Stress is part of our lives. Some stress is healthy, but too much is harmful. It hurts us mentally, emotionally, and physically.
I’m not going to go into all the science of stress and what’s happening inside our bodies. That gets boring, and I know you don’t want boring.
Instead, I’m going to validate why you’re suffering from stress, and give you seventy-five practical solutions you can do right now to reduce it.
During the current pandemic, the job losses, and restrictions on social interactions, have driven stress to an all-time high.
With the social unrest, and now the stressful uncertainties surrounding how to do school, add in the other stressful things happening around the globe—the stress is overwhelming.
Simply put, there is trauma in the air.
What are we to do?
We can’t get rid of the circumstances that surround us, driving the stress. However, we can take action to reduce stress, as well as the anxiety and depression it causes.
Doing any of the following seventy-five things will help lower your stress and anxiety, and will boost your immune system. These two results will help you to be both healthier and happier in the midst of this troubled time.
Check out the seventy-five stress reducers and pick just five to do now and see the results in your life.
Check out the seventy-five stress reducers and pick just five to do now and see the results in your life. Click To Tweet
SEVENTY FIVE THINGS YOU CAN DO
- Listen to music
- Go for a walk
- Do some gardening
- Meditation – there are many ways to do this (link below)
- Clean something
- Rearrange furniture
- Journal your feelings and thoughts
- Take a hot shower
- Play a game
- Look into CBD and take what serves you (I know someone – link below)
- Take a hot bath with essential oils
- Go for a bike ride
- Chat with a friend on the phone
- Give blood to help save a life
- Slowly sip one shot of whiskey
- Take a drive in the country
- Make something – a craft
- Take a walk on the beach – ocean or lake
- Read a book
- Go people watching at a park or outdoor mall
- Take some of your garden produce to a neighbor
- Knit or crochet something
- Dance
- Put together a puzzle
- Do something for someone else – act of kindness (link below)
- Write out your painful emotions on paper and then shred or burn them
- Watch a movie with someone on zoom
- Write a letter or note and send it snail mail to someone
- Play a game with someone on the Houseparty app
- Watch funny videos and laugh
- Ground yourself by walking barefoot through the grass paying attention to how it feels
- Color with chalk on the sidewalk
- Wash your car
- Take a walk in the woods
- Lay on the ground and stare at the clouds imagining them in shapes
- Draw
- Write a short fiction story where you or your character solves all the world’s problems
- Speak positive affirmations to yourself and over your life
- Pray
- Worship God
- Read Bible verses
- Blow bubbles and watch them fly away
- Bake cookies and give them away
- Read jokes and share them with others
- Organize a drawer or closet
- Cook something new
- Paint
- Do some calisthenics
- Take a nap
- Lift weights / hand weights
- Get a massage
- Eat an orange – the smell of citrus is uplifting and vitamin C is a boost as well
- Walk a dog
- Do a social media fast
- Eat an avocado (yay for guacamole) – it helps lower blood pressure due to its rich potassium content
- Enjoy intimacy with your spouse (yes – sex) – it releases oxytocin aka the love hormone
- Make a gratitude list
- Do a chocolate meditation (yes it’s a thing – link below)
- Eat some apricots – rich in magnesium (a stress buster and natural muscle relaxant)
- Turn off your phone for a set amount of time
- Chew gum – it reduces cortisol (the stress hormone)
- Listen to the water sounds of nature – waves, gentle rain, river, waterfall…
- Cry – release tension
- Get a stress ball of some kind
- Do yoga or TaiChi
- Give acupuncture a try
- Curl up in a weighted blanket
- Listen to soothing nature sounds – crickets at night, frogs croaking, birds, forest…
- Try aromatherapy and see what works for you
- See a therapist or coach (link below)
- Start a new hobby
- Make funny faces at yourself in the mirror until you crack up
- Take a deep breath and let out a big sigh
- Color in a coloring book
- Intentional body relaxation – close your eyes, lower your shoulders and gently roll your head from one side to the other a few times. Finish with a deep cleansing breath.
WHAT NOW
Let me know in the comments which five you chose OR give me some more suggestions!
Here are the links I told you about
- Chocolate meditation
- Meditation – how to
- Meditation – benefits
- Meditation when it’s difficult
- Do something for someone
- Coaching
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Thank you for this list. We have been dealing with some major fires here in the CA Bay Area and this past week I have been in a state of hypervigilance due to threats of mandatory evacuations. Today though I am grateful as I can literally breathe easier. The air has cleared up a bit and it looks like the fire has moved away from our side of the hills and we are getting some humidity.
The stress definitely adds to the chronic pain I am already experiencing. I will definitly try some of your suggestions! Most definitely chocolate meditation and gin. Definitely, gin.
Bernadette
You’re welcome Bernadette. I heard there were 327 fires out there. I’m so glad you’re ok. Also, that the air has cleared and you have some humidity.
Stress definitely complicates things and makes pain worse. Let me know how you like the chocolate mediation. And as for gin, I didn’t see that, but I did mention whiskey so maybe you’re trading it for your fave – which is totally fine.
love and prayers for you my friend.
Thank you so much for this wonderful list of handling stress. The current pandemic has indeed caused so much stress to me here in Lagos Nigeria.
I will definitely try some suggestions like meditation, street jugging,even prayer to ease the pension..But i am . Helping some friendst in their lab to do some of their lab test. This has actually brought great relief to my pains despite the notice to quit my apartment by my house owner.
Richard…
Richard, you are most welcome. I’m so happy to hear what I’ve provided is helpful and practical for you. It’s so good that you have an opportunity to help others and that it is helping you as well. I think it’s amazing how that works.
I’m sorry about your sad news about your apartment. I pray you find a solution quickly. God is faithful.
Thank you so much for this Article, I am sure these would help a lots of people, Especially during this critical time, as a massage therapist and skin therapist, I try to apply some of these things for my clients to sooth their stress and make them calm. I’m happy to know that other people know about these methods. I worked at Holy BSS Spa, we try to apply methods like these to our client’s services, I hope you and other people who see this article would come to our business and be relived of your stress during this critical time. https://www.facebook.com/Holy-BSS-Spa-107246314422901/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel&eid=ARD1CAXeUAB4DTAXKmc0sqErCq06qxQy6OAZggcz-utSIUpa3_4VKDrSgo4lmWzwtmzQqoZEb8refv56 May God bless you, keep up the good work!
You’re welcome, Rosie. Bless you for being part of the solution for others also.