of oxytocin in both males and females.

Quick tips:

• Another quick remedy to reduce stress is to have a glass of water; it is anti-inflammatory, and it will soothe you a bit and calm you down gradually;
• As a quick move, you can give yourself a hand massage means you could rub your hands against each other and feel the warmth;
• If possible, just get out of the house and take a slow and steady walk;
• You can also try this old trick to count backward;
• Take a quick nap and if it is hard to fall to rest, try to close your eyes for a few minutes and try to relax in a calm place;
• It is not childish to squeeze a stress ball or play with a spinner. Try it;
• Eat a small piece of dark chocolate;
• Take out your mobile and call your friend; talk your heart out.

Stress Relief Activities That Reduce Stress Quickly

• Cuddling;
• Exercises not an intense workout;
• Mindfulness Meditation;
• Yoga;
• Kissing;
• Playing with kids and pets;
• Outdoor and indoor games;
• Intimate positive physical contacts like hugging;
• Healthy eating and drinking;
• Deep breathing;
• Progressive muscle relaxation;
• Listen to relaxing music;
• Play indoor stress relief games like Codenames, Monopoly, Catch Phrase, Sequence, or Pictionary;
• Try outdoor stress relief games like biking, water sports, gardening, hiking, and pet walking;
• Play mobile stress relief games like Candy Crush, bubble wrap, color break, relaxing puzzler.

More in-depth on handling stress

I recommend two books that are really useful to understand and reduce stress quickly.

• Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers: The Acclaimed Guide to Stress, Stress-Related Diseases, and Coping by Robert Sapolsky, Ph.D.

This book is rammed chock-full of knowledge on how stress can cause our body to go haywire. In addition, you will notice answers for how stress affects your weight, sleep, and health in common.

Although there are still many dialects and phrases in the book that you will find outlandish, the description is straightforward, making it convenient and friendly worldwide.

“We all seek out stress. We hate the wrong kinds of stress but when it’s the right kind, we love it – we pay good money to be stressed by a scary movie, a roller coaster ride, a challenging puzzle.”

Robert M. Sapolsky

However, after reading through all the chapters on how stress can wreak havoc on our body, you don’t actually get many elements on how you can cater to them.

So, this is a book on how stress can cause illness to your body. But, if you’re looking for a solid book on recommendations to deal with stress, there is another called:

• Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook (A New Harbinger Self-Help Workbook) by Bob Stahl, Ph.D.

I would like you to get the second edition of the more updated book.

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is a modern method to cope with stress.

The concept following MBSR is easy and manageable at its core. However, stress makes people furious, anxious, bewildered, cranky and exhausted. It can burn you out, leave you in pain and even force your body to sickness.

MSBR is a mindful and non-judgmental approach to handling stress. This tranquility and serenity can rule out stress before it can get a hold of your body and mind.

“Hence, there is a time to go ahead and a time to stay behind. There is a time to breathe easy and a time to breathe hard. There is a time to be vigorous and a time to be gentle. There is a time to gather and a time to release. Can you see things as they are and let them be all on their own”

Lao Tzu

The author is trying to be as realistic as practicable, and therefore I believe he is trying his best to support the most dependably precise stress relief activities to reduce stress quickly.

Let’s Summarize

“There is no such thing as a stress-free life. No evidence has ever been presented, suggesting that a stress-free life can ever be achieved. However, there are ways to cope with stress. Stress can be managed, relieved and lessened, but never eliminated.”

Managing stress basically manages your own responses to petty issues and more significant problems. Although stress is parallel to life, you can not completely eliminate it because it positively affects your life.

All the remedies and quick activities to reduce stress discussed above are the only ones I thought would be in my best interest; there are many more. So if you know something that worked for you, please tell us in the comment section.

I would also love to know which of the activities, as mentioned earlier, you are practicing and getting help to reduce stress quickly. Go ahead, and share your thoughts with us in the comments.