50 Ways to Deal with Stress

Ah, stress. Who isn’t stressed out these days? It seems like we’reall suffering time starvation, stretched between too many obligations. There’s work, family, school, dentist appointments…and all those pesky bills that keep arriving.

So. How bad is stress for us, exactly?

Bad.

Thing is, short term stress isn’t inherently harmful. It’s important for our bodies and brains to have the ability to ramp-up and deal with things thrown our way, after all. It’s unrelenting stress that’s a problem. Chronic stress does all sorts of nasty things to our health: from increasing blood sugar and cholesterol to causing headaches and depression, messing with our sleep, and even aging us faster.

Not cool.

So what’s a person to do? To get you started, I’ve compiled a list of stress-busting tips. Some of them are short-term quick fixes; others are more long-term strategies. A combo of both is the best approach to coping with stress.

1. Practice saying no (resist taking on more responsibilities)
2. Get back to basics: make sure you’re getting sufficient sleep
3. Have a spinach salad (the magnesium in spinach helps regulate cortisol)
4. Simplify and prioritize
5. Practice yoga (ideally on a regular basis)
6. Eat salmon (omega-3 helps with stress hormone surges)
7. Spoil yourself with a manicure
8. Focus on breathing
9. Don’t skip breakfast (missing meals tells your body it’s starving, so it releases stress hormones)
10. Nurture your spirit with nature (go for a hike in the woods) 
11. Listen to classical music
12. Treat yourself to a massage
13. Meditate
14. Restructure your work schedule
15. Make a habit of having a light bedtime snack of complex carbs
16. Sing
17. Drink tea, green or black (shown to decrease cortisol levels)
18. Clean the clutter around you
19. Lean on your support network
20. Talk to your doctor
21. Eat walnuts regularly (shown to decrease blood pressure during stressful events)
22. Laugh (watch a comedy, or go out with friends)
23. Eat small, frequent meals (prevent sugar/insulin/cortisol surges)
24. Prioritize: make a list of things to do, and color-code it
25. Mow the lawn (the smell of fresh-cut grass helps block stress hormones)
26. Cultivate a supportive social network
27. Walk daily
28. Drink milk before bed
29. Consciously think positive & optimistic thoughts
30. Play a musical instrument (just for fun…don’t burden yourself with performance stress/anxiety)
31. Volunteer with a charity
32. Engage  in “dreamscape” (peaceful visualization)
33. Soak in a bubble bath
34. Eat oatmeal (complex carbs help lower stress)
35. Pet your dog
36. Get to bed early
37. Drink orange juice (vitamin C has been shown to decrease cortisol levels)
38. Write in a journal
39. Practice progressive muscle relaxation
40. Go for a walk by a lake, a river, or the ocean
41. Chew gum (a study showed this decreases stress, anxiety, and improves mental performance)
42. Have sex
43. Get some sunlight
44. Cut back on caffeine
45. Savor an avocado (potassium helps to lower your blood pressure)
46. Explore your creative self: paint, draw, take photographs
47. Take a “time out”
48. Surround yourself with the scents of lavender or rosemary
49. Focus on your immediate surroundings (practice mindfulness)
50. Breathe

Stress? Bring it on.

A footnote: This is a big topic, and this list is just the tip of the iceberg. I’ll be revisiting the issue of stress repeatedly, so check back.

In the meantime, here’s some more reading on stress solutions:

• Stress Ninja
• Sneaky Stress
• 7 Ways Yoga Benefits You
• Stressed? Just Breathe