You know the feeling: work is piling up, and you thought everything was manageable until, for whatever reason, it isn’t anymore. You’ve probably experienced that moment when the stress moves in, your throat and chest get tight, your breathing gets shallow, and you realize you may not be able to handle whatever is coming your way. For Christians who believe God provides a peace that surpasses all understanding, these moments can be extremely unsettling (I’m leaving for Honduras in less than a week, and I NEED THAT PEACE TO SURVIVE!!!)
Even though I started my day by reading an inspirational “do not worry” Bible passage from the Bible, I felt myself spiraling into a severe case of the Mondays by 1 p.m., and did what any stressed Millennial would do: posted a Facebook status about my panicked state.
To my surprise, I received a bunch of responses that are TOTALLY worth sharing with all of you. If you’re feeling stressed or panicked, here are some tips on how to achieve stress free living – thank all of my Facebook friends!:
- “The Passion 2011 CD tends to do the trick for me.”
- Lay down flat on back. Close eyes. Commence sleep.
- BAKING. it works every time.
- “You can punch me in the arm.” -my boss
- Get a venti calm tea with 3 honey from Starbucks.
- Also, authentic lavender perfume, lotion, whatever…..the chemicals in lavender actually interact with the nervous system to calm someone down
- drugs.
- scream into a pillow!
- Buy a Nature Sounds CD, close your eyes, slowly breathe and listen to the sounds. I know it sounds crazy, but I have dealt with stress caused panic attacks and that works the best for me
- Go for a long run. Until your legs hurt. Then, go home, drink tons of water, and sleep.
- Corpse pose…then focus on slowly relaxing each part of your body starting at your toes and working up to the top of your head. This helps me fall asleep when I’m really anxious. If you don’t want to fall asleep, say a new prayer each time you relax a new part of your body.
- inhale for 7 seconds, hold breath for 7 seconds, exhale for 7 seconds. repeat!
- also bend from the waist and let your head and neck and arms dangle for about a minute, then roll up slowly vertebrae by vertebrae until your head is the last thing to come up. good stuff.
- Green olives.
- sky diving
- listen to smooth jazz all stars on spotify
- Laugh a bit..aka…watch pitch perfect
- Certain pills work very well.
- Long walk with apple cider….surfing…hitting baseballs….work-out…read the Bible for 30 min….Journal…America’s Funniest Home Videos….fresh chocolate chip cookies and milk….Psalm 46:10…warm shower….
- A HUG FROM MEEEEEEE!!!
- Lie on your back and pull your knees up to your chest and stay there quietly with your eyes closed and let your mind wander freely while taking deep breaths.
- Try self hypnosis. Focus on relaxing each group of muscles starting with your toes, lower legs, upper legs, core, chest, neck, scalp, down your shoulders, upper arms, down to your fingers. Do this in any relaxed position slowly, first noticing the sensation of the chair you’re sitting in then on each part of your body.
- Do some down dog! And final savasana or corpse pose
- OK, don’t try this at home. sit in chair. put your head between your knees. Keep repeating, “It’s only a movie.” After five minutes, resume normal activities w favorite hot beverage. If you begin to hiccup, start again at the beginning.
- Run! The more you sweat, the better! Then, drink tons of water and read and put on happy music. I find that I relax faster if I avoid screens, so books are good! Also, try stretching it out. Stretch as far as you can, then take a breath, relax, and stretch farther! (This is what works for me, at least) a round or two of wall ball is a good stress relief tactic, too:)
Any other suggestions? I’m open to anything and everything!