How to Be Happier and Reduce Stress

Stress is an awful feeling but we've all experienced it at one time or another; pressures from work, school, money, or made up reasons in your head (guilty) can sometimes get a bit overwhelming. Stress can affect every aspect of your life from your mood, appetite, sleep and concentration- so it's important to have ways of coping with and dealing with it that work for you. I have what you could probably describe as an 'over active imagination'- it lead to a lot of nightmares and terrifying myself senseless as a child (especially after reading too many Goosebumps books!) but isn't something I really grew out of. Unfortunately the over active imagination is still alive and well, and is what accounts for the majority of the stress that I feel. As an adult I've found that it usually manifests itself as 'worst case scenario' complex where my mind will conjure up terrible outcomes to pretty normal problems, which is not only frustrating but at times can leave me feeling anxious and stressed. Rather than talk about generic, cliche things that have been shown to reduce stress (like exercise.. seriously if you feel like exercising when you're stressed out you're a better person than me that's for sure!) but rather things that I find help me personally whenever I start feeling a bit jittery and stressed.

Have a Relaxing Bath
Never underestimate the power of a nice, hot bath. Whenever I'm feeling stressed a long soak in the bath is always my first port of call, and I find it makes me feel a million times better. As well the hot water helping to physically soothe tense muscles, it's a calm and quiet place where you can completely unwind. Run a luxurious bath and make the bathroom inviting with some low lighting and scented candles; after a relaxing bath I always come out with a clearer head. Follow up with some pampering beauty products and spend an hour or two just taking time for yourself.

Get an Early Night
Tiredness is pretty much the route of all evil. It can bring out a terrible side in even the nicest person- I can honestly say I'm the worst person in the world when I'm tired! It can play absolute havoc on your mood and emotions, and exaggerate any stresses or anxieties that you're feeling. If you're in a habit of never getting enough sleep and spend your days drinking gallons of cups of coffee to combat it, you might not even be aware than you're sleep deprived. Make a point of getting an early night- and if you're able to, try and make sure one night a week you're sleeping completely uninterrupted until you wake naturally. Everything always seems worse when you're tired or sleep deprived, so it's no wonder that a good nights sleep can do wonders for stress levels.

Talk Through it With Friends
A problem shared really is a problem halved, if you're feeling worried or stressed sometimes just the act of talking through it with someone who understands you can make everything so much better. I know that whenever I'm feeling a stressed or anxious often all I need is a bit of reassurance, most of the time worries aren't half as bad as they seem in your own mind. So tell a friend who might be able to put everything in perspective and you're bound to feel much better.

Do Something You Enjoy
This isn't to say you should go on a massive spending spree or order a family sized Dominos whenever you're feeling a bit stressed, but now and again it's nice to treat yourself. Whether it's induging in a bit of retail therapy, booking a weekend away or visiting somewhere nice. A break from the mundane and doing something enjoyable might just be what you need to break the cycle of stress, and leave you feeling much happier and more level headed afterwards.

Come Up With a Plan
A bit more difficult if like me a lot of your stresses are made up nonsense, however if I'm ever stressing about something realistic I'll always come up with a plan for how I'm going to tackle the situation. For example if money is the issue, you could go through all of your finances and draw up a new payment schedule or budget plan. If you're stressing about something like an upcoming job interview you could write out some of the questions they're likely to ask and revise your answers, or begin planning what you're going to wear and exactly how you're going to get there. The act of writing things out and creating a clear plan of action (rather than just going over things in my head) always leaves me feeling much better and much more in control of the situation, and is something I always recommend to friends who come to me feeling stressed.

Do you have any tips for dealing with stress?