Four Ways To Destress In Stressful Times

Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the globe, our collective levels of stress and anxiety have ramped up. As adults with busy lives, we often find it tough to find time for ourselves, a time when we can relax and unwind.  Below are 4 easy ways to reduce stress and worry that you can do at lunchtime, on your work break, or when you just have a few minutes to spare:

Just Breathe…Deeply.

Research published by the Journal of Emergency Medicine has shown that 30% of people who end up in the emergency room having chest pains with no signs of heart disease are actually having a panic attack. Think about that…30% of those in the ER with chest pains are experiencing panic; that’s a lot of people!

Panic attacks happen because when we feel worried or stressed, we start breathing too shallowly (we under-breathe) or we breathe too quickly (we over-breathe), which only ends up making us feel dizzy or we hyperventilate. The fix to improper breathing is to take slow, deep breathes, because that type of breathing signals our brain that we are calm, and it soothes our nervous system…making us feel less stressed and anxious.

Studies support the fact that when we breathe deeply and slowly, we start to feel relaxed and those feelings of panic fade away. Try it for yourself by breathing in through your nose for a slow count of 6, and then breathing out through your mouth for a slow count of 8. Repeat this pattern of breathing a few times, and you should feel a sense of calm settle in.

Take A Walk

Whenever we feel anxious or unsettled, a walk helps us release that nervous energy. It might surprise you to know that taking even a 15 minute walk around the block, office complex, or anywhere else, can help you get rid of the stress you feel and reinstate a sense of calm and wellbeing. Studies show that, as a bonus, during physical activity your body will release endorphins, which are natural feel-good chemicals activated by exercise.

Quietly Listen

If you just have a couple of minutes to destress, close your eyes, take a couple of slow, deep breathes, and then listen intently to the sounds around you. Take notice of all of the sounds you can hear; maybe the sound of the air in the ceiling vents, the faint sound of traffic or birds outside, someone speaking in another room, the ticking of a clock, or the sounds within your own body. Listen quietly, with your eyes gently closed, for a full minute or two and count how many different sounds you can hear.

This is a relaxing activity that lets your mind take a break from thinking about stressful things, since your brain can’t tune into the sounds around you and at the same time think about other things. This activity helps center and ground you in the present, so that your brain can release worry thoughts about the future or the past.

Laugh A Lot

You’ve probably heard the expression that laughter is the best medicine. Take a few minutes to let yourself have a few good laughs. You get bonus points if you can laugh so hard that you feel your stomach hurt! The easiest way to find some laughs is to pull up some brief clips of your favorite comedies on YouTube, watch some comedic Tik Tok or other short videos, or pull up some jokes online. You can take a few minutes to do this on your work or school break, or anytime when you find you have a couple of extra minutes. Laughing is a great stress buster, and sometimes it can be just the thing you need to unwind and reset your mood.

We can’t control everything in our lives, and sometimes that makes life seem a bit alarming, flooding us with stress and worry. Remembering to take a little time for ourselves to relax and unwind helps boost our sense of emotional and mental well-being.