Stress Relief: What’s What?

Stress. We all have it – and if you don’t have stress, I don’t believe you. Just because we’ve all experienced it doesn’t make it any easier to manage. Mental and emotional stress can literally manifest itself physically, through headaches, body pains, rashes, and even stomach problems.

Not to say that stress is always a bad thing; I would be the first to tell you that some of my best work has been done under some serious stress. They say pressure makes diamonds, right? But even “good” stress can take a toll on your body and mind – with your mind moving a million miles a minute, flooded with stress, quality sleep becomes a luxury you can’t afford.

If you think your stress doesn’t carry over to the driver’s seat, you are wrong! Sure, driving itself isn’t always the most stressful activity of the day, but thinking about other things that are stressing me out can definitely take my mind off the road.

Okay okay okay, I’ve talked about all the ways stress can be bad, and even a little about how it’s good, but I can’t leave you with just that. After all, this blog is literally titled “Stress Relief: What’s What?” I figure it’s probably a good idea to tell y’all about stress relief.

For me, stress relief is dynamic – one day I might move my body to get my stress out, and another day I might choose to relax and slow down for stress relief. Here are some of my favorite things to do to relieve stress:

Take a long shower

Go for a walk – with a good true crime podcast, of course

Call my mom

Listen to music – dance it out!

Play a cozy game, like Stardew Valley or Animal Crossing

While these can help me more long-term with my stress, they really aren’t things I can do in the moment when I am overwhelmed. Like, if I find myself super stressed behind the wheel and I need to refocus. For those situations, I like to practice mindfulness. My favorite ways to be mindful are:

Use grounding techniques – use each of your 5 senses to bring yourself back to the present moment.

Take deep breaths – as boring as it sounds, deep breaths are actually really effective at regulating your nervous system. Try breathing out just a little longer than you breathe in; you’ll thank me later.

Meditate – I love a good guided meditation video on YouTube. I go for 2 minutes; not too long, but not too short either.

Practice gratitude – focusing on gratitude can be a great way to clear your mind and keep you on track for all the great things ahead.

Try these stress relief tactics, or not; I’m not the boss of you. But if there is something I can leave with you, it’s this – put your phone down. Sure, scrolling mindlessly through TikTok or Instagram Reels might take your mind off things in the moment, but lots of screen time can definitely contribute to poor sleep, headaches, and, you guessed it, more stress.

So put the phone down and maybe pick up something new for stress relief – I am going to try journaling this year; what about you?