By Remez Sasson
Stress and tension seem to be an integral part of life. Wherever you go, they go after you. There is stress and tension at work, at home and in relationships. There is stress and tension due to health problems, and stress and tension brought about by one’s financial situation.
Sometimes, you can eliminate or change the external cause, and sometimes you cannot. Often, when you cannot change the external cause, you become more stressed. If you can deal with the external cause that’s okay, but what if you cannot?
Dealing with stress and tension should begin from within you. External causes might be the trigger for them, but in most cases, your attitude and thoughts are the real causes.
You might not always be able to deal with external condition, but you can certainly teach yourself to change your attitude. With a change of attitude, stress and tension would disappear, irrespective of your external conditions.
Take two different people, with different mental attitudes, and put them in the same situation. If you observe their behavior, you will see two different attitudes. One might get stressed easily, feels exhausted, and dwells on negative thoughts, while the other person remains calm, relaxed, happy and energetic.
Two Ways to Deal with Stress and Tension
There are ways to release stress and tension after they appear, and there are ways to prevent them from being created. There are certain things you can do when you experience them, something like first aid, and there are methods that prevent stress and tension from coming into existence at all.
The first aid method, consists of certain small things that reduce the stress and tension, while the second method requires inner work, over a period of time.
The second method brings more permanent results, resulting in a changed attitude, changed perspective of life, and a state of inner peace. This approach has been dealt extensively in my book Peace of Mind in Daily Life.
The following tips are like first aid kit for relieving stress and releasing tension.
10 Tips to Relieve Stress and Release Tension
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Pay attention to your body and to your muscles. Are they contracted and tense? Release the tension. Pay special attention to your face and scalp, and if you feel that they are tense, release the tension. If after a few seconds the tension returns, relax them again, until the tension disappears.
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When feeling stressed or tense, stand up, with you head and back straight, and take a few deep, slow breaths.
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Drinking a cup of water helps too. If you feel stressed or tense before going to sleep at night, a glass of milk, warm or cold can make you feel more relaxed.
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Think about the thoughts that are causing you the stress and tension. In many cases, it is possible that you have created a mountain in your mind that does not exist in reality. Thinking positively about the situation can you bring new ideas for solving it, and therefore, eliminate the stress.
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If the stress is caused by other people, talk to them about it. Don’t bottle it up. Sometimes, people don’t know what they are causing you, and a little relaxed conversation can do wonders.
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Find causes to laugh. Watch a comedy on TV, or read something funny.
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Leave everything that you are doing at the moment, and take a walk outside.
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Go to swim or to the gym. In fact, if you train yourself regularly, your stress level will become lower.
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Take it easy. Don’t pile up tasks, chores and goals. If you plan too many things to do you will probably feel stressed. Make a plan, but focus on one thing at a time.
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This tip, though simple, might not be easy, but it is extremely useful.
Try to look with a detached point of view at the situation that is causing you stress. It is like taking a step back in your mind, and looking at the situation, and at your thoughts and feelings, as if from the outside, as if they have nothing to do with you and do not belong to you. This might be a little difficult, since in a stressed situation it is not so easy to stay detached. You will have to remind yourself over and again, to remember this tip. If you are able to develop a little degree of emotional detachment, you will have more inner peace.
Are there more tips you would like to add? Add them in the comments box below.
Peace of Mind in Daily Life
Techniques and guidance to teach you how to quiet the constant chatter in your mind, get rid of negative thoughts, stress and worries, and live and act with a sense of inner peace and happiness in your everyday life.
When you unclutter your mind, you enjoy peace of mind.
Remez Sasson is an author and blogger. He is the founder of SuccessConsciousness.com, a website and blog about self improvement and spiritual growth.
Remez Sasson is the author of several life transforming books, containing a wealth of information, advice and guidance.
You are right. Getting into proper and relaxed conversation with the people that you think causes you some stress is helpful. I once had this kind of experience and I confronted this individual. I thought communicating with this individual will just add stress to me, but rather, we sorted things out and it feels lighter inside.
Often, the fear of other people’s reactions is unsubstantial. By communicating with people, we clarify matters, and can therefore, get rid of the fear and stress.
Thanks for such a nice post which can help people to get rid of stress and tension. In our daily life we have to face various circumstances which can lead to mental stress. There are various ways to deal with them. Although you have listed so many ways, but apart from them, one can also try Meditation or Practicing Yoga daily. They can also be helpful.
Yes, Meditation or Practicing Yoga daily are helpful and recommended.
Your tips for Relieve Stress and Release Tension is very helpful for us.Thanks for sharing.