De-stress

God I hate being stressed.

It makes my whole body ache, mostly in my shoulders and in my head. When I'm stressed I hate the person I become. I start getting selfish, I have no energy when I come home, I put myself in this negative frame of mind and I pretty much starting hating on everyone. So I figured instead of being a grump throughout the week, I would research some ways to de-stress.

Below are a few ideas I scrounged up on a Google search. I hope you take a few of these ideas and apply them to your own lives to help you calm your nerves and get yourself back to that lovely person you are inside:

Be aware of your body.

"Slumped shoulders and a bent spine can actually induce moodiness. Tensed stomach muscles can induce mental anxiety"

So stop slouching at work when you are sitting in that chair for hours. Keep your shoulders back and maybe do a few head rolls through the day. Another way to de-stress at work is by laying on the floor with your legs straight up against a wall, and scoot your bum as close to the wall as possible. Then lay there, with your arms out, palms up, and just take 5 minutes to meditate. Hopefully your co-workers won't catch you..

Listen to music that makes you feel calm and peaceful.

Since I don't have an iPod (and because I'm cheap and I don't want to pay a dollar for every song) I listen to Pandora radio and I get to choose a genre I would like to listen to that day. Then I steal songs from there and look them up on playlist.com and make special mixes for my different moods. When I'm feeling exceptionally stressed I will put on some classical music, piano, or Enya. It helps me from swearing at people at work :)

Take a warm bath.

I love taking a bath after a long overworked day. It's so nice to feel the hot water release all of the tension in my body. Just listening to silence and focusing on myself really makes a difference. I swear someday I will have a nice jetted tub in my house just for me!

Breathe.

Deep breathing can reduce stress and increase relaxation. Try taking a deep breath, and then releasing it twice as slowly as you inhaled. If only I could stop smoking and just breathe... damn that nicotine!

Participate in activities that leave you with a sense of relaxation and peacefulness.

This is why I love yoga. The breathing and stretching helps me calm down and find peace. I also love to unwind by reading a good book with a cup of tea while relaxing on my couch. Any activity that helps you get your mind at ease will work.

Take a nap.

Studies show that a quick 30 minute nap will help boost your energy. So if you're feeling really tired, lay down for a bit and close your eyes. Don't overdo it though or it will have a reverse effect.

Pray.

Even though I don't really go to church anymore I still like to pray every once in a while. Just telling someone about my fears and stress helps me get those negative feelings off my chest. Its kind of like having a personal shrink. Only the shrink is Jesus.

(ideas provided from this awesome website)