7 Powerful Stress Management Activities to De-Stress Your Life
Stress is so common and once it starts, it can feel like it just continues to snowball. If you are feeling stressed or overwhelmed, take a deep breath and keep reading. These stress management activities will help.
While there is no one-size-fits-all solution to curing stress, there are some tools and tactics you can implement right now to feel less stressed.
These stress management activities will help you tackle some of the most common stressors that you might be experiencing right now.
Signs of stress you can address with stress management activities
According to the Mayo Clinic, there are a lot of different signs of stress that you might notice during times of high tension. Here are some of the stress symptoms to be on the lookout for…
Physical stress symptoms
Physical stress symptoms are the ones that you experience and feel on your body. They include:
- Muscle tension and pain
- Headaches
- Chest pain
- Stomach distress
- Feeling tired
- Difficult sleeping
Mood-related stress symptoms
In addition to the physical wear and tear that stress can cause on your body, there are also several mood-related stress symptoms.
- Restlessness
- Anxiety
- Feeling overwhelmed
- Difficulty concentrating
- Lack of motivation
- Sadness and depression
- Easy to anger
Behavioral signs of stress
Lastly, there are also ways to identify stress within your daily behaviors that might tip you off to something going on.
- Angry outbursts
- Change in appetite – overeating or undereating
- Social withdrawal
- Abuse of alcohol or drugs
- Tobacco use
- Decreased physical activity
Be sure to check in with yourself regularly and try to notice if you are experiencing any of these symptoms. If so, be sure to talk with a health professional to figure out the best treatment plan for your personal needs.
Now let’s talk about the 7 stress management activities to reduce your stress levels right now.
1. Take a deep breath and ask yourself a few questions
When you begin to feel really stressed or overwhelmed, first just stop and take a deep breath. Let the million thoughts running through your mind pause for a second.
Breathe in and then exhale slowly while you let your heart rate return to normal.
Now, approach your stressors or worries with a calmer mind and try to identify where the stress is coming from. Assess the situation and what’s going on with a more relaxed mindset.
Trying to assess the situation without pausing first might just make you feel more overwhelmed and make things worse.
In order to get to the root of your stressor, you should ask yourself seven important questions.
Use the form below to download a stress management checklist for the seven questions you should ask yourself whenever you feel overwhelmed.
As a bonus, you’ll also get additional life-changing self care resources including a month of journal prompts, a weekly self care schedule, and a self care daily planner.
Fill out the form below to get these resources to your email for free now!
2. Meditate
Meditation is a great tool to reduce stress and anxiety.
Mediation is one of the best stress management activities and can help you manage stress in several ways. For one, it trains your brain to focus on the present moment.
When you have greater awareness of the present moment, you will worry less about the future and things that are out of your control.
Meditation is also a tool that can help you identify the root causes of stress or anxiety. This is because while you meditate and focus on your breath, naturally some thoughts will come to the surface.
Although during meditation you should welcome these thoughts without judgment and return focus to the breath, the thoughts that arise will help point to the deeper issues that are plaguing your mind.
If you’re looking for information on how to meditate, read the post below.
Click here to read about mindful meditation for beginners.
You can choose to meditate on your own or find a guided meditation that will help you through the meditation process.
If you want to find the best guided meditation app for you, read the post linked below for the low down on five of the best guided meditation apps.
The Best Meditation Apps You Should Start Using Now
In addition to helping to reduce stress overall and to help you identify potential stressors, meditation is also a great tool to have on hand for those moments when you feel very overwhelmed.
Remember how the first stress management activity was to pause and take a few deep breaths? You can turn that into a meditation session. It doesn’t need to be lengthy, even just a few minutes of meditation will make a difference in those moments.
3. Exercise
Exercise is a great stress management tool that may be overlooked.
You don’t need to budget out multiple hours of your day to spend at the gym or sign up for a pricey fitness trainer to feel the stress management effects that physical activity will have on your mental health.
There are plenty of different way to incorporate physical activity into your day – walking, joining a class at the gym, hiking, or working out at home.
No matter what type of physical activity you prefer, it will help you as you work to manage your stress. Even if you can only dedicate 10 minutes per day, some sort of physical activity will have a positive impact on your stress and mental health.
Exercise causes your body to release endorphins that will make you feel happier, and it is a good way to take nervous or stressful energy and put it into a productive activity.
Personally, I can say that I definitely notice a change in my mood on days when I don’t work out vs. days when I do.
Click here for a full body home workout.
Click here to learn how to build a home gym on a budget.
4. Make the time for self care
Self care is so important because YOU are important. You need to take care of yourself and your physical and mental health in order to function at 100% for all of the responsibilities you have in your life.
I know, I know, when you have a really packed schedule, incorporating time for self care or something fun can seem like an impossible task.
But if you are organized and plan ahead, incorporating self care can be easy and simple.
Use the free Self Care Seeker Daily Planner and Weekly Self Care Schedule printables to plan your day, prioritize self care, and consistently incorporate it into your schedule.
Fill out the form below to download your free daily planner and self care schedule now! As a bonus, you’ll also get a monthly journal and the stress management checklist mentioned above!
5. Organize your living space
Another one of the best stress management activities is to organize your living space. Home should be your place to relax, not be a cause of your stress!
When you have a stressful day at work, it does not help to come home to a disorganized or messy home.
Cleaning and organizing your living space will help you feel more put together overall and it will reduce stress.
Start by tidying up your space and then start getting things in order.
If you’re working from home, it’s also a good idea to create a dedicated work space. Make it an organized and calming environment that will not only help you be productive, but will also help you keep stress at bay.
Then, by having a dedicated work space you’ll be able to leave once work is over. Out of sight, out of mind does ring true in most cases. Leave your work computer at your desk and designated work space, and relax in the rest of your home.
Click here to read more about how to make your living space more relaxing.
Click here to read more more about how to make your desk calm and organized.
6. Find ways to save yourself time
Another major stressor is just not having enough time in the day to get everything done. Or at least worrying that there won’t be enough time.
To combat this, try to find ways to save time throughout your day to alleviate some of that stress.
Consider planning ahead and meal prepping for the week ahead of time so you don’t have to cook. Or maybe think about multitasking like calling a friend or family member while going for a walk and getting your physical activity in for the day!
Additionally, only take on what you can handle. If your schedule is crazy busy and you are feeling overwhelmed, consider what you can take off of your to-do list.
Remember, it’s okay to say no to adding more to your schedule if you are already overwhelmed. The people in your life will understand.
You can’t be everything to everyone, or you risk a negative impact to your mental health.
7. Get your finances in order
Another common stressor in your life may be money – or lack thereof. If money is something that is contributing to your stress, it can really help to organize your finances and create a budget.
Create a monthly or weekly budget based on how much money you have coming in – and stick to it. Outline all of your expenses from rent, utilities, groceries, TV and music subscriptions, etc.
If you walk into the grocery store with a budget in mind, it will keep impulse buys in check and you won’t need to stress while the cashier is ringing up your bill.
Be sure to create a spot in your budget for fun things and self care. If you have everything budgeted out, then you won’t need to feel guilty when you want to buy yourself a face mask or a new candle, because it’s already in the budget you created.
Fun, self care, and other stress management activities deserve to be necessities in your budget, too!
Those are the 7 stress management activities to reduce your stress right now.
Always remember, no matter how stressed or overwhelmed you are not alone! Use these tools and stress management activities to reduce the tension in your life.
Be sure to take things one step at a time. Be patient with yourself and trust that it will get better!
If you are really struggling or feel overwhelmed you can also think about talking to someone either in person or 1:1 through text or video chat using an app like Sanity and Self or BetterHelp.
Share this post and comment below with your favorite stress management activities that help you manage your own stress.
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