17 Effective stress release strategies for women

Anxiety, depression, fatigue, being overwhelmed by circumstances, these all are signs of stress. And, stress is something you cannot suppress or run away. It is a part of your life. What you can do is face your stress and manage it. Here are 17 ways to combat your daily challenge called STRESS and be stress-free.

1. Vent out

Bottling up feelings of grief, anxiety, and despair can lead to an emotional explosion at the tiniest of things. Find a safety valve that makes you feel comfortable and use it to dump out these negative emotions and make way for brighter, happier things. Have you tried writing a journal? It is very therapeutic way of stress management.

2. Sing as loud as you can

Maybe don't try this in densely populated public spaces or do! Music is a scientifically proven stress buster. So even though your voice may not be appealing to you, make those shower performances a routine and counter stress.

3. Confide in friends

Confiding in friends is a proven stress buster. Talk to a friend you can confide in and who will not judge you. It may even be yourself too. Talking to yourself, although deemed to be crazy, turns out, it is a sign of genius. It helps you materialize your thoughts and unweave the clutter in your mind.

4. Don't depend on just one emotional outlet

If you constantly find comfort in the same activity or person or in the same situation, you tend to create a pit of suppressed, overwhelming feelings that are caged within it. What if it ceases to exist? Suppose your special friend goes away. Depending on just one outlet can be dangerous. Try to find multiple ways to overcome stress.

5. Make a pdf of happiness

Happiness is the enemy of stress. Whether it's a poster with pictures of things that make you happy or whether it's a file in your desktop with funny videos, always have this little packet of sunshine at an accessible, convenient place for you to use whenever there's a rainy day.

6. Knowing your boundaries will save you from unnecessary stress

Overexertion is one of the key stress inducers. You have to realize when you've had enough whether it's in terms of a toxic relationship or work or even the tiniest of things. You need to know when to stop. Because your mind and your body can only take on so much.

7. Pamper your body

Don't let your body reach the stage of exhaustion. Know when your body is crying for help. Complete body spa, head massage, pedicure & manicure, foot reflexology or acupressure, do something to treat your body and get rid of that stress. Eat well and sleep well.

8. Nourish your soul too

Self-love is excruciatingly important but it's so much deeper than putting a face mask on. So, nourish your soul to de-stress. Read books that entice you, listen to music, dance in the rain.

9. Meditate

By learning to calm your body and mind, your physical and emotional stress can melt away. This leaves you feeling better, refreshed, and ready to face the challenges of your day with a healthy attitude. In today's tech-savvy world meditation has become easier than ever before, applications like "headspace" and "calm" allow beginners to easily unlock the world of meditation step by step.

10. Find what makes you happy and pour your soul into it

Is it baking? Is it dancing? Or, watering plants? Or, anything else. Although it's said ever so often, we just don't seem to realise that we have only one life. Find something that makes you want to wake up every day and put your all into it. Loving what you do makes life so much stress free.

11. Invest time in your relationships

Real, meaningful relationships are excessively important for your holistic development and thus a happy, stress-less life. Having someone you love and trust has been proven to reduce anxiety, combat stress and exude feelings of happiness. The second happiness walks into the picture, stress can do nothing but walk out of it.

12. Plan to execute

Better planning means better execution. In turn, lesser stress. By proper planning, you understand your next move. When the destination is clear, the path that's to be paved to reach there automatically becomes less difficult. For example, if you want to explore the world, save a little bit every week and create goals that you need to meet, that way your dreams are converted into reality, bit by bit, in front of your own eyes.

13. Be optimistic

Finding the worst in every situation only creates boundaries around you. When your mind is conditioned to think you can't do it, your body responds to that thought with feelings of lethargy and unproductiveness. Find the good in everything and things will turn out to be positive. And, of course, lesser stress.

14. Exercise

Following a daily exercise routine, be it yoga or gym or jog or anything, is a proven stress buster. When you exercise or engage in any physical activity, your body produces endorphins in the brain. These endorphins act as natural painkillers that reduce stress, take away body pains and improve sleep.

15. Treat your body like a temple

Bad food habits add to the stress. Consuming an excessively sugary diet is linked to rapid mood swings and body dis-functionality which automatically induces stress. Letting go of foods that have become our only source of comfort seems devastating, however, what they're doing to your body is even worse.

16. Declutter to de-stress

Whether it's in your mind or in your surroundings clutter has never proven useful. Make sense of your thoughts as well as your environment and avoid clutter.

17. Know that things get better

Relying on the universe and letting it do its job seems so very difficult for those of us who want to shape our own destiny. What you need to realize is that grief and pain, monsters in the world of stress, don't just go away. Time heals, wounds heal and life moves on, so let the world do what's best for you. You must work with it, not against it.

Ultimately, living a mindful, satisfying life is a step by step process that requires daily effort and consistency. Working hard on your mental health and putting in effort into your happiness has boundless positive outcomes. We have this one little life to live, let's find a happier way to live it.