12 Ways to relieve stress and anxiety

The day has been stressful and you find that you are anxious.  Your loved one has been demanding today and you need to unwind.

Some ways to relieve stress and anxiety include:

Take time to pamper yourself and relax
Take time to pamper yourself and relax
  1. Bubble bath
  2. Take a walk
  3. Exercise or dance
  4. Read a book
  5. Find a quiet place to sit, listen to the birds and sip a cup of tea or coffee
  6. Deep breathing techniques
  7. Journal
  8. Talk to a friend
  9. Use scents that are soothing, such as lavender, with candles or room fresheners
  10. Play with a pet or child
  11. Laugh
  12. Get a massage

How do you relieve stress and anxiety?

Transitional Friday: 9 Lessons I learned from Life Transitions

transition

 

 

For over three years I searched for a new job.  I also prayed about a place to live.

God finally answered both of these prayers at the same time.

When circumstances changed and life began to turn around, I was surprised by the mixture of feelings I experienced.

I was excited for the changes and opportunities ahead of me, but scared to death to be taking such a huge step into the unknown.

I was moving from what I knew and was comfortable with to a life that was completely new and unknown to me.

I had the common fears and uncertainties that our emotions can drive us to.  However, I was also excited about the changes and improvement to life these changes would provide.

I discovered that to handle this wide range of emotions:beginnings out of endings

  1. I had to take a deep breath
  2. I shared my hopes and fears with God
  3. I went through the motions, even when I was scared to death
  4. I had to take a leap of faith and trust God knew what was best
  5. I reminded myself this was an answer to prayer
  6. I reminded myself transition is part of life
  7. I had to take on minute, one hour, and one day at a time
  8. I was thankful for these blessings
  9. I wasn’t along, God was with me

What lessons have you learned in your life transition?

Transitional Friday: 7 Lessons Learned from Discouragement

discouragement

 

 

 

There have been times when I wondered if anything was going my way.

No matter how hard I tried or how much effort I put into the endeavor nothing seemed to work.

This led to great disappointment and discouragement.  There were days when depression hit and I nothing could lift my mood.

When discouraged, I have to remind myself that:discouragement quote

  1. This too shall pass
  2. God is preparing me for something better
  3. God has a better plan
  4. There is a reason for this
  5. I need to spend more time in God’s word and in prayer seeking His will
  6. I need to work off the depression
  7. My circumstances don’t identify me as a person

What has discouragement taught you?

10 Benefits of Exercise

When I was much younger I loved to walk.  Regardless of the weather, I walked four miles a day.  Then life got in the way, I put on weight and got terribly out of shape. I realized that I had to do something about my additional weight.  The best place to begin was with exercise.

Exercise is not my favorite thing to do but each day I make the choice to exercise or not.  There are a number of benefits of exercise.  Some of these are:

  1. I have more energy after I exercise and get more accomplished that day.
  2. I am in a better mood when I exercise.                                brain health
  3. I am able to release stress in my life when I exercise.
  4. Exercise is good for my heart.
  5. I begin to see changes in my body when I exercise on a regular basis.
  6. I feel better about myself when I exercise.
  7. I keep my blood pressure down when I exercise on a regular basis.
  8. Exercise is a great way to start my day.
  9. Exercise can be something that I enjoy doing {such as walking, swimming, etc.} and not drudgery.
  10. Each day I discover that I’m able to do a little bit more than the day before.

These are just a few of the benefits I have discovered from exercising on a regular basis.  Do you exercise regularly?   What types of exercise do you enjoy?

benefits of exercise

 

10 Ways Creativity Can Reduce Stress

I’ve discovered that when I work on my craft, I notice my stress level go down.   After some probing, I want to share the reasons that I came up with.

  1. We allow our minds to focus on something else then our current troubles.
  2. We are doing something that we enjoy.                pottery
  3. We are doing something that relaxes us.
  4. We are doing something that feels productive.
  5. We are creating something that expresses our hearts and feelings.
  6. We are using our craft as a way to vent or work through our thoughts and emotions.
  7. We are allowing ourselves the freedom to be who we are.
  8. We use our art as a form of meditation or worship.
  9. We have the freedom to mold our craft any way we desire.  We can add to, take away or start over.
  10. We can lift others up with the use of our craft.

In what ways do you use your craft to reduce stress?

writer