For decades, stress was a survival skill during brief, life threatening situations. Once the danger passed, their stress levels lowered. However, in today’s world, we are constantly bombarded by stress, such as work deadlines, traffic, and family obligations. We rarely get a break long enough to relax and relieve the stress. The over-activation of our stress hormones have been linked to high blood pressure, heart attacks, lower immunity, depression, anxiety, and more.

1. Exercise: Exercise benefits your mind just as well as your body. We keep hearing about the long-term benefits of a regular exercise routine. But even a 20-minute walk, run, swim or dance session in the midst of a stressful time can give an immediate effect that can last for several hours.
2. Unplug: This is a very simple process that anyone can utilize all you have to do is just meditate. It isn’t nearly difficult or complicated as some people think, so, if you don’t already meditate, give it a try. Whether you meditate for 5 minutes, 30 minutes, or 2 hours this is a surefire way to reduce mental stress.
3. Get Rationally Optimistic: Mental stress starts with your perception of your experiences. For example, most people get stressed out when they perceive their reality as “being wrong” in some way. Therefore, they have a set idea of how things “should be” at any given moment, and when reality ends up being different (not even necessarily bad) they get stressed. After you recognize that everything in your life happens for your own growth, progress, and development.
4. Smile and laugh: Our brains are interconnected with our emotions and facial expressions. When people are stressed, they often hold a lot of the stress in their face.
5.  Listen to music: Research shows that listening to soothing music can lower blood pressure, heart rate, and anxiety. “Create a playlist of songs you enjoy that put you in a peaceful state of mind.

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