7 Simple Ways To De-Stress

If there's something I can't stand, it's stress. Nobody wants to feel stressed. It messes with your mind and emotions, along with your health and well being. If stress ever finds its way into your life, it's really important to know how to deal with it. I want to share my favourite simple ways to de-stress and I hope they help you too.

Music

There's magic in music. It's a powerful way of tuning out from the world and getting lost in the lyrics and vibes that make you feel something. De-stressing doesn't have to involve classical music. Having a go-to playlist of your current favourite songs works wonders. I have several different playlists on my phone, and I'm constantly updating the one I use to de-stress so that it has music that makes me feel good - nothing that gets me down. Make sure you don't have any songs that make you think of stressful situations in your life. Instead, include songs that focus on happiness, living life to the fullest, strength and freedom.

Besides music, I am a big fan of noise apps. These allow you to play certain sounds that are calming and settle you down in the moment. If I'm stressed while working at my computer, I use the site called Noisli where you can select background sounds such as rain, wind, storms and cafe noise. It's meant to make you more productive and every single time I've used it, it actually works. When going to sleep at night, I like to choose between two apps called StreepStream and Rain Rain. SleepStream has a particularly good sound called "Atlantic Ocean" which literally sounds like you're sleeping at a house by the ocean. Rain Rain has the most realistic sound of rain that I've found in any noise app and it's perfect to fall asleep to.

Bubble Bath + Pampering

A hot bath, especially in autumn/winter, is so beyond relaxing. Finding just 15mins in your day or night to run a bath, throw in a bath bomb and relax will make such a difference to your mood and mind. If you have more time, lighting a scented candle and putting on some music as well (I usually just sit my phone up on the sink and let the music play from it) will make the bath even better. If you don't have a bath, a hot shower can be just as good. If you've had a stressful day, there's nothing better than getting in the shower and washing the day right off.

I also find spending some time with a face mask on, or applying a beautifully scented moisturiser across my arms and legs, to be not only refreshing for my skin, but refreshing for my mind as well.

Baking

Baking can be be such a relaxing thing to do. To open a recipe book, pull out the ingredients and make something amazing that yourself and the people around you can enjoy. It involves focusing on achieving something that you know is going to be worth the time, you get to bask in the incredible scents of your efforts baking away in the oven, and then you have something wonderful to munch on afterwards. How could it not make you happy? The whole process of baking is fun, exciting and rewarding.

Cleaning

I can't be the only one who finds cleaning therapeutic. If I'm having a day where I don't want to think about what's going on in my life, I turn off my computer, put my phone to the side, put a music channel on tv and I clean. I live in an apartment so I like to work through each room until everything is perfect. It really takes my mind off reality, keeps me busy and when everything is all clean, tidy and organised I feel a whole lot calmer. There's something so great about sitting down on the couch after a big clean up and looking around at how nice the place is. I find it peaceful and it puts my mind in a good place.

Blanket + Tea

Sometimes you just need to feel some type of comfort to send the stress away. I find comfort in my fluffy blanket I've had for years and a hot cup of white tea. As much as I love coffee, it's not always best when you're stressed - it can make things even worse. Tea is a lot more calming, especially Chamomile tea. Back when I was in school studying for exams, I was so beyond stressed. I discovered Chamomile tea and I found it worked so well to feel better, and so now every time I drink it it's like a comfort thing. 

Reality + Comedy Tv

I find reality tv to be an escape from your own reality and the problems that are causing you stress. You can really get lost in someone else's life and just be consumed with their world, whether through watching one episode of a show or the whole season. Finding a show that has characters that inspire and motivate you is most helpful.

Alternatively, there's the Comedy channel. Every time my anxiety gets out of control to the point where I can't breathe, can't focus, can't really do anything... I'll find a stand-up comedy show to watch on tv and I completely focus on it. Stand-up comedy relieves stress because it's so relatable in the most simple way. Comedians take all the things we typically worry about and make them amusing. These shows make me realise that whatever I was just stressed about, was really not worth stressing about.

Walk

Walking has been my favourite thing to do lately. I hate the process of walking, but I LOVE the feeling when I get back from a walk. It's so worth it. If I'm feeling crap and want to get away from work for half an hour, I'll put on my workout clothes, my Nikes, Fitbit, headphones and I'll get out into the fresh air. I like to walk quickly so I feel like I'm really increasing my heart rate. The hardest part is the final steps home as I have a big steep hill to walk up. The feeling when I get back in the apartment and sit down though is the best, and it takes the stress right away.

Do you have any special stress remedies?

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