In today’s stressful world, it is easy to feel overwhelmed and bogged down by all the intricacies of life’s demands and upsets. Carving out some time just to reflect and “be” in a non-stop, fast paced world is crucial to release accumulated tension and reset your mind to a balanced state so you don’t feel swallowed up by life’s heavy demands.

Make peace with the stress of daily life my making a little quiet time a priority. Here are a few actions to take to feel more relaxation and serenity on the daily:

1. Walk in the park or take a hike. Being around nature is calming, something about the breeze, the trees, and the rhythm of walking calms the nervous system down. Solutions to problems often come to organically with this most basic activity.
2. Cut back on caffeine, sugary snacks, and alcohol. Caffeine and sugar are stimulants to the body and can make the stress response overreact. Replace non-nutritive snack foods with more whole-foods based items that have less of a stimulating effect on the body. Lowering stress hormones through nutrition can have a powerful impact on better managed daily stress.
3. Plant seeds, water them, watch them grow. Practice being with slow growing things. Witness the natural process of plants. Better yet, grow veggies and eat them!
4. Open the windows up in the house and your car as you drive. Getting fresh air and listening to the natural sounds around you calms the mind. Turn off the radio and just be with the experience of driving.
5. Start a 3minute breathwork practice as part of your morning and evening routine. Commit to it by putting it in your planner or create cellphone reminders in the calendar app. Setting a timer for three minutes. You can use an breathwork app (free apps like Insight Timer or The Breathing App). Breathwork is a great way to have more presence of mind and foster emotional acceptance, which is invaluable to effective stress management.
6. Talking to a friend, a therapeutic professional, or find a support group. The power of connection cannot be underestimated. Knowing we are not alone is important to feeling a sense of belonging, which is calming and comforting. Choose friends, professionals, and groups that understand and can relate to your specific to your interests and challenges. Alleviating feelings of hopelessness with the company of others can stop the painful cycle of stressing out.

You are not alone, everyone gets nervous, anxious, and tired when life feels beyond our control. Feeling stressed out more often than not is a big sign to tune into yourself and make peace with our circumstances. Solutions to problems come with a calm nervous system.

Ignoring the signs of stress only leads to the accumulation of more of it, ultimately leading to depression, anxiety-issues, addictions, and stress related diseases and even suicide. Managing stress is an essential part of life and there are so many resources to help find your way.

Making time to do what you enjoy, without any other benefit is among the best ways to bring yourself back to balance. Take a deep breath, a long exhale and treat yourself to emotional wellbeing.