How to combat stress?

Stress is something which you can never avoid in your life. It is a part and parcel of life. The only thing is not to let it get you down. So, how to avoid stress and help deal with situations. I have already discussed some of the best ways to beat stress sometime ago. Today, we will talk about some more ways. Just to recount, stress can cause you to lose your appetite, sleep and smile, hair and even skin can become bad during stress. So, combating stress in a natural way is very important. A long term solution is better than a short term. 

Speaking of short term solutions, a short break, a journey, an outing, an indulgence, going for shopping, eating chocolate are all temporary solutions for stress.So, how to start on a long term solution in our hectic lives.

• Certain changes in your daily life habits go a long way in making you strong enough to deal with situations and keep your mind calm. Changes in attitude is very important.
• Right foods, regular exercise, good sleep and positive thoughts are a way to beat stress.
• Let us get a little psychological here. Accept the situation how so ever bad it is and try to learn something from it. I know that it is not easy. But, that is the only way to deal with the situation. Being in denial does not help anyone. The next step can be how to improve the situation. 
• Many a times we get stressed out without knowing it. We do not know what we want to do. And, that happens to the best of us. So, a little reflection on everything you have done in your life, what you love, what your priorities are is very important. Take time out and think of these things. Most of your solutions are hidden in these questions. 
• If you are too stressed out to do anything, do something which makes you happy. This is where a hobby becomes important in life. Creativity focuses your mind and relieves it. Achieving something bolsters your confidence how so ever meager the work might be.
• Crying is not an answer to any problems. It just increases the frustration and then you need to vent out your feelings. Keep a diary. Writing things which are bothering you helps a lot. If you have someone to talk to, of course, it is just the best but not everyone are so lucky. Many times it is just our fears and weaknesses that prevent us discussing our problems with our loved ones.
• Many people are addicted to emotional eating. You can change this habit or modify this habit by eating stress busting foods.
• A short walk can also calm you down.

Now, I have repeatedly talked about stress busting foods.

• Water: helps you coo down when angry.
• Fruits: Seasonal fruits can help your anxiety and fear levels.
• Milk and Curd: Helps with insomnia due to stress.
• Peanuts: Aids with stress during PMS.
• Cheese: Can help you with stress.
• Coffee and Cocoa (Chocolate): Calms you mind but only temporarily and anyways it is not good for skin so be moderate with it.

A balanced diet is what you need when you are dealing with stress. A lot of fruit juices an also help you. Proper food controls the stress hormones in the body. And, one very tried and tested method for stress is kissing, cuddling and the act of making love. The act is culmination of number of things including a sense of touch, intimacy and physical exertion which produces a stress busting hormone called oxytocin in the body. The production of oxytocin in the body decreases to a large extent when a person is under stress.

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Best ways to beat stress

Stress can make zebra lose its stripes :D

Stress is an inevitable threat in today;s lifestyle. Be it jobs or college or schools or even taking care of the family. especially, children, it has become rather difficult task. Even small gestures and events like getting struck in a traffic or chaos with office colleagues can cause a huge amount of stress. And, every small thing which goes wrong or unexpected causes stress. Stress is something which should be avoided at any cost. At least, you should not let it become a part of your life, if you can not avoid it. There are some simple things you can do to keep stress at bay. I will discuss today as many as I can think of.

• Meditation: One of the oldest and most preached ways to get rid of stress and get back into a normal routine of healthy life. Even a 15 minute meditation can turn your day upside down. It makes you more calm, helps you think clearly in tight situation ans inspires you to deal with calmness in critical problems. 
• Deep Breathing: Works the same way as meditation. The scientific reason for this is that due to stress, the oxygen intake by our body decreases and deep breathing allows your body to take a lot of oxygen, there by, making all the organs work smoothly and helps clear the brain. Even counting from 1 to 10 or 100 works pretty same way as meditation and deep breathing as it allows the brain to think rationally rather than responding instinctively (which can be pretty harmful at times). 
• Writing down a list of things and Prioritizing: Before starting of to do any work, write down the lost of things you need to do that day. Make sure your list has all the works you really need to do whether you want to do it or not. Now, prioritize the list. Put the most difficult and hateful jobs at te top of the list. Making a list gives you a clear idea of what all you need to do and prioritizing makes sure that you do the most important ones before others. Review the list at the end of the day and check out all the jobs you have finished. If you have prioritized correctly by placing the worst jobs on the top of the list, you should be left with only very simple jobs by the end which you can actually do next day also. And, getting rid of the horrendous jobs gives you an immense sense of relief. An exercise for you: Next time you make a list of things, try prioritizing the things you are interested in and are easy to do and leave the uninteresting jobs to the end. Review your list at the end of the day. More often, you will be left with the very job you have avoided doing that day and trust me the sense of relief would not be that great. Treat Procrastination as a sin.
• Eat Regularly and nutritionally: A regular routine of having food is a great stress buster actually. So, you ever feel stress, instead of going for coffee, go for a small nutritional and healthy meal which will make you feel wholesome and re-energized.
• Sleep Well: Sleeping properly is one of the ways to avoid stress as our brain relaxes when we are asleep. 
• Laughter: Laughter is always said to be the best medicine. Join a laughter club or go on an outing with friends and watch a funny movie. 
• Socialize: Having a social life is very important. Make friends out of your work place too. And, spend time with them on weekends or whenever free. This would give you a different atmosphere and divert your mind. 
• Playing: Yes, indulging in sports or physical activities produces adrenalin and other hormones which exhilarate your body and kill stress. 
• Indulgence: Oh, there are so many kinds of indulgence. A sweet tooth to an ice cream, a spa treatment to shopping your heart's content. So, feel free to indulge in all your cravings when you are stressed out. Some people like cleaning their house or cupboards, some like eating, some like cooking, some like having a bath, some like working out, some like getting a professional massage or other beauty treatments to feel good about themselves. And, believe it or not, these things do work.

These are just some of the ways I can think of avoiding stress for now. Would definitely share with you in case I think of more. In the mean time, you go ahead and comment on how you deal with stress.

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