• Avoid or walk away from a stressful situation.
  This is many times not possible, but if it is, get away from the source of your stress.  An example might be a conversation about a subject that causes you anxiety.  Politely excuse yourself and find something else to do.  A great way to relieve stress is to avoid it from the beginning.
• Learn to keep things in perspective.
  This will have the most positive impact, but is the hardest thing to do.  Letting fewer things annoy you means realizing that some are out of your control and can’t be changed.  It also means not stressing about the little things in life.
• Take deep breaths to physically and emotionally calm yourself down.  Taking deep breaths does two things for you: it helps return your breathing — which becomes short and shallow in times of stress — to normal, and it helps you turn your attention to your breathing, which interrupts your previous thoughts.  As you exhale, you can feel the stress leaving you.  As you inhale, you can feel calmness return to you.
• Get up on time so you can start the day without being rushed.  There is nothing worse than getting a late start on the day and being stressed when your day has barely begun.  Running behind in the morning can disrupt the entire day.
• Take breaks throughout the day. Take time to stretch or go for a walk.
• Go to bed on time.  Going to bed on time ensure you get enough sleep.  As discussed earlier, stress and anxiety are a leading cause of insomnia, creating a vicious cycle if inadequate sleep occurs.  Getting enough sleep will also help you to concentrate.
• Simplify your life. To worry less, have less.  Clutter can cause disorganization, which can cause unneeded stress.  Have you ever looked for an important paper that you knew you had, but were not sure where?  You find yourself going through piles and drawers of paper you thought were important.  Simplifying does not have to mean living like a pauper.  It means getting rid of whatever is not really important.  It also means getting rid of duplicates you will never be able to use.  Organize what you have so you know where things are and how to get them when needed.
• Allow extra time to do things and to get places.  Avoiding being late can go a long way towards reducing stress.  Being late for a meeting or appointment can be very embarrassing.  Not only are you stressed trying to make it on time, you have the additional stress of confronting your colleagues or friends when you do arrive, making for a very unpleasant experience.
• Live within your budget.  Money can be a huge source of stress.  If you have significant credit card debt or can’t afford your mortgage from month to month, you have a constant worry eating away at you.  Buy what you can afford.  Learn to save and pay with cash.  If you need more money, read the earlier section on making more money.
• Practice a drug-free method of relaxing.  Meditation, yoga, and breathing exercises can keep stress at bay.  Practice daily and you will improve your overall health immensely.
• Get enough exercise.  Exercise is a great way to reduce stress and help our body deal with it better.  You don’t have to always go to a gym or wait for your usual time to exercise.  If you are feeling stressed and have the time, take a brisk 20-minute walk.  You will feel better about yourself and your body will be able to handle the pressures you face.  Exercise also helps relieve anxiety, anger, and frustration.
• Eat right.  Eating nutritiously helps contribute to overall good health so we are better able to cope with stress.  Not eating properly puts us at a disadvantage and can keep the body from functioning optimally.
• Learn to be organized and to plan.  Getting organized wards off stress.  Hurrying from one daily task to the next with no direction or organization is a recipe for disaster.  If possible, plan and prepare the night before for the following day.  It is better to realize something can’t get done while planning it than while trying to accomplish it. Planning can seem mundane, but it helps you keep to your schedule and allows more efficient use of your time.  The key is to prioritize tasks and pace yourself.
• Allow time every day to be alone.  Time for yourself is important to unwind and do the things you like and want to do.  So much of our time is not our own — especially when we have children.  You need to take time by yourself to do whatever you want without interruptions.  This can be combined with exercise if you go for a walk or run.
• Enjoy hobbies.  Some people are so busy they do not even have hobbies.  Hobbies are a way to escape everyday life and do something we really enjoy.  Hobbies are “our own,” and give each of us our uniqueness.
• Laugh.  Laughter is probably the quickest way to turn around a stressful situation.  Laughing interrupts the pattern of anxiety and jolts us back into reality.  Next time you see a movie, go to a comedy instead of the usual action or drama movie you might normally see.
• Know and accept your limits.  A sure path to a life full of stress and anxiety is to try to be a perfectionist.  Never being happy about your accomplishments will quickly make you a pessimist.  Working to the best of your ability should be what you strive for.  Mistakes are only bad if you do not learn from them — it is OK to fail, but try not to make the same mistake twice.  If you do not try new things and take a risk now and then, you will not experience success and growth.
• Be a positive person.  Being positive is not always easy.  There is so much negativity around us that it can be difficult not to wallow in it, but it will bring you down if you focus on it. When you are positive, it shows the world that you are rising above the negativity, that you want the most out of life and are determined to get it.  Being positive will help you mentally and physically stay on top.  Spending time with positive people will also help you to share their attitude.
• Talk about your troubles with someone.  Talking about your problems is a great stress reducer.  It allows you to get them out in the open and really confront your issues.  The person you confide in may give you advice, but you should think of the conversation as more about confronting the stress than looking for advice or opinions.  If your troubles are kept inside, they will eat away at you and increase your stress and anxiety even more.  Support from family and friends can be invaluable.  You must also recognize when your troubles are too much and you need a professional to help you sort through them.
• Avoid reading newspapers and watching the news if this makes you anxious.  Watching the news can be very stressful.  Hearing about people dying or pets being mistreated can really affect some people.  If these things do bother you inordinately, try to avoid the news.  Instead, do something you know you will enjoy.
• Take a vacation or some time off.  Everyone needs vacations.  They are a time to recharge your batteries and have fun.  If you take time off from work, try to go away instead of working around the house.  Even weekend getaways can be very beneficial — you don’t have to travel across the country.  Take a trip to the closest big city and experience what it has to offer, for example.  Taking a vacation creates memories that can be reflected on in times of stress.  Remember that cruise you took or the vacation to the Caribbean?  Sure you do, because they brought out positive emotions and experiences.

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