Stress Reduction: 33 Great Ways To Reduce Stress And Anxiety

Stress runs rampant today in our society, with most people suffering from it daily or at least several days a week.

How so?

Because our modern society runs too quickly, and faster than the pace of life we’ve all evolved with over the centuries.

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We’ve thus got larger cities and technology to thank for a lot of it, along with being maladapted physically (and mentally, the brain is a physical part of us as well).

But, fret not, because there are very effective ways to mitigate all this stress and make it manageable, so that you can thrive in it rather than just barely survive it.

Try some out and find which ones that work best for you.

And here they are:

33 Great Ways To Reduce Stress

Starting with:

1. Eat A Healthy Diet

Without one your body doesn’t work as well, so just as a healthy diet is at the core of good health overall, it’s also great at minimizing stress and anxiety.

Lots of individual nutrients, present when eating healthy, contribute to proper mental health and stress management.

2. Exercise

As with diet, exercise is good for your overall health, and pretty amazing at curbing your stress.

Try running, cycling or functional strength training for almost guaranteed good results on stress and anxiety.

A walk works wonders too.

3. Resting

This is one of my favorites, and highly effective. Just rest. Set a timer for maybe 20 minutes give or take.

Especially use that alarm if you’re prone to falling asleep, or want to to make it a nap. But try not to overdo those 20-30 mins of napping or it might affect your sleep negatively later that night.

4. Get Good Sleep

Bad sleep makes everything so much worse, including stress and anxiety.

You simply won’t work at your best without it, and there’s really no cutting corners.

Prioritize your sleep, no one else will for you.

5. Try Meditation

Luckily, meditation has lost much of its bad image as only something for highly spiritual people to practice, so that laymen, too, can reap the antistress and anxiety-reducing effects.

Try it for yourself and see if you like it, but don’t overdo it since too much can lead to negative side effects.

I meditated a lot in my younger years but have for now decided that it’s not for me since it causes a little dissociaton.

Mindfulness is a decent meditation technique, try it out!

6. Listen To Or Play Some Music

This might be music to your ears, and go with relaxing music for an even better relaxation effect.

Even better though, if you can play an instrument yourself, that ought to do the trick.

A great habit and hobby to have.

7. Socialize And Connect With Others

We’re social animals, a social species, and thus lack of social contact is doomed to spell badly for us.

Just take covid, and see that isolation can really take its toll on people.

So, hang out with someone if you’re feeling lonely, and let that curb your stress and anxiety.

If vulnerable from all the stress, choose carefully whom to hang with to more quickly get back on your feet again.

8. Deep Breathing

Deep breathing can do loads for relaxation, curbing stress and anxiety with that.

It’s not something I do myself regularly, but have for periods in the past.

Try just 3 consecutive deep slow breaths to get going, sometimes that’s all it takes.

9. Journaling

Try some journaling, it can be highly stress-relieving, and ideally with pen and paper.

Whether it’s a gratitude journal, something else, or just a regular one, it’s a powerful tool.

10. Spend Time In Nature

Nature in our life is something lacking for a lot of people, especially when living in a larger city.

Getting to spend some time in nature’s bound to bring some stress and anxiety relief, many studies can attest to that.

11. Read A Book

Reading a book can be highly de-stressing as well as educative, meaning this is a habit you definitely want to have if you’re also prone to anxiety and stress.

12. Take A Hot Or Cold Shower

Taking a shower can be one way to rinse all those worries away, and another favorite method of mine.

I keep it hot and alternating with fairly cold, not ice cold, but that’s just my preference.

13. Aromatherapy

Let essential oil, curb some of your turmoil.

They’re fairly popular for this.

14. Do Some Yoga

Yoga is something I had never really tried until a few years ago, and it makes for a great stress- and anxiety-reliever that you can do either in a group or alone on a yoga mat.

Why not try my own, intuitive yoga and see what you think of this old healing technique for yourself.

15. Try Counseling Or Talking To Someone

Again, social beings we are, so if you need an ear, either ring someone up or try counseling for this same reason.

Definitely helpful if you feel that you need someone to talk to.

16. Reduce Loud Noise Around You

If it’s noisy around you, try reducing that noise, whether through getting away from it, closing your window or using earbuds for a bit.

Can help you with the stress.

17. Eliminate Stressors And Causes

By eliminating some of your causes for stress, you tackle the problem from its roots.

Are there specific situations, people or your job that stress you out? Try avoiding or minimizing these when you’re feeling particularly stressed out, or make lifestyle changes for less of these.

18. Stretch

Another one having to do with physical activity, some stretching can help get that tension out of your body and to improve your range of motion and posture.

19. Get Earthed

This is a less well-known one, but actually really powerful.

You can read more here: Earthing – How And Why To Touch Grass Today (Benefits).

It quickly activates your parasympathetic nervous system, the one that’s relaxed and relaxes you.

20. Laugh

Laughter is a surefire one to reduce some stress and anxieties, so find a funny book, video or person and reap its benefits.

21. Cut Down On Alcohol

Too much alcohol can contribute to you feeling stressed out, so you may want to get your health in check and consume a little less of this if it’s a problem.

22. Reduce Caffeine Intake

Same as with alcohol, too much of this stimulating substance can cause undue stress and anxiety or jitters.

Do the same and manage your intake a bit.

23. Cuddle

Cuddling’s sure to reduce some of those stressed and anxieties, if you have someone to do it with, but if not:

24. Spend Time With A Pet

Man’s best perhaps, or a cat, whichever floats your boat, is also bound to make you feel better, with less stress and anxiety in your life as a result.

Treat it well.

25. Practice Regular Self Care

Don’t forget to take proper care of yourself, which can include lots of things on this list.

Put yourself first for a bit and give your mind and body what it needs with some alone time.

You should know best here yourself, especially after having tried many of the items on this list out.

26. Minimize Screen Time

Screen time can wreak havoc on your anxiety levels and stress, not to mention they take up a lot of your time, these devices, making you more starved for time to deal with what actually stresses you out in life.

Less screen time for the people.

27. Create Boundaries And Learn To Assert Yourself

You heard it here first, work on those boundaries and being assertive, and you’ll see that you can make stress and anxieties less common in your life rather quickly.

Prioritise what makes you feel better, not worse.