Stress is an inevitable part of everyday life and can negatively affect an individual's physical and mental health and contribute to a person feeling anxious.
There are techniques that help a person get rid of stress and feel calmer, and among them are proper breathing, physical activity and being in nature, including walking or yoga, meditation, enough sleep...
Meditation
Meditation is one of the most effective ways to reduce stress, and the focus should be on breathing and the present moment.
One of the meditation techniques is "focusing on breathing". You just have to think about breathing and watch what happens. If you start thinking about something else, slowly bring your focus back to your breathing.
Another technique is "mantra meditation". Think of a specific word or phrase, such as "peace" or "now," and repeat it to yourself as you meditate.
The third and extremely powerful technique is yoga nidra. This type of meditation is aimed at completely relaxing the body and mind, and is usually performed in a lying position and includes breathing techniques, visualization and affirmations.
Physical activity
Physical activity is one of the most effective ways to reduce stress and tension. A light walk, brisk walk or light exercises are recommended. When we engage in physical activity, the body creates endorphins, improves circulation and relaxes the muscles.
Walking is among the simplest physical activities, and experts recommend yoga, which includes breathing techniques, flexibility and strength exercises.
Proper breathing
Proper breathing is the simplest way to reduce stress levels. The "4-7-8" technique is recommended, which involves inhaling through the nose for four seconds, holding the breath for seven seconds and exhaling through the mouth for eight seconds. The technique is repeated several times.
Another technique is "diaphragmatic breathing". This means that he breathes with the help of the diaphragm (on the stomach) and not through the chest. This technique is best performed in a lying position. Put your hand on your stomach, breathe in through your nose slowly and deeply, your stomach should rise before your chest. Exhale through your mouth and slowly relax your stomach.
Changing the way you think
When we are under stress, we mostly focus on everything negative and thus deal with the problem more poorly and unsuccessfully. However, if we look at the situation from a different angle, we can find new solutions and feel more relaxed.
One way to change your perspective is to “reframe”. This technique implies that you look at a negative situation from a different angle. For example, instead of thinking about how difficult a project is, you can think about how useful it will be when it's finished.
The "cultivating gratitude" technique also helps in changing the way of thinking. The advice is to write down what you are grateful for every day, and long-term application of this technique helps a person to focus on the positive things in life, which contributes to reducing both stress and negative thoughts.
Changing the way you think takes a lot of time and effort, but with the practice of other techniques, such as proper breathing, physical activity, enough sleep, it can contribute to reducing stress levels and improving your mood.
How to recognize that you are under stress
Among the symptoms that show that a person is under stress are:
- behaviors that are triggered by the presence of negative emotions and thoughts, such as smoking, abuse of drugs and psychoactive substances, excessive use of alcohol
- increased intake of food, especially sweets in the form of overeating or starvation;
- excessive sleeping, withdrawal and seclusion
- procrastination – lack of initiative and delay in doing things that are more rational to do immediately
Read more about topics important for the health of the whole family in the new issue of the Zdravlje supplement, which we give you for free on Thursday, March 30, together with the Vijesti newspaper.
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