Workplace pressure has been one of the top leading sources of stress for the past few decades. Situations such as workload demands with perceived little control, coworker tension, manager favoritism, and fear of losing job have created far too much stress for American employees.
Stress is a natural response to disturbing or threatening circumstances. What is considered stressful is determined by each person, and how one handles stress is individual as well. Stressful situations invoke a fight or flight response mentally and physically; one that is highly charged and highly intense. Stress can and should be a lifesaving response; however, it can be particularly harmful if consistent and chronic.
Stress is particularly harmful on brain and nervous system. It may lead to headaches, muscle aches, and impaired concentration and memory. It can also lead to nervous habits like smoking, alcohol, nail biting, overeating, and sleep deprivation. Ultimately, it can cause serious conditions like anxiety, depression, hypertension, and heart attacks.
Many people are unaware of the degree of stress in their lives or are aware but simply ignore it. If you are aware of stress in your life, particularly habitual stress, then take action now. Stress is easier to combat/manage once you commit to self-care and life balance. The 15 stress-reduction techniques that follow are really super easy ways to reduce stress today, immediately. You don’t have to wait until tomorrow or next week to start.
1. Eat stress reducing foods. Food and vitamin supplements can alter your body and mood regulating hormones and thus are very important factors to reducing stress. Any food that is related to brain health and gut health are sources of tryptophan, GABA, omega-3 fats, anthocyanins, Vitamin D, and magnesium would classify as stress reduction because they produce mood-regulating neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine and control stress inducing hormones like cortisol. Some of the most common are green leafy vegetables, avocados, nuts, seeds, pistachios, turkey, wild Alaskan salmon, blueberries, dark chocolate, and probiotics.
2. Laugh. Laughter just may be the most popular stress reliever. The medicinal benefits of laughter have 
been proven biblically and scientifically. KJV of Proverbs 17:22 reads, “a merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.”
3. Get some sunshine. Vitamin D is an important supplement that reduces stress.
4. Chewing gum is known for relieving stress and increasing alertness by increasing blood flow to the brain and reducing cortisol.
5. Squeeze a stress ball or other stress relieving toys.
6. Power nap. Getting more sleep is a great quick fix. Short naps can increase alertness, recharge the body, and also gives you an opportunity to reset the mind.
7. Hug your pet. For those with pets, you are already familiar that snuggling up with your pet is a calming and makes you feel good. “Man’s best friend” is also man’s best stress reliever.
8. Exercise, massage therapy, and deep breathing. These activities promote a state of calmness by increasing oxygen to your brain and producing endorphins that stimulates the nervous system.
9. Relax your mind, body, and soul with Mediation and/or Yoga. These activities not only reduce stress by reducing brain chatter, but also improve concentration and also connection with others.
10. Deal with heavy workload. There will be times when new assignments have unreasonable deadlines and will require much more of your time. However, there are tips to keeping stress contained during those time. Have a plan to deal with those occasional times when workload spikes.
11. Deal with procrastination. If procrastination is your Achilles heel, find techniques to beat procrastination. In addition, there are procrastination elimination apps you can use to help with this.
12. Take time to treat yourself, some “you time.” This would be quiet time or anything that bring you peace. Although doing nothing may seem out of character, try that. Taking a long, relaxing bath would suffice.
13. Aromatherapy using essential oils in your environment reduces stress and improves mood. It is believed that aromatherapy interacts with the brain to release serotonin much like food.
14. Gratitude Journal. Writing things down that you are appreciative of takes the focus off the negative things that cause stress. It helps to refocus your mind and transform your energy to a more positive and powerful state, which is the best state to tackle challenges. Keep in mind, stress is not about the circumstances that bring you stress, it’s about your response to those circumstances that cause you stress. A state of positive energy, helps you control your response.
15. Work fewer hours. Wouldn’t we all love to do this? Believe it or not, most people have the choice to work less but make excuses why they do not limit their hours. Examine your reasons and understand there are consequences to working too much.
Don’t put off making these changes any longer. Your health and wellness is dependent on you doing these simple things to combat stress.
So how easy are these tips really? Why do we let stress linger in our lives? I would to know your opinion in comments below.
Laughters, The best way for me reduce stress! When I’m stress out in work, I will always hide in the toilet to look for some funny videos from facebook. This makes me feel lots better! By the way, excellent article. I will definitely try some of them when I get stress out again.
Great Jay! I’m glad you are open to trying some of these. They really are easy and many don’t cost a thing. Thanks for commenting.
Great information! I didn’t realize there are so many ways to relieve stress. There are so many methods I can add to my routine at work!
Yes, and the best thing about these, are they are so easy that people tend to overlook. Thanks for commenting.
Hi, Claudette! Great tips! Thank you for sharing! It is an important topic to talk about. Of course, these tips are easy. For me, meditation is the best stress reliever. I think that laughing is a great way to reduce stress, and it helped me a lot. We need to do everything to reduce stress because it’s slowly killing us and makes us ill.
Thank you again!
Linda
I agree, Linda. Stress is a slow killer which is why we should consciously do things to reduce it. Thanks for commenting.
Hi Claudette, I agree with you that how one handles stress is an individual thing. Stress can lead to all the many health issues that affect our lives. You gave a very good tip about eating stress reducing foods to regulate hormones and reduce stress.
Laughter is an excellent stress reliever. I like the Scripture Verse, I made a note of it.
Your post is very informative.
Thanks for commenting Luna. I hope you incorporate more of these foods in your diet to keep stress at bay. Managing stress is all about body, mind, and spirit. I have found that using scriptures are excellent affirmations.
What a wonderful article! Thank you for posting this 🙂
I have found that the gratitude journal did the most for me. Being thankful for all that I have causes all my troubles to melt away or be much easier to manage. Gratitude journalling or just plain journalling have helped me to be more positive and hopeful, and that lessened all the stress in my life.
These are all awesome suggestions!
Writing is very therapeutic. It makes you slow down which is what many people who work too much really need to do. Taking time to think about all the things to be appreciative for is a way to transform the mind away from negativity. I, too, love journaling. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the awesome ideas Claudette. I like the looks of a few that you showed available at amazon. I am familiar with the stress balls but have actually forgotten about them so that is a great reminder. Really nice post and so much information for so many.
Stress balls are tools to help you to be more mindful about relieving the stress you are experiencing at the moment. They really work. I use them in the workplace but not so much at home. Today, there are the spinner fidgets that are very popular as a toy but was designed for stress relief. I find it difficult to use but many people love them. The point is, there are many objects available to experiment with. Thanks for sharing.
My way of reducing stress is by exercising. I find that the increased oxygen and the endorphins that are released help to improve my mood and makes me feel great for the rest of the day. This way if any stress comes my way, I will be able to deal with it a lot better. I also eat a lot of the stress reducing foods that you talk about in your article.
I really enjoyed reading your article.
Thanks for sharing Sandra. Getting exercise done early in the day is really good on so many levels, for health and stress.
Hi Claudette, there are many ways to overcome stress actually. This is a useful article for busy people. I will try exploring aromatherapy, it seem interesting to give an amusing fragrance around my working area.
Great Melani! Combating stress with all our senses, including smell, is very helpful. Using various essential oils to set the mood is amazingly effective. I’m excited you have chosen a new way for you to experience relief. Thanks for commenting.
I am losing a lot of hair in recent years and I think its caused by stress as well as shitty genetics. I have found that the biggest stress reliever is running. Theres no better feeling than running for a few miles and then collapsing and enjoying that runners high. I havent felt this kind of relieve from other things like vitamin d and eating better, those things probably helps a little bit, but running long distance is like a whole different level.
That’s awesome that you have found a reliable way to relive stress. I am a walker myself, but I know quite a few avid runners who are totally committed. There is nothing like the feeling from an exercise or engaging in your hobby. Thanks for commenting.
Hey man, I just wanna say I really enjoyed reading your article on stress reduction. I live with my girlfriend and we’re very young and work all the time so we get stressed out a lot!
I’m glad I found this site though because I didn’t know some of the different fruits and vegetables you could eat to help reduce your stress. Great site man
Gabe, I’m glad you found this information helpful. Share this information with your girlfriend because you have to adapt some of these easy ways to stay calm and at peace throughout the day. You say you find yourself working all the time, check out some of the other posts on this site about work-life balance and having more fun. Thanks for commenting.