Do you ever wish you had a magic pill that could stop your stressed out feelings? Stress can be like an uncontrollable monster at times. We know stess is bad for our health, but sometimes we can’t help getting sucked into the latest crisis at work or home. The following may provide some helpful pointers to get you back to a calm state.

Meditation can be a great way for you to relieve stress. Try meditating each night before you go to bed. Turn off anything around you, close your eyes, and clear out your mind. Don’t think about things you need to get done or problems that you need to solve. Just let your mind relax for a little while and focus on each breath. If your mind starts wondering, just bring it back to your breath. Shutting off your brain takes practice, but each practice session is working off your stress.

Try taking up a hobby to relieve some of your stress. A hobby – whether it’s gardening, building model cars, writing, or whatever – can be a great way for you to forget whatever’s bothering you and just relax and have fun for a bit. Whenever you’re feeling stressed out, take some time to work on your hobby.

Active meditation will nourish your spirit, improve your mood and help you find peace within yourself. Take the time to stop and clear the mind and deep breathe if only for a minute. It can reduce stress, lower your blood pressure and relax the body as well as the spirit.

Make plans to take a long walk or go jogging with people you enjoy being with. Exerting energy will often contribute to a reduction in toxic accumulation as your glands release perspiration. Run or jog the stress out from your life.

When you work for the greater part of your life, you may not have time to treat yourself. One of the things that you should do at least once during the week is to get a manicure or a pedicure. This will make you feel good about your body and relieve your tension.

Warm up to reduce stress. Rub your hands together quickly until they feel warm. Once they are warm, put them over your closed eyes for about five seconds and breathe deeply. The darkness and the warmth work together to be comforting and help take some of your stress away.

One great tip for relieving stress is clearly know and define your priorities in life, as they will help you stay focused on what must be accomplished. When you lose sight of your goals and priorities, you will become unfocused, confused, and go off track, which will easily result in stress.

Take a mental break. Just daydream for a few minutes. Look outside and find something natural that allows your imagination to roam. Look at the wind blowing through the trees, or the clouds rolling by. Space out for a few minutes and it will help your stress level.

If you can’t get to the calming beach, imagine you are there. Studies have shown that visualizing calm situations is a great stress reducer in itself. Next time you begin to feel overwhelmed, take five minutes and imagine yourself in a soothing bath, on a sun drenched beach or in a beautiful forest. You may find the stress a little less overwhelming.

Running is one of the absolute best activities you can do to help you reduce stress. Not only does it help you to clear your mind, it also releases endorphins into your body that help you to feel more relaxed. It’s not called a runner’s high for no reason at all.

If you’re finding yourself under a lot of stress often, try scheduling your day. If you plan your day out, you won’t have to worry about trying to figure out what do next. Or if you’re already doing this and are still stressed, do the opposite and try and wing it each day. Find the right medium between scheduling and winging it that works for you.

Try aromatherapy for calming your nerves and reducing your stress levels. Citrus and lavender are both proven to do just this. You can use scented soaps in the shower, or try candles or heated oils in your home. If you surround yourself with peaceful scents you can reduce the amount of stress you feel at home.

Be wary of any body parts that tense up whenever you feel stressed. You may find tightness in your fingers, lower back, or shoulders, and you may clench your teeth. When you figure out where your tense muscles begin to show, work to relax those muscles whenever you feel stress coming on. This habit makes it much easier to lower your guard and fully relax.

Many reports talk about rising cortisol levels and other hormones that increase when we are under stress. These excess circulating hormones, can cause other health problems and it really makes sense to learn useful techniques for controlling, managing or just letting go of stress so that you can get back to enjoying your life.

Avoid Stress With These Simple Tricks And Tips was originally published on Spring