Another Year another Set of Resolutions
We have already put out a couple of articles about ways to make sure you’re able to meet your New Year’s resolutions (“Tips to achieve your goals” and “How to Set SMART Goals”), so if you want to read some betterment advice, check those articles out.
In this article, we want to give advice on something you should make a goal for this year: stop stressing!
In general, Americans are stressed. In most surveys about stress, America usually sits in the top 5 of most stressed populations. And stress is deadly! High stress leads to hypertension which is bad for your heart, brain, arteries, and everything!
Stress can also lead to bad habits, like smoking, overeating, and the new phenomenon “brain drain,” all of which tend to make you more stressed out in the long run.
We don’t think it’s possible to live a stress-free life. Things happen. But if you’re able to destress appropriately, you can stop stress from building up and making you explode.
So, how can we combat stress? Three options: talk it out, walk it out, or draw it out.
Talk it Out
Studies show that just talking to someone about your problems you can lower stress. Neuroscience backs that up too, in a study from 1997, researchers found that speaking or writing down what’s bugging you decreases brain activity in the part of the brain that manages the “fight or flight” response and moves it to the language and processing part of your brain. Pretty cool right?
By redirecting your attention to processing something, you’re more likely to find closure. That being said, you have to make sure your vent partner is on board to hear you out and isn’t going to make problems worse. Also, hear them out! Often times listening to someone else vent can help you destress. It’s a virtuous cycle!
Walk it Out
Okay, so we used the word “walk” but we really mean exercise. We know we’re not breaking new ground when we say that moving your body is a great way to clear your mind. But it’s true!
Exercise feels good and is often a good way to move past things that are bothering you. There’s neuroscience to back this up too! When you exercise your brain releases endorphins making you feel good, it also can relieve tension in different parts of your body (which are a huge source of stress).
Draw it Out
Again, the word draw is used loosely here. What we really mean is express yourself. Draw, paint, or write! It doesn’t have to be good. The French artist, Moebius, used to draw endless seas of clouds to get stress out of his mind, and we’ve tried it, it’s relaxing! Music is also a great source of joy for a lot of people, so it’s no surprise that dancing or playing an instrument are also great creative ways to reduce stress.
And it doesn’t matter if you can’t draw, dance, or sing. Studies show that people of any skill level respond positively to “creative expression” as a form of stress relief. This is because creative work tends to put you into the “flow state,” which is a big subject of research these days. The flow state is said to improve focus and emotional wellbeing by giving you an outlet for negative emotions. Art also lets you self-reflect by once again moving your brain activity away from fight or flight and into processing and creative thinking.
Whatever you end up doing, do what you can this year to reduce stress. There’s a lot of things to worry about, but don’t add your health onto that list by being stressed all the time!