All of us face stress in our lives simply because we are alive. Thankfully we don’t have to give in to the stress, there are many things that we can do to reduce the stress and live a life of meaning and success.
If we allow stress to take control of us we can end up frustrated, discouraged and overwhelmed. It’s much better to stop the stress before it overtakes us!
It is definitely going to be impossible to rid the stress altogether most of the time, though there may be times that we can do that. In most cases we must find a way to deal with the stress and make the most of it.
We can still control how we respond to it!
One thing that we must fully understand is that nobody can make us feel or think anything. We are responsible for our own feelings, thoughts and actions.
It is actually very freeing when you think about it!
The following list contains ten easy ways to reduce stress, some are easier than others – but they are all easy when compared to the negative effects of not doing them!
10 Simple Ways to Reduce Stress
- Breathe Correctly. You read that right: breathe correctly. You can find out if you breathe correctly by laying down and placing one hand over your stomach and one hand over your chest. Breathe normally and see which hand rises. If the hand over your stomach rises then you breath correctly, if the hand over your chest rises you breathe incorrectly. You are breathing too shallow and not getting enough oxygen! You can also learn to breathe well with meditation.
- Eat Well. A well taken care of body will function much better than a body that is not fed the proper nutrition. You wouldn’t put a sports drink in your car, so why fuel your body with foods that will harm it? You can eat foods that will put more stress hormones into your body or you can put foods in that will optimize the performance both physically and mentally.
- Exercise. For the same reasons mentioned above exercise is vital for reducing stress. It also releases some great hormones that allow us to feel great, have you ever noticed how much better you feel after a good workout? You could conquer the world!
- Turn off the Television. There is a lot of negativity on the television screen, movies and shows are filled with stress, anxiety and tension – and we call it entertainment! The news is even worse because it’s real life and the stuff that sells is downright depressing and stressful. Just cutting the news out made a huge difference in my stress levels. Some people get really worked up over the news and will even start yelling at the TV set. It’s not worth it if you want a relaxed lifestyle.
- Read Books that Motivate. Don’t just cut out negative influences such as the news and other television programming, add in positive influences as well. Grab a book that feeds your mind, there are so many out there to choose from. You won’t find any shortage! You’re here reading this blog so you are on the right path!
- Speak Affirmations. Affirmations are a great way to get your mind focused on what you want it to be focused on! I am working on an ebook filled with affirmations so keep a lookout for that or you can create your own which can be very powerful.
- Do a Good Deed. Do something for someone else who has a need, it will help you to feel better and you will get your mind off whatever is stressing you out.
- Stay Out of Other People’s Drama. Misery loves company and others are usually more than happy to invite you to join their pity party or stress fest. Other people will do more than invite you to join them, they will outright demand it throwing a fit if they don’t get their own way. Do everything in your power to stay out of their drama, avoiding the other person if necessary or possible.
- Spend Time Laughing. Laughing is a great stress reliever and it has many healing properties too. Know what makes you laugh and keep a list of what makes you laugh so you can go to it when you are feeling stressed.
- Forgive. Forgive others and forgive yourself. Forgiveness frees us from the prison of all the negativity involved with unforgiveness. It’s not saying that the other person was right (if you are forgiving someone else) it’s about letting yourself move on and letting go of the negativity.
There are thousands of ways to reduce stress, what are your favorites?? Please share in the comments and if you think any of your followers would benefit from this post please tweet, share, and vote! Thanks so much!
To Your Success,
photo credit: Scarleth White
Thank you for reading! I'm Stacy, the owner of this blog. You can learn more about me here.
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Morning Stacy-
What a great article to start off the day. Stress is such so unbelievable bad for you. It causes so much bad energy and bad heath that reducing it is crucial to a healthy life style. I really agree with all your 10 points. The one that I am really working on it eating well. I stopped drinking diet cokes and cut down eating red meat.
Hope you have a wonderful day!
sean
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[Reply]
Stacy Reply:
March 7th, 2012 at 3:35 pm
Hi Sean,
Stress really is horrible for us, I used to be stressed out a lot and I was *always* getting sick. I know that it’s not a coincidence! It might have even played a part in the cancer that I had, I wouldn’t be surprised.
Stacy
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Stacy these are great ideas to reduce stress. It sound pilates a little bit. Stress can kill and the bad thing is people do not realize the damage it is doing to their body. It is especially important to breathe easy. Great article.
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[Reply]
Stacy Reply:
March 7th, 2012 at 3:36 pm
Thanks, Michael! I’ve heard doctors say that stress is actually the number one killer in our society because of how badly it affects our health! I believe it!
Stacy
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Hey Stacy,
Lovely ways to stay happy, clear and peaceful.
All are important but I especially enjoy breathing consciously, forgiveness and laughing. When you forgive yourself and everything else around, peace of mind, love and creativity arise
Thank you for sharing,
Radu
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[Reply]
Stacy Reply:
March 7th, 2012 at 3:38 pm
Hi Radu,
Have I filled up your inbox with all of my replies to your posts??
I’m playing catch up big time!
I couldn’t agree more about your points. They really are critical to reducing stress!
Stacy
[Reply]
Stacy I love your blog, it’s one of the few sites I enjoy reading that isn’t always about blogging. I find visiting your site and reading your articles helps me be a better person which proves to me blogging isn’t always about actually blogging it also has many elements of personal development.
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[Reply]
Stacy Reply:
March 7th, 2012 at 3:39 pm
Hi Brian,
Thank you, I’m so glad to hear that!
I believe that personal development is critical to all areas of our lives and I love being able to post on the topic and I love hearing how it helps others!
Stacy
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I do LOVE to spend time laughing.
I’ll sometimes get in a mood in which I don’t want to watch/read/do anything that doesn’t make me laugh in some way.
These are super great tips! I’m usually not very stressed because I try to follow the above tips. I think something that I could really benefit from is exercising. Winter keeps me from walking my dog – which is where I get most of my exercise. I can’t wait for nicer weather!
Something else that keeps me from being stressed is reading positive blog posts like yours.
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[Reply]
Stacy Reply:
March 7th, 2012 at 3:40 pm
Hi Morgan,
I think that winter is the hardest time of the year for exercise. Sometimes we just want to hibernate with the bears!
Stacy
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Wow! This is what I need nowadays. I’m having insomnia because of too much burden in my heart. Thanks for sharing this Stacy it’s a big help to me.
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[Reply]
Stacy Reply:
March 13th, 2012 at 4:07 pm
It sounds like some evening meditation would help you out! Check out my post on meditation, I think you’ll like it!
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The best ting that helped me to handle stress was the yoga. I’ve been doing it for about 5 years, I’ve started it when I was depressed and my girlfriend told me to go there with her. I became an addict, it helps me to control my breath and keep my peace of mind.
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[Reply]
Stacy Reply:
March 13th, 2012 at 4:14 pm
Hi Julie,
Yoga is a great way to deal with stress. It’s something that I’ve been meaning to start up again!
Stacy
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I love the laughing one! I’m not a big laugher (A bit of a loner, so I’d feel ridiculous anyway) LOL
But when I do laugh (say at a friends place or during a movie) I do love the way it feels, and it totally reduces stress!
I also wasn’t much of an Affirmations guy, (though had a couple of my own on my desk) but now since visiting your site, (and listening to Tony Robbins) I’ve actually listed out ten that I really like and have them posted around my office! So thanks for that!
Have a great day Stacy!
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[Reply]
Stacy Reply:
March 13th, 2012 at 4:22 pm
Hi Warren,
That is great about the affirmations! They really are helpful, I’ve been going through a difficult patch and one thing that I realized was that I had stopped my affirmations! I know that it’s not entirely because of that but it did play a role!
Take care,
Stacy
[Reply]
Hey Stacey,
What has reduced my stress is turning off the TV and I got rid of the newspaper.
But what works the best for me is simple prayer. Combine that with doing acts of kindness and forgiving others when they drive you nuts or annoy you. But overall, never, never allow negative thoughts to enter your mind. Stay positive no matter how hard it may seem.
Blessings,
Liz
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[Reply]
Stacy Reply:
March 13th, 2012 at 4:24 pm
Hi Liz,
I agree with all of those that you mentioned!
It’s amazing how profound the simple choices we make can be!
Stacy
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Awesome tips to keep stress away. Thank you..
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Stacy Reply:
March 13th, 2012 at 4:38 pm
Thank you, Pavan.
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I really need this tips.. I am so stressed at work, mom, and at school.. Thanks you so much for this.. I will definitely follow this..
[Reply]
Stacy Reply:
March 13th, 2012 at 4:54 pm
Hi Cathy,
I hope they help you to lower your stress levels!
Stacy
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These are great tips. The challenge is to not let barriers to these activities creep into our lives. We really have to stay vigilant against spiraling out into stressful behaviors like poor diet, lackluster sleep, getting involved in other people’s dramas etc… I’d like to add a tip: get a low maintenance pet, like a house cat. Looking into their eyes, listening to their soothing purrs
That’s what eases my stress!
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[Reply]
Stacy Reply:
March 13th, 2012 at 4:58 pm
Hi Susan,
That’s a great tip, thank you for sharing!
Stacy
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This is My first time visit on this site and Stacy just want to say awesome writing. Thanks to Rizwan sultan for sharing the article with us. Awesome tips to keep stress away. Thank you..
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[Reply]
Stacy Reply:
March 13th, 2012 at 5:03 pm
Thank you, it’s nice to meet you Amit!
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Nice post stacy but I think stress is the most dangerous disease commonly found in people for more then 25years.But it’s reduced really hard I just suggest your article to my Mom she is heart patient.
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[Reply]
Stacy Reply:
March 13th, 2012 at 5:04 pm
Hi Asma,
You’re right, stress is a very dangerous disease, it causes a lot of damage to our bodies!
Stacy
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Great post Stacy. I practice a lot of these tips in my every day life and they truly really work for me. I’m extremely fond of eating well, exercising, reading motivating books and staying out of other people’s negative business! These are essential to me for maintaining a lower level of stress. I have some great tips like this as well on my own blog. Looking forward to reading more posts of yours.
[Reply]
Stacy Reply:
March 13th, 2012 at 5:10 pm
Hi Sasha,
Those are great ways to reduce stress! Keep it up!
Stacy
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Hey Stacy,
Had a stressful month so I haven’t visited your blog lately! And I land on this post! I also did a similar post on fun ways to beat stress and this is just a perfect read after that! Exercise has amazing benefits and the lazy ones of us (yes, including me) tend to take it lightly! I find that a simple walk or a jog can have amazing effects; especially when done with company it can be loads of fun too!
Also, spending some time without the phone, with the TV shut off and with just disconneted can have loads of nice effects!
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[Reply]
Stacy Reply:
March 13th, 2012 at 6:51 pm
Hi Hajra,
I’m sorry to hear that you’ve had a stressful week too. It seems like a lot of people have! I’d love to see your post, do you have a link?
Stacy
[Reply]
Hajra Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 12:10 am
Sure. It is a short quick post on the fun ways to beat stress. Here it is.
http://thenextgoal.com/2012/03/stress-management-fun/
I hope you like it!
Hajra invites you to read… Will they call you over for a Bloggers Party?
[Reply]
Hi Stacy–Thanks for the great list. I also think that key to all of these 10 is building a personal awareness especially around the breath so we can start to notice when we actually are stressed.
I like what you write about doing a good deed. That can do so much especially taking us out of our own heads and help up our worries into perspective. Thanks
[Reply]
Stacy Reply:
March 17th, 2012 at 1:48 pm
Hi Craig,
You bring up a great point about noticing when we start to get stressed. Beating it at the onset sets us up for more success because once we are in the middle of it and overwhelmed it’s much more difficult!
Stacy
[Reply]
[...] many ways that we can reduce our stress levels in life. I recently published a post where I shared ten tips to reduce stress and that post merely scratched the [...]
Hi Stacy,
I also find meditation as a great stress buster. It’s usually the first thing I do when i find myself unable to function properly because of pressure.
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[Reply]
Stacy Reply:
April 11th, 2012 at 4:08 pm
It really does help remove stress! Thank you for stopping by!
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Great post! I especially love the TV one. However, I think the TV CAN be a great way to relieve stress, but I completely see what you’re saying with entertainment. Sometimes I’ll read books and be upset or stressed just because the main character is. I also like that you added staying out of other people’s drama. No wonder I was so stressed in high school! I completely agree that this is one way to stay away from stress and reduce the drama in your own life.
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[Reply]
Stacy Reply:
April 11th, 2012 at 4:26 pm
Alicia,
I used to get really stressed out with other people’s drama too. I even found my physical health to improve once I stopped!
Stacy
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These are all great tips, especially #1 and #3.
I’d like to add a controversial #11 entitled…… “Just walk away”.
Depending on the source of stress whether it be object, person, place or idea, life is short. If you try again and again with the aforementioned stressor, and no resolution ever happens, walking away can work wonders.
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[Reply]
Stacy Reply:
April 12th, 2012 at 6:42 pm
Hi Jeff,
That’s a great add! Sometimes it’s completely necessary to walk away!
Stacy
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Hello Stacy!
Great article! I understand stress is such a bad pill that makes our world within suffers. Stress perhaps the portal of all diseases. You had a good point Stacy in reducing stress. For me, laughing and keep away from any negative destruction is one way to reduce stress. Keep it up! Namaste!
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I couldn’t agree more with your stress reduction tips!
It took me years to be able figure them out. Sometimes,I’ve found that it goes
beyond the point that I can control.
I’m lookling forward to seeing more!
Thanks Stacy,
Jeri
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Working out and yoga helps me reduce stress! I love it every time I do some exercises, it feel so good once you sweat those stresses out of your body!
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I do meditation to reduce stress. I also find a long bath comfortable when I am under stress.
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