In episode 8: Want to relax and improve your health? Let’s de-stress, you heard many ways that Melissa Chammas, Cheryl Schlichte, and Christine Burke relax and manage stress. Melissa utilizes yoga when she is feeling overwhelmed, Cheryl engages in mindfulness practices to focus and relax, and Christine paints on a blank canvas to work through her emotions. As an addition to the many wonderful suggestions our guests this week made, I wanted to provide you with a long list of ways that you can reduce your stress every day.
- Practice yoga: You can find a yoga studio near you and take classes, or you can watch online videos at home! I like Jessica Richburg’s 30-minute De-Stress Yoga and Adriene Mishler’s Yoga for Stress Management videos.
- Take deep breaths or engage in breathing exercises: You can take a few minutes and focus on taking deep breaths, or you can use videos to guide you through breathing exercises. When I was experiencing anxiety, my acupuncturist suggested that I watch Wim Hof videos. Here is a 10-minute video that I love: Guided Wim Hof Method Breathing – YouTube
- Journal: You can journal about anything that you would like. You could write down how you are feeling that day, detail events that have occurred, explain what happened in a recent dream, or just write a list of what you are grateful for. Journaling can help you process emotions and be a great way to track progress.
- Listen to music: Music can boost people’s moods, encourage movement, and even help people process emotions. If you’re looking for a playlist that will help you reduce stress, check out my shared playlist on Spotify – Songs to Reduce Stress
- Make an appointment for acupuncture: A 2014 study found that acupuncture decreased patients’ physiologic stress over the course of treatment. In episode 9, you will also hear an acupuncturist, Lauren O’Brien, talk about how acupuncture is a critical tool for people to utilize when they are stressed. If price is a concern, look for places that offer community acupuncture, like South Philly Community Acupuncture (southphillyacupuncture.com) or Acupuncture Clinic – Dallas, TX – Beachside Community Acupuncture (beachsideacupuncture.com). Both of these locations offer acupuncture on a sliding scale to make it more accessible.
- Paint, draw, or create: You heard Christine Burke explain in episode 8 that art can help people reduce inflammation, process their emotions, and feel more confident. If you are not sure which creative outlet to start with, consider attending one of Christine’s virtual paint or drawing events. She will guide you through the creative process and make sure you have all of your supplies!
- Write a letter to someone you miss: Writing a letter to a friend or family member can give you a mood boost because you are doing something nice for someone else, and it will also make your friend or family member smile when they receive your hand-written note.
- Engage in physical activity: Movement has so many benefits, one of them being stress reduction. A 2018 study found that physical activity was associated with more favorable moods in participants. As Cheryl mentioned in the episode, you do not need to do anything too intense to boost your mood, a 30-minute walk outside will do the trick! If you are looking for exercise studios, check out my resource guide for episode 6 as it includes 6 studios located across the country.
- Practice positive self-talk: When you get ready in the morning, tell yourself that you are intelligent, capable, strong, confident, or beautiful. During the workday if you are feeling intimidated or discouraged, remind yourself of some of your biggest accomplishments. Tell yourself that you can handle whatever life throws at you. This will help calm you down and move forward!
- Get outside: The American Heart Association advises people to get outside and relax to reduce stress. They recommend that people enjoy the scenery, exercise, meditate, study, eat, or engage in other fun activities in the outdoors.
- Celebrate your strengths and accomplishments: Make sure you take time to celebrate the small victories! When we are working on big projects or towards long-term goals, it is easy to get discouraged or overwhelmed by everything that needs to get accomplished. Take time throughout the week to celebrate a good grade on a test, an incredible contribution to a presentation at work, or a personal best at the gym. Focusing on the small wins can help reduce stress and keep you on track to reach your goal.
- Meditate: A 2021 study found that meditation could reduce stress and burnout in nurses. If you just learning how to meditate, I recommend downloading the Headspace app or attending a live meditation. I love attending these FREE sessions on Thursday nights: Meditation Classes – EMs Path.
- Eat foods that reduce stress: Foods high in B vitamins, magnesium, and omega-3 fatty acids can help with stress reduction. These foods include wild-caught fish, avocado, and leafy greens! For some delicious recipes that utilize these foods, check out my 7 Day Meal Plan!
- Go get a massage: A 2010 study found that “even a simple 5-min hand or foot massage, can be useful in lowering a patient’s perceived level of stress.” If you do not want to drop $100-300 on a massage, you can ask your partner to give you a foot massage or invest in a massage gun.
- Diffuse some essential oils: Choose essential oils to diffuse in your essential oil diffuser that have calming benefits like lavender, rose, or ylang-ylang.
- Organize a small part of your home: Sometimes clutter can make us more anxious than usual. Take 5-20 minutes to organize a shelf in your bedroom, one kitchen cabinet, or the corner of your desk. You might just feel a little lighter and feel better after you accomplished a task!
- Drink herbal tea: Drink a warm cup of chamomile or green tea to help you relax.
- Watch a show or movie that always makes you laugh: A 2015 study found that “the therapeutic laughter program was effective after only a single session in reducing anxiety, depression, and stress in breast cancer patients.” So, whenever you are feeling stressed, put on an episode of Parks and Rec or How I Met Your Mother and laugh!
- Call a friend or family member: Connect with one of your most supportive friends or family members and tell them about how you are feeling stressed or overwhelmed. I bet you leave the conversation feeling energized or comforted.
- Book a therapy appointment: When you are feeling anxious, depressed, stressed, or worn down, booking an appointment with a therapist can be a great step. Therapists can help you talk through your emotions and offer actions to take to start reducing stress.
- Dance: A 2011 study found that dancing helped reduce depression in college students. My favorite time to dance is when I am doing chores or cleaning the kitchen. I throw on some of my favorite songs and make cleaning a bit more enjoyable. You could also take a dance class, go to a Zumba class, or go out on the town to get your groove on.
- See a holistic health practitioner who specializes in Neuro Emotional Technique (NET): In my book, We Can’t Change What We Don’t Know: How I Started to Think of Food as Medicine, I discussed how NET helped me. The New York Center for Innovative Medicine states that NET “corrects neurological imbalances related to the physiology of unresolved stress, therefore reducing anxiety, phobias, and worry.” In episode 9, you will hear from my holistic health practitioner, Peggy Herzog, who specializes in NET.
- Utilize adaptogens: In episode 3, you heard Danielle Ryan Broida discuss how adaptogens can help the body adapt to stress. Two of my favorite adaptogens to utilize when I am stressed are ashwagandha and reishi.
- Take a hot bath: A 2018 study found that taking a bath, or immersion bathing, had positive impacts on physical and emotional well-being.
- Give someone a hug or cuddle with a loved one or pet: Sather Health, which is managed by UC Berkley, reported that hugging can reduce stress, reduce blood pressure, and even improve memory.
There are SO many ways that you could reduce your stress throughout the day that are not expensive nor time consuming. You could tell yourself something positive in the mirror while getting ready for work, play music and dance while doing your chores, write down three things that you are grateful for, give your roommate or co-worker a hug, and drink a cup of chamomile tea before bed. That would be six different ways that you reduced stress throughout the day that maybe took 1-2 minutes out of your usual routine.
