10 ways to fight stress in less than 15 minutes

Stress is a condition that can easily transform into depression, anxiety or other mental disorder that will deprive you of normal life. You cannot guard yourself from stress completely but you can cope with it following these easy steps that can take less than 15 minutes. Though if you feel that the stress is persistent and you started to feel increasingly anxious and suffer from insomnia, you should consider using antidepressants.

1. Choose a hobby. Preferably, you should choose a hobby that involves manual work. For example, you can start gardening. This will not only distract you from stressful thoughts and relax your brain but also fill your body with oxygen since the hobby involves exposure to fresh air.

2. Start doing breathing exercises. They help to cope with stress without leaving your workplace. Deep breathing with your belly for just a couple of minutes can help you relax and calm down. In order to do the exercises right, find on the Internet the most appropriate technique which you will be able to follow anywhere.

3. Try aromatherapy. Usually, when thinking about aromatherapy we instantly imagine oil lamps or incense (aroma sticks), but you can also get yourself flowers or simply buy a new perfume with a refreshing and pleasant smell that will help you relax in any situation without any special devices.

4. Get up 20 minutes earlier than you usually do. It may seem a strange tip since all guides recommend getting enough sleep. We do not recommend you to deprive yourself of sufficient night sleep. You should go to bed at least 9 hours before you need to get up giving yourself at least an hour to fall asleep especially if you have trouble falling asleep quickly. But getting up earlier you will have more time for yourself in the morning. During this time you can calmly make a plan of things you have to do during the day, take a shower and eat a nutritious breakfast. If you drink coffee in the morning, you should also take into account that it takes 20 minutes for the beverage to be inside your body to start providing wakefulness effect.

5. Do short rounds of exercises during the day. If you have a sedentary lifestyle, no wonder you suffer from stress. When your body spends all day in a single position you can suffer from blood stasis, stiff back or even cramps. Do yourself a favor and do several stretching exercises during the day. You will immediately feel the inflow of energy and stress relieving effect.

6. Watch funny videos with animals. If you think that watching funny cat videos is silly, you are quite wrong. When you see something cute and funny, your brain releases endorphins, happiness hormones, that help to cope with stress and even increase your productivity. Obviously, it is better to watch them during your lunch break or at home rather than when you are doing your job.

7. Massage the point between your forehead and nose bridge for 1-2 minutes when you are stressed at work or stuck in traffic. Press the point with your index finger and make small circular movements.

8. Clean your desk and drawers. It is a known fact that when your workplace and home is clean of useless staff, and everything is in order, it is easier to keep a clean mind and concentrate on important things. Moreover, the process of cleaning is quite symbolic when you throw away stuff that interferes with the useful space. Doing the cleaning, imagine that you clean your brain too of the unnecessary, stressful thoughts.

9. Sing your stress away. You can sing doing your home chores, in the shower, or in a karaoke club with friends. Both ways of singing are quite beneficial for relieving stress.

10. Visualize your stressful thoughts as a dark cloud and then imagine how the wind blows them away. It may seem childish, but psychologists say that the technique works. You can try doing so anywhere when you are stressed or clean out your brain before bedtime to have a healthy, uninterrupted sleep with nice dreams.