A hard day of work results in both a physical and mental/emotional contraction of your being. This is a result of the stressful thoughts that are persisting in your mind even after you leave the job. These thoughts are causing a stress response and are affecting you. These thoughts run anywhere from worrying about what is going to happen in the future to what has happened in the past. Generally these thoughts are not about what is happening in the present moment.
The flight-or-flight response (sympathetic) has inundated our society. We no longer can differentiate between a life-threatening situation and day-to-day activities. As a result, we have unconsciously programmed ourselves to be in a stressed-out sympathetic state due to the constant stream of stressful thoughts running through our head.
There is hope though. You can recondition or retrain your mind to relax and be present. When you do this, you relieve yourself of future or past stressful thoughts. You focus on what you are doing now. That is the basic premise behind all the natural techniques listed below. When you focus on the present, you mitigate the affects of stress through activities that will take your mind off of the past or future.
Meditate
Meditation is a practice in which an individual trains the mind to focus. A person who is focused in the present moment, is not worried about the future or brooding over the past. When you make the point to meditate, you take responsibility for your own mental state. A person who meditates regularly is more focused and also responds differently to external situations.
There are multiple ways in which a person can meditate. Most people have the misconception that meditation only involves sitting in the lotus position and chanting mantras. Well, this is one way in which to meditate but not the only way. As stated before, meditation is focus. So one can meditate focusing on a candle, focusing on breath, focusing on different body parts or focusing on the coordinated movement with breath.
If you do not already have a regular meditation practice, I suggest doing a guided meditation. A guided meditation is a great way to help you quickly relax and focus on the present moment. Do a guided meditation that is at least 10 minutes in length. After the meditation, you will feel much better and probably have a new perspective on the stressful situation. This new perspective can only come when you quiet your mind.
Take Deep Breaths
Taking deep breaths is an excellent way to bring you back into the present moment. Some other added benefits of deep breathing are that it raises your energy level and increases oxygen flow throughout the body.
Sit in an upright position with your back relaxed. Close your eyes, relax, let go and take 10 - 20 deep breaths. Deep breathing helps expand the lungs and forces better distribution of the air into all sections of the lung.
Make a Gratitude List
Gratitude is an emotion that expresses appreciation for what you have in your life. When you express gratitude, you take your attention away from what has happened in the past and what may happen in the future. It allows you to detach from a stressful situation and focus on positive aspects of your life. Thereby literally pulling you out of a negative mental spiral.
Take out a piece of paper or better yet, start creating a gratitude journal. Start writing on your paper or journal a list of things for which you are grateful. No matter how small or insignificant you feel it is, just write it down. Start writing at least 10 things and then allow the momentum to continue until you notice yourself starting to feel better.
Practice Mindfulness Techniques
Mindfulness is a state of active, open attention on the present moment. This is done in a non-judgmental and an open-hearted way. Being mindful of what you are doing allows you to savor the moment and disengage from the stressful auto-pilot thinking.
Mindfulness can be practiced in a formal and informal way. A formal way of practicing mindfulness is more considered mindfulness meditation. I am focusing on mindfulness in a more informal day-to-day way. This is why I termed it mindfulness techniques. Practicing mindfulness in a more informal way, helps to bring the clarity that mindfulness brings to many of your routine practices. It basically helps you to remain more focused and engaged throughout the day.
Below is one mindfulness technique you can use to relieve stress.
Be Mindful of Smell
As listed above, being mindful is a great way to relieve stress. Use either lavender, lemon, peppermint or rosemary essential oil for this exercise. Place one drop of essential oil on a cotton ball or a terra cotta stone diffuser. Place either the cotton ball or diffuser about 3 feet or so away. You want to be able to smell the essential oil without it being overwhelming to you.
Sit in an upright position with your back relaxed. Close your eyes and start to smell the scent. Start noticing the different characteristics of the scent. Does it have a bitter or sweet smell? Can you smell odors other than the smell of the plant? Is the smell sharp? Do you notice the scent penetrating different parts of your nostril? Do you notice a difference in the scent from the left and right nostrils? Take your time and just notice. When you are finished, you should feel more relaxed.
You can repeat this with a different scent if you like.
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