Here Are Some Ways To Decompress

In the world we live in today, it seems like there is something insane going on all the time.  Whether it’s the Russia-Ukraine war, inflation, banks collapsing, a challenging job, frustrations abound.  To manage all this properly without completely falling apart, it’s so important to take care of your mind.  It’s also the most difficult thing to do because..well..it’s all in your head! 

There are lots of ways you can take care of your mental state.  But, there is no one size fits all solution.  It’s different for everyone.  Some things I will share with you in this list below are things I absolutely loathe doing.  If I do some of these things, they will, in fact, cause me more stress! 

Exercise

This is the universal advice given to everyone but I’m not sure it’s that straightforward.  For me, yes, it relieves stress.  But for some, just thinking about exercising is stressful!  But it doesn’t have to be going to the gym, or running or doing something excruciatingly boring and physically painful.  It’s ultimately about being active and could be as simple as playing tennis, soccer or taking a Jiu-Jitsu class.  Whatever it is that gets you moving and active is what you should be focusing on.  It really can help get your mind off of your daily stressors.

Reading

Reading is great for some and not for others. It can be fun for me, but I wouldn’t necessarily call it “stress-relieving.”  But for some, I know it is.  If this is your cup of tea, then do more of it!

Solitude

Being alone by myself would drive me nuts.  I’m not good at being alone and I guarantee that if I find myself for too many hours or days by myself I would have higher anxiety and actually become stressed.  But I know this completely depends on your personality and for you, this might be exactly the medicine you are seeking.  A long hike by yourself or spending time alone could be what you need to completely decompress.

Watching TV

This can be enormously enjoyable.  Netflix, Hulu, Prime, HBO...there’s always something entertaining to watch and it completely shuts off my brain and helps me relax.  If this is something that appeals to you, the thing you need to watch out for is binge-watching.  You’ve been warned!  Hours, days might slip by if you’re not careful.  I’m speaking from experience :) 

Games

Games are known to be helpful and enjoyable.  This isn’t for me but for most folks, games are extremely relaxing and fun.  Whether it’s board games or video games, this can be the thing that helps you relax.

Meditation / Mindfulness

I’m not advocating meditation for everyone because for some this can actually be a frustrating activity.  Trying to sit there with your eyes closed for long periods of time can be torturous.  Again the theme here is if you hate it don’t do it.  For me it’s helpful.  I enjoy meditating every day and it helps me with settling things down in my mind.  I notice a difference in how my day goes when I do meditate vs. when I don’t.  These days it’s become a habit to where if I don’t do it, I notice that it negatively impacts my mental state.

Hobby

Photography, driving, watching paint dry on a wall - whatever your hobby is, just do it.  Hobbies allow your mind to completely switch gears and focus on something else.  It’s the ultimate brain “reset button.”

Giving yourself a break

I’m the worst at this.  Generally I’m pretty hard on myself and you might be as well.  If you’re being your own worst enemy it’s better to just walk away and shift your focus onto something else.  This is much easier said than done (I’m speaking from experience).  But this is super important if you’re going to be able to hold it together in the long run!

Do the hard stuff when you are the most productive

If you’re a morning person, don’t work at night.  Going against what’s natural to you will surely create more angst.  Tackle the hardest things when it fits in naturally.  I’m a morning person so if you ask me to do something mentally exhausting at night that will drive me insane.  I work on the hardest problems first thing in the morning.

Stoicism

I wish I could pull this off but I can’t. True stoicism requires an elevated level of consciousness.  Stoicism is an ancient Greek concept and one of my favorite authors Ryan Holiday has written a number of books to simplify the concepts for us.  Philosophers like Seneca, Marcus Aurelius focused a lot on controlling their mind, really honing in on what’s truly important and living a purposeful life.  Issues, problems and frustrations will happen all day every day as we all know.  But the ancient philosophers knew how to accept them and live with them without impacting their well-being.  Here are a couple books by Ryan I’d recommend reading.

Not caring too much

If you don’t take things too seriously it will take a load off your back.  Remember “this too shall pass.”  Nothing is ever as good as it seems or as bad as it seems.  Just go with the flow.  Getting hung up on any one thing can be hugely stressful and the more we can do to just brush it off the better.  Of course, it’s never that simple.  However, I’ve also noticed that a good night’s sleep really helps.  If something is really driving you up the wall, then just go to bed as early as you can. The next morning you’ll feel surprisingly better.  Just like with everything else, time heals all wounds!

This list obviously can go on forever.  But I’ll stop here.  How do you manage stress?