Quote (machetebill @ Sep 25 2011 12:04am)
What's a good way to relieve stress? This is for someone who is having issues sleeping and just dealing with stress - and is also highly against the use of drugs.
Stress comes in many forms....physical, emotional, mental, environmental, etc.
Depending on what kind of stress there are a few ways to alleviate it...
1. The most obvious answer is to stop doing what causes stress or remove yourself from any stressful environment/situation.
Assuming that #1 is not possible given the circumstances, you can also attempt the following:
2. Deep breathing - this works mostly for short term stress. Breathe in slowly while counting to 10. Hold it for 5 seconds, and let it go also counting to 10 on the way down. Repeat this for 10 breaths. This naturally reduces blood pressure, heart rate, and other physiological effects of stress.
3. Meditation - when there is more time to focus towards stress reduction, take 30-60 minutes a day and meditate. A dark room with no outside noise except for the optional presence of white noise, seated in a comfortable position, focusing only on breathing and nothing more. Clear the mind of all thoughts and allow yourself to be one with the ether. Google meditation for good techniques.
4. Yoga - Interestingly enough, yoga has been proven in many clinical studies to naturally reduce the effects of stress on the human body when performed for 30 minutes a day 4 days a week. Consider this.
5. Natural supplements - Vitamin B Complex (I recommend Twinlab Stress B), Melatonin, ZMA, Arginine/Ornithine and mucuna pruriens all can help reduce stress and/or the effects thereof. By the same token, stimulants such as caffeine and sugar should be avoided.
6. Dietary - Manage the diet properly to avoid excess weight gain, acne, moodiness, and tiredness - all of which can create stress, or make existing stress worse.
7. The Beach - if possible spend 20-30 minutes on a stressful day at the beach listening to the waves crash. This also has been scientifically proven to reduce stress levels and/or the effects thereof.
8. Talking - Sometimes it helps a person a lot just to be able to talk things out with someone else for 20-30 minutes undivided. Just a calm and quiet setting with no extraneous noise allowing that person to speak freely (don't give advice or anything other than a reassuring nod here and there).
9. Spirituality - Some people benefit greatly from spirituality and related practices. I am not a person for this, so you would have to ask elsewhere in reference to this.
10. Acupuncture/Chiropractic - In quite a few cases, good chiropractors and acupuncturists are able to alleviate a tremendous amount of stress through proper treatments - massage should also be considered.