What’s your stress busting tip?

You don’t have to suffer from Manic Depression to suffer from stress. Each of us need a method for relieving the sludgy pressures of daily life that layer on top of each other. A LOT of us self-medicate with alcohol or something similar, but this is the most unhelpful thing you can do.

grumpy-catI want to hear your top tips for breaking through the gloom! Use the comments section below to contribute – I’ll publish the best, most unusual, most surprising suggestions in a few weeks.

Here’s some possibilities:

1. Turn off your phone

This one may seem obvious, but the constant prodding of notifications and attention-seeking from your phone can really inflate your stress levels—even if you aren’t stressed about anything else! So, no matter where you are, if you’re feeling a little stressed out, switch off your phone for a few hours.

2. Exercise

Yes, I know, yawn. But this is all about the end justifying the means. Going outside may feel like the last thing you want to do, but it’s almost guaranteed to have a positive effect on you. Exercise makes your body think you’re in a stressful situation, so your brain releases chemicals to help fight that stress, which is why you feel that endorphin high after you’re finished. It’s science!

3. Get a cat

Recently a 10-year study of 4000 Americans (I assume the findings would be similar in other peoples) found pets helped relieve stress, with most people who took part in the study owning a cat. In the study cat owners were found to have a 30 per cent lower risk of death from heart attack than men and women who didn’t own a cat. More science!