7 Simple Habits People With Incredible Inner Strength Practice When Stress Hits
Alfred Trinidad | UnsplashHave you learned how to relax after a long, stressful day working? Tedious commute, seeing less of your kids, having less control over your schedule, plus likely a ton of new stressors you probably never considered.
Whether the stressors are directly connected to work or not, you can still feel anxiety, fatigue, and overwhelm. Even the most positive souls with incredible inner strength grapple with stress levels they've never dealt with before.
Research has shown that when highly stressed people focus on relaxation, their stress levels reduce and continue to stay lower. Maybe you’re already an avid meditator or have become a regular runner to cope better. Really, you can’t ever go wrong ramping up your self-care practices, whether it’s cleaning up your diet or exchanging foot massages with your partner. But you also need to have a handful of quick-fix ideas in your back pocket.
Here are 7 simple habits people with incredible inner strength practice when stress hits:
1. People with incredible inner strength practice aromatherapy
Your sense of smell is directly connected to the limbic system in your brain, which governs your memories and emotions. Studies have found that smell is processed directly in the brain’s emotion and memory center, so scents have a unique power to influence our moods and memories.
You can reduce stress by choosing some essential oils specifically geared for relaxation, like bergamot, chamomile, and clary sage. Add a few drops to a diffuser or spray bottle, and have them handy when the going gets rough. Or keep a bottle of suntan oil in your desk drawer when you need to be transported to the beach in a nanosecond.
2. They get up and go
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One of the downsides of work is that you can get stuck in your chair for hours at a time. Research has shown that frequent movements, rather than long periods of sitting, are necessary for health, which also helps reduce work-related stress. The study showed frequent posture changes, along with increased standing and walking, reduced musculoskeletal pain, and improved cardiovascular health.
So, even if you’re wiped at the end of the day, figure out a way to move. That could be as simple as putting on a favorite song and dancing around your office for a break. You can also learn some simple chair yoga positions. If you’re more adept at yoga, just a few sun salutations can loosen you up and relax you at the end of the day.
3. People with incredible inner strength practice conscious breathing
Be sure to take some time after you walk away from your workspace to sit somewhere so you can just slowly follow your breath. There are many breathing meditations out there. One of my favorites is to "inhale" those qualities you want to take into your being at the end of a stressful day, like energy, joy, and peace. And then on the exhale, focus on what you want to release: anger, anxiety, impatience.
Experiment with some of your own and see what soothes you best. Studies of mindful breathing have found that controlled breathing exercises are effective in reducing stress, but practices should last at least five minutes and be done consistently over time for the best benefits.
4. They get out into the sunshine
Some doctors are now actually prescribing time outside for their patients to help bring them back into balance. It doesn’t take much. In fact, you can do your intentional breathing in your garden or sitting under a tree. Either way, the idea is to make contact with the Earth.
I live in New York City and have my favorite trees in nearby parks that I commune with every day. How about you? Where can you practice a little bit of that eco-therapy?
5. People with incredible inner strength listen to music and sing their hearts out
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Just as you can choose essential oils to help you relax, crank up your favorite tunes at the end of a stressful day, and shake out the cobwebs. If you pick music that you can sing along with, even better.
Studies have shown the positive effects of singing on the brain and heart. Singing can improve language fluency, decision-making, memory, and emotional well-being, and might improve brain structure and connectivity. Specifically, group singing has been proven to lower stress, relieve anxiety, and elevate endorphins. So, get your partner and kids to join you, too.
6. They journal, draw, paint, and create
Do something with your hands other than pecking at a keyboard. Adult coloring books are incredibly relaxing, even meditative. Or if you’re more of a free spirit, get yourself one of those kids' watercolor paint sets with a little brush and literally, paint outside the lines.
Research has consistently shown that creative art therapies are valuable for reducing stress and the long-term health effects it has. The idea is to get out of your overstimulated, rational, linear brain that’s been working hard all day, and sink into your creative, intuitive brain.
7. People with incredible inner strength use quick mind-and-body techniques
This can also be called self-touch therapy. One example is the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), which involves tapping different acupressure points to stimulate a de-stressing response in the brain. Havening also involves self-touch, but it’s systematically rubbing your arms and hands while visualizing calming places in nature. Do a little research of your own, then experiment with them and see if they work for you.
It’s way too easy to just binge-eat in front of the TV when you’re wiped out. It just takes a little imagination and a commitment to stop the downward spiral before it sucks you in. Consider which of these ideas resonates most with you so the next time you’re looking for a healthy way to relax at the end of a stressful work-at-home day, you can whip out one of your new tools and bring yourself back into balance.
Deborah Roth is a Life & Career Transition Coach and Interfaith Minister who founded Spirited Living to help guide spirited women and men through life’s big changes with joy and ease.
