Stress is easy to come by, but stress-relieving tactics that actually work? Not so much.
Not everyone has the time or energy to actively go and search for stress-relieving activities, so I’ve compiled a few fail-safe ones here for you to try out. The following stress-relieving practices are super simple to remember, can be done anywhere, from school, to work, to home, and will instantly give you the mood boost you need.
If you find yourself constantly worrying, overloaded with pressure, or simply in need of a short break, these methods will help!
1. Progressive Muscle Relaxation
This one’s particularly helpful for people who need to spend most of the day sitting, as certain muscle groups become very tense. Starting from your toes and gradually moving up, tense, and then relax all of your muscles. Do this while sitting on a chair with your back supported by the back of the chair, so as to not flop over like a jellyfish. This exercise not only releases tension in muscles, but also helps you calibrate your posture.
2. Chew Gum
Chewing gum alleviates stress and anxiety, so it’s great for scenarios when you have to multitask or when you’re under a lot of pressure. Try popping a stick of mint (or fruit or cinnamon) when you’re doing your homework or taking a test.
3. Guided Meditation
I recently had a band concert where I had to play a solo in front of over a thousand people, and I was freaking the heck out beforehand. Desperately, I searched up a five-minute meditation on Youtube. Even though I felt rather silly sitting there with my eyes closed, listening to some random guy croon about mindfulness and focus, it actually helped so much. I calmed right down, and though some nerves still remained, I did well on my solo! And that was all just with one five-minute block of meditation. Just think of how much good five minutes a day could do!
4. Listen to Music
This one may seem like a no-brainer, since most teens listen to music everyday anyways, but did you know that classical music is especially helpful for stress relief? So the next time you start getting tired of replaying your favourite band’s album over and over again, try putting on a classical playlist for a change.
There is no one surefire way to get rid of stress permanently. There are a lot of factors that contribute to your stress level, such as sleep, diet, and relationships- simply too many variables to be settled by a single solution. But there are small strategies, like the ones in this blog post, that we can utilize in our everyday lives to help ease our overall stress.
So the next time you find yourself worrying about something, be it a quiz, a performance, or a fight with a friend, try out one of these techniques to help soothe your nerves. You can also talk to us anytime.
