How to Relieve Stress:
3. Exercise
Physical activity of any type helps relieve stress. Physical activity could be as simple as walking or running. It can also include playing a sport or anything that gets your endorphins flowing. Endorphins are your brains feel-good neurotransmitters. By increasing your physical activity, you will increase the amount of endorphins that your body releases. The more endorphins your body releases, the better you feel and the less you worry about what was stressing you out.
Dr. Brantley said, “In my opinion, physical activity is probably the best way to relieve stress. Not only are you not focusing on the stress in your life, you are also taking care of your body. People who tend to stress do not have as much free time. Because they don’t have free time, they have to cut something from their daily routine. The first thing that goes is typically exercise. By exercising to relieve stress, you’re changing your lifestyle, which, in the end, will help you to stress less.”
4. Talk to a Third Party
Talking to someone who is not invested in the situation that is stressing you out is better then talking to someone who knows what is going on. When you talk to someone who knows the situation, they have a tendency to take your side and will validate what you are feeling. Although it’s nice to have people support you, this will get you nowhere. It is better to talk to a third party person because they will give you an honest answer and make you think of the situation in a different light.
“I can’t tell you how many clients I have that come in just to talk about their stresses with me,” said Girovasi. “People find comfort in talking to me because they know I will help them think of solutions to overcome whatever is stressing them out. I try to put the situation into the larger picture for my clients. I’m not saying that everyone needs to talk to a therapist, but everyone should have that person they can feel comfortable enough to talk to and feel like they are actually helping them.”