8 Simple Ways to Reduce Stress and Anxiety

Stress and anxiety is very common among our society today; shockingly enough a high percentage of people deal with it daily. I can relate to the majority, as I’ve personally dealt with a lot of stress and anxiety. It got so bad, that I had negative effects occur from it. Once my health started to take an impact, I knew it was time to address this hands on and gain my happiness back. Here’s 8 simple ways that helped me to significantly reduce the stress and anxiety from my life.
 

Exercise

Exercise is one of the biggest things that you can do to relieve stress and anxiety. It improves your sleeping, lowers your body’s stress hormone, keeps you more confident and feeling accomplished. Exercise can be anything such as, dancing, walking, jogging, yoga, martial arts and the list goes on! As long as you get your heart rate pumping, you’ll be good to go!
 

Focus on Breathing

Sometimes when we’re stressed or dealing with anxiety, our hearts and breathing can feel like they’re moving at a fast pace. By focusing on your breathing and taking deep breaths, you’ll slow down your heart rate and begin to feel more relaxed. Continue to do this until you’ve successfully calmed yourself down and are feeling back to normal.
 

Light a Candle

Candles are my personal favorite whenever I’m feeling stressed out and/or full of anxiety! Once the scent fills my room, I instantly find myself feeling more soothed and relaxed. A few of my favorite scents from Bath & Body Works are:

• Limoncello
• Fresh Linen
• Eucalyptus Mint
• Moonlight Path
• Autumn

Write it Down

This has been a “go to” forever. . . and the main reason why a majority of people have journals they write in daily! Getting those feelings out on paper, helps to mentally remove them from your thoughts. Here’s two ways I like to journal:

• If I’m upset with someone, I initially write down (express) my feelings but don’t send it. After I’ve gotten my initial feelings out, it’s easier to speak with the person in a calm, civilized manner.
• If I’m experiencing personal grief, I write down all of the negatives and replace them with positives (things I’m grateful for etc.)

Laugh

Another old time favorite when feeling lower than usual. . . pop in a funny movie or watch a funny show! Laughing helps to relieve our muscle tension, which in result helps to relieve/calm us as a whole! Laughing and enjoying ourselves helps to see the joy in things rather than the bad.
 

Do Something You Enjoy

When we do the things that we enjoy, it instantly helps to decrease our stress and anxiety. This is because our minds are no longer set on the negative, instead we’re focused on something that brings us joy and positive emotions!
 

Stop Procrastinating

Top reason why people get stressed out and full of anxiety is due to procrastination! When we wait the last minute, our bodies tend to go in “panic mode.” Thus causing us to rush and increase our heart rates, which results in unnecessary stress and anxiety. Planning (and sticking to it) is a great way to decrease procrastination and avoid the end result of rushing.
 

Learn How to Say No

Sometimes we take on more than we can handle and that can lead to unnecessary negative effects on us. Learning to say no is a self-care tip disguised. . . we can’t overextend ourselves and expect to be 100% in the end. A lot of us have a hard time with telling someone no and that’s completely normal! Whenever you tell someone no, keep in your mind that this something you’re doing for you!
 
If you’re dealing with stress and anxiety, it’s important not to do anything/dwell on it like I did. Make sure to keep yourself happily busy, both mentally and physically. These steps helped me significantly and I hope they will help you as well! What are some ways that you keep yourself calm and stress free? Please let me know in the comments below and don’t forget to subscribe!
 

Until next time ASSASSINS. . . Stay Disciplined!

Let’s be friends!

Follow me on Instagram @MissAshleyAllison Twitter @MsAshleyAllison and Snapchat @MsAshleyAllison.