1. Practising Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR)
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When suffering from mental stress, it is essential to remember that muscle exhaustion could make things worse. Progressive Muscle Relaxation is a technique to calm the muscles and help your mind relax. You can do this by taking a few deep breaths and then contracting your muscles when inhaling. When relaxing your muscles, exhale slowly to create a relieving effect.
2. Deep breathing technique
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Breathing in a certain way helps to relieve stress and prevent subsequent mental breakdown. Take in heavy breaths and fill your lungs and abdomen. Then exhale very slowly using your mouth. Repeat this procedure with a conscious effort. Deep breathing helps regulate blood pressure and calm your nerves.
3. Simple exercises
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While it may not be possible for some of us to visit the gym, exercises are invaluable activities that aid in dealing with mental breakdowns. Exercise improves our physiological processes, such as hormone regulation and blood circulation. You don’t need the gym. You can do quick stretches at your work desk or jump lightly for a few seconds. That works, too.
4. Mathematics exercises
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Mathematics may not have been your favorite subject in school, but pay attention to how helpful it could be in helping you deal with stress. The Cortisol hormone overwhelms the brain’s cortex when you’re stressed out doing a regular task. Some little mathematics exercises will help reduce Cortisol levels and keep your mind from stress.
5. Meditation
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The sages in the past knew that a stressed mind could wreak havoc on everything else, so it was necessary to create techniques to help the mind relax. One of these techniques included meditation. While you could choose from different forms of practice, always start with the easiest techniques. Get a comfortable and serene spot, close your eyes, breathe deeply, and detach from negative thoughts.
6. Chewing gum
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It may be inappropriate to chew gum during an official function or when talking to someone, but when you are alone, it may be helpful to your mental health. Scientists have established that chewing gum helps to exercise your concentration level. It also lightens your mood.
7. Embrace comedy and humor
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Comedy and humor invert harsh reality in ingenious ways that help us persevere and even find solutions. Laughter activates Dopamine and Serotonin levels that overwhelm the Cortsiol hormone in a stressful mind. Laughing helps us to embrace a positive attitude towards a problem.
8. Scents
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Exposing our senses to pleasant sensations is an underrated way of preventing mental breakdown. In our workplaces, we encounter choking smells that disgust us, including ink. However, you can save your day by inhaling scents like lavender, camomile, and peppermint. Nice smells relieve the Amygdala region of the brain, keeping our minds relaxed.
9. Sensory deprivation
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The market is brimming with Restricted Environmental Stimulation Therapy. You can immerse yourself inside the tank and weightlessly float on water. Many sensory inhibitors will be blocked inside the tank, and experts have guaranteed that those who use this method experience maximum mental rest and reduced anxiety.
10. Getting a massage
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Visiting a spa could be the solution for your piling anxiety. A good massage helps relax your muscles, improve blood circulation, and help release body-relieving hormones. A lot of tasks distress us because of how tiring they could get. A good evening massage could reactivate your body and mind to face another day.
11. Cuddling and Hugging
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Intimate physical touch helps your hypothalamus release Oxytocin that helps to calm your nerves. When Oxytocin floods your system, you will likely feel good and excited. Moreover, Cortisol levels decrease. Bonding with someone through hugs and cuddles helps your mind deal with stress.
12. Playing music
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Listening to good music helps us to cope with mental stress. However, being a passive listener could get boring and ineffective. But playing a musical instrument could be a solution. When you participate in creating the music you love, your senses are concentrated on the pattern, thus diverting your mind from stress.
13. Embracing art
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The aesthetic component of art needs the full attention of the mind. When painting or sculpturing, your mind needs to be alert. You can then realize how art enables you to prevent a mental breakdown. You don’t have to be an exceptional artist to do it. It reduces the brain’s cortisol level.
14. Playing a sport
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Sports provide a special kind of release that cannot be found elsewhere. Whether it is watching other people play or doing it yourself, an invaluable effect reigns over your mind when exposed to it. Participating in your favorite sport can exercise your mental faculties to deal with difficult situations through problem-solving abilities and creative maneuvers.
15. Beverages
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Did you know that tea contains an amino acid that helps reduce stress and anger? It is called L-Theanine. Moreover, coffee also contains antioxidants that can help you calm down. Taking these beverages can soothe you when performing stressful tasks and motivate you to lighten up your mood.
16. Taking a walk
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Most activities that stress us have an element of regularity in them. Imagine working on something for hours without taking a little break. Stressful, right? For this reason, a little walk helps you to reorganize your thoughts, prepare new solutions, and help you motivate yourself. Visit your favorite park, saunter along the beach, or stroll around the woods.
17. Sex
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The reason why sexual libido decreases whenever we are stressed is because there is a direct correlation between the mind and our reproductive system. Taking part in sexual activity can help the body release hormones such as Oxytocin that reduce mental stress and body pain. Orgasmic excitement also helps the mind to focus away from troubling thoughts.
18. Proper dieting
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The mind, like all parts of the human body, needs energy. This can only be achieved by eating good food. When preparing your meals, be mindful of what nutrients and minerals your food contains. Omega-3 components help to regenerate your brain cells and prevent them from suffering a serious breakdown and debilitating anxiety.
19. Avoid drugs
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One factor that worsens an individual's mental health is the resort to drug and substance abuse. Indulging in alcohol and other related substances gives you temporary relief, but in reality, it weakens your ability to deal with stress properly. Critical anxiety becomes manifest in the wake of terrible judgments made under the influence of drugs.
20. Journaling
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Writing down your thoughts, feelings, and disappointments can help you effectively track the source of your problems. Moreover, record your moods and attitudes on the problems you're facing. The art of journaling has a cathartic effect, helping you to unload your mind and express your inner being.
21. Regulate social media time
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Social media helps us to communicate with new friends who may empower us. However, many toxic instances may endanger our mental health. Cyberbullying can worsen our anxieties, and obsession with strangers' validations can affect our psychology negatively. Spend as little time as possible on social media. With the right clique!
22. Plan your day
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Delaying tasks, procrastination, and disorganization can stress you out. When tasks are left unfinished, we are pressured to fit them into our inelastic schedules. In the process, our mental health is endangered. Strictly allocate portions of time to different tasks, to prevent you from getting a breakdown over intense work pressure.
23. Take care of your sleeping patterns
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Sleeping is an inalienable physiological necessity to remain healthy in mind and body. When we are distressed, however, it becomes difficult to sleep. There are many techniques you could employ to enable you to sleep. Always have a comfortable place to sleep and strictly follow your set schedule.
24. Physical social interaction
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Leave your house for a moment and meet up with people. It could be friends, family, or even prospective partners. Having jolly conversations with people who care about us, keeps us away from stress. Also, we can communicate our problems to them, and who knows? They could be the right people to help us solve them. Interact!
25. Aerobics
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Taking part in activities that improve our cardiovascular system is necessary for alleviating mental stress. Aerobics keeps our muscles active and trains our bodies to withstand strain. These activities include swimming, skiing, and even dancing. Moreover, these fun activities divert our minds from stress and help us cope.
26. Grounding
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Grounding is a simple sensory exercise that can help you relieve your mind during stressful moments. The technique involves focusing on your senses in five regions of your brain. It is called the 5-4-3-2-1 method. When in a room, concentrate on what is present to distract your mind from being clouded with anxiety.
27. Checking your biological processes regularly
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Many devices to track your health bio-data have emerged in the market. Phones have apps that help us record essential appointments and smartwatches that enable us to detect our blood pressure. These devices help us to understand what we are going through, and focus mentally on improving ourselves. Neglecting oneself can lead to severe mental distress.
28. Positive visualization
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The mind is a powerful agent of imagination. Focusing on positive aspects of life can keep you in a good mood for a long time. When stressed, think about positive environments like a beach or a cool forest. Moreover, keep an inventory of your happy memories to take refuge in when you are about to experience a mental breakdown.
29. Take some dark chocolate
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Dark chocolate contains antioxidants and flavonoids, which help in relieving stress. It also helps in increasing the energy that is necessary to prevent memory loss and prevent mental exhaustion. Taking a morsel of chocolate might help reduce Cortisol secretion, subsequently keeping you renewed to perform your daily tasks.
30. Embrace spiritual discipline
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Believing in higher metaphysical ideals gives you a purpose to live. Our stressful moments are caused by moral guilt, reckless living, and nihilistic inclinations. Visiting a nearby church and fostering your soul's discipline could help you deal with challenging moments.