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Are you looking for natural ways to fight stress? Life is stressful. If you develop a few ways to cope with triggers, it may be easier to manage stress levels and reduce anxiety in certain situations.
Some ways to fight stress in natural and healthy ways include:
1. Breathing
Many therapists and counselors will tell you that breathing is vital during great stress. However, your breathing becomes shallower as you become more stressed and anxious.
To combat this, focus on breathing deeply into your abdomen. As you inhale, count to three; as you exhale, count to four. Concentrating on your breath can help distract you from triggering situations and lower your stress naturally.
Try to be mindful during deep breathing. Ground yourself by reminding yourself where you are, how you feel, and what your five senses tell you. These reminders keep you in the present moment instead of allowing your mind to dwell on the past or worry about the future.
2. Doing Something Else
Another way to fight stress effectively and naturally is to distract yourself from the situation or trigger. Shift your mind off the problematic issue.
If the trigger involves a person or situation, try to leave those stressors, at least temporarily. Doing something physical, such as taking a brisk walk, can help too. Work out, meditate, create art, walk your dog–take any action to distract you.
Distracting yourself for a few moments can help place your stressor in perspective as you step away.
3. Soothing Yourself
Things may also comfort you during stress, but make sure they won’t harm your health. For example, if you self-soothe with food or alcohol, it could create negative consequences.
Instead, try comforting yourself with a tactile experience, such as stroking a pet or squeezing a stress ball.
You can make stress balls with inexpensive materials you might already have around your homes, such as balloons and cornstarch. Tuck a few stress balls into your bag, car, and home so that they’re nearby if you need them.
4. Cocooning
Do you ever wish you could hide away from the world and curl up into a little ball? Cocooning is a term used for curling up and getting cozy during times of stress or discomfort. People have also used the word when encouraging people to stay home to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Cocooning occurs when you withdraw from others to spend time with yourself. Consider taking time out for an evening, a weekend, or a time when you’d like to unplug, destress, and recharge.
Treat yourself gently and kindly during cocooning. Put on your comfiest clothing and eat food that nourishes your soul. Instead of consuming alcohol and drugs, treat yourself to vitamin-packed smoothies or natural teas.
Cocooning can help you hit the reset button, reduce stress, and prepare you to cope with the world once more.
5. Talking with Someone
It’s true. Talking about stress and anxiety can help fight them. This encompasses both talking to others and talking to yourself. Do you ever listen to the dialogue that goes on in your head? It can be highly harmful and self-deprecating.
Do you treat yourself poorly or have other self-defeating thoughts to respond to a stressful situation? Stop and redirect your mind. If you’ve said something negative about yourself, say something positive. This may not be easy initially, but it could become easier with practice.
Identify someone supportive in your life to contact if you need help coping. This could be a parent, a friend, or a neighbor. Sometimes, just being heard by someone else can make an enormous difference.
The Last Word on Natural Ways to Fight Stress
If you feel chronic stress and anxiety, consider reaching out for professional help. Counselors and therapists can help you manage stressful situations before they create fear.
While using alcohol or drugs may seem like a way to escape how you’re feeling, their effects are only temporary and can take a toll on your mental and physical well-being. Holistic treatment and recovery tools may feature therapy and other resources to help people explore such dependencies and other problems. In addition, they provide safe outlets for addressing the mind, body, and spirit so people can manage their problems and heal.
Stress can make life uncomfortable, but we have many tools to fight it.
Sources
- bodyandsoul.com.au – 8 Natural Ways to Handle Stress and Anxiety
- ibpf.org – 18 Ways to Distract from Anxiety
- thesprucecrafts.com – How to Make a Stress Ball
- hse.i.e. – Coronavirus COVID-19 Cocooning Public Health Advice
- sunshinebehavioralhealth.com – Holistic Addiction Rehab in Austin | Addiction Rehab Center in Austin, TX
