“Stop that!,” I tell myself as I one-handedly type this, biting the nails on my left hand.
I hate to get technical, but studies show that stress is bad for you!
WOHM cares. Here are ten things to help you de-stress.
1. Eat healthy
Go get yourself some healthy food, or beer, or both, and turn on some football. Stop thinking about whatever it is that’s stressing you out, and think about something you enjoy. Heck, think about hot chicks doing yoga while watching football and munching on carrot sticks. Eating healthy is a big part of de-stressing.
Or, all the opposite—quit eating! If part of why you’re stressed is because you’re fat and tired…quit eating. Eating plays a big role in our hormones, and emotional and physical health, which can all effect stress levels one way or another. So try eating to calm you, or try not-eating to calm you, but trust that one will work.
2. Work out
If you decide to go with “not-eating to calm you,” hit the gym while you’re at it. (Hate to do this again, but…) Studies show that exercise releases stress-reducing endorphins.
3. Sauna / get a massage / meditate
After working out, or even separate from working out, step in the sauna and steam room. Ridding your body of toxins will clear your mind, literally. Many men say they don’t enjoy the sauna / steam room. Just do it! There are plenty of things you do for your mind and body that you don’t enjoy (go to work or class everyday, listen to your girlfriend talk about shoes, etc.), just do this one too! If you absolutely can’t take the heat, go buy yourself a 60-minute massage (more expensive than a sauna) or sit in a dim-lit room and meditate (more boring than a sauna). The point being, rid of mind and body toxins in a peaceful, relaxing environment.
4. Nap
Not getting enough sleep can cause stress. Studies show—I’m awfully educational today, aren’t I? —poor sleeping habits and stress are BFFs. Zzz.
5. Read
Grab a book…or a magazine…or a newspaper (I think they still exist)…just grab something to read that’s not on a screen, and read it quietly to yourself. Let the words on the page become the ideas in your head. Picture what you’re reading. Become consumed so that you can’t think of anything else except letters forming words, and sentences, and thoughts… Now, what was it that you were stressed about?
6. Sit and do nothing
Similar to eating while watching football, sitting in the sauna, napping, and reading, but requiring even less effort…is sitting and doing nothing. It feels so good just to sit. At first, your mind will wonder. Like, crazy wonder. Into the woods, up to Heaven, down to Hell, back to earth, and around the corner. But sooner than later you’ll be so far gone into your daydream, you’ll have forgotten what it was that you were stressed about. So, sit and do nothing, you owe it to yourself.
7. Sell your stock
I have such a love / hate relationship with the stock market… I’d say mostly love because of the money it’s making me; but then again, I’d say mostly hate because of the stress it causes. Solution? Sell that stock! I will if you will.
8. Dump your girlfriend
Dump your girlfriend! Again, I will if you will (trick statement). But seriously, is your relationship like the stock market? Up and down? Love / hate? Stressful, to say the least? Get out and “buy stock” in something slow and steady. (Yes, this is a repeating topic here at WOHM. We sincerely hope you get the point.)
9. Get IT out
So, if the stock market causes you stress, sell stock; if your relationship causes you stress, get out. If XXXX causes you stress, QUIT DOING IT! Whatever IT is, get zen with it and get it out of your life.
10. Be proactive
In general, try to be proactive too. Numbers 1-9 are reactive ways to handle stress, but quite possibly the best way to handle stress is to stop it before it even starts. Learn your triggers and stay calm, cool, and collected.