Are You Frustrated With Stress and Overwhelm? Old-Fashioned Remedies That Really Work!

We get so tied up with thinking we have to purchase some a special app for our iphone or 60 minutes of quiet meditation time that we sometimes forget to take the great advice offered from our elders when it comes to learning how to relieve our stress. There are some tried and true ways to fight stress that really do work that we may be overlooking. Let’s take a look at what they are.

Stress Ball — This palm sized toy, usually in the shape of a ball can be manipulated by the hand and fingers to help relieve stress. The way it works is by forcing your mind to focus on something else like what your hand is doing instead of whatever is causing your stress. Some stress balls have funny shapes that also bring an element of humor to the muscle building exercise.

Crying it Out — Crying can be very cathartic, but crying during a stressful event to relieve stress can be especially helpful. Research conducted on tears show that stress-related tears have different hormones than other types of tears. This suggests that, at least chemically, there is a difference. Crying lowers your manganese level which can cause you to feel a lot better since too much manganese can cause anxiety.

Dancing — Letting loose on the dance floor relieves stress in much the same way any exercise will, although since we don’t think of it as exercise it works even better to increase relaxation. Your body will release feel good endorphins, and the truth is, it’s fun! So you’re going to end up feeling happier, healthier, and overall less stressed.

Talk — Talking about “it”, whatever it is, will help tremendously. You are an emotional being and you need to be able to express emotions in order to move on from them. Stuffing feelings and not talking about things can allow issues to fester, making them worse. Talking about feelings and issues that cause stress can help resolve it and create a plan for reducing stress in the right circumstances.

Writing a Letter — Writing an angry letter to the culpable party that they will never see can be hugely cathartic. In the letter you can tell the person everything you can’t say in person. Let it all out and don’t leave anything left unsaid. Then, tear up or burn the letter in a ritual to let go of the past and move forward.

Breathing — Taking a deep breath during times of stress can provide your body more oxygen which can affect your heart, brain, and even your immune system. Believe it or not, most of us don’t even breath correctly. When you breath properly your diaphragm should move up and down, not your chest. In consciously taking in a deep breath, or a few and blowing it out, you can reduce stress right at the onset.

Exercising — Relieving stress via exercise is a tried and true method used for decades. You will release pent up energy caused by stress, raise your feel good endorphin level, relax your muscles, burn up fat and cholesterol that can be produced when you’re stressed out. What’s more your mind will be focused on something besides the stressor, and eventually with regular exercise you’ll look and feel better all the time.