No matter how hard you try, it’s impossible to live a stress and anxiety free life. Sometimes it’s the little things that get in the way, like being late for work or spilling coffee on your favorite sweater. Sometimes stress and anxiety are caused by something much bigger, like the end of a relationship, bad news from a family member, or losing a job. Whether it’s just a blip on your daily radar or a bigger life-change that’s hard to deal with, building your coping skills and stress management tools can help you get through life’s challenges without succumbing to the chaos and craziness that stress and anxiety can bring.
Here are 5 simple things you can do on a daily basis to help manage and minimize your stress and anxiety, no matter what’s going on in your life.
Meditation
I know, you’ve probably heard about the benefits of meditation before, but you don’t need to be sitting in a quiet room with your legs crossed to experience the state of meditation: a state of presence, acceptance, and reflection.
The state of meditation can be experienced anywhere. While driving to work, doing a shower meditation (yes, this is a real thing!), eating dinner, reflecting over a quiet cup of tea, journaling, walking in nature, or even whilst engaging in your favorite activity like singing or dancing.
3 Quick Things
Take a couple of moments each night to write down simple three things you are grateful for.
A daily practice of gratitude increases psychological wellbeing, improves physical health and even enhances personal relationships.
“Based on my research so far, I believe gratitude’s capacity to ameliorate suffering…does not stem from our ability to “think happy thoughts” or deny reality. Instead, its benefits likely stem from the same functions that it serves in other aspects of our lives: It brings us together, raises awareness of what we have, and impels us to consider how we can recognize and spread human goodness.” — Neuroscientist Glenn Fox, Ph.D.
Podcasts
This is a super easy way to explore greater calm. You can listen on your way to and from work, while cleaning, exercising, or doing other tasks. Here are some recommendations below. (If you don’t have IOS/Apple products, you can find these podcasts on various android podcast apps too).
- Caffeine for the Soul with Michael Neill → an espresso-sized podcast. With each episode between 5 and 10 minutes, you can certainly fit these mindful explorations into your daily routine.
- The Anxiety Coaches Podcast → 20 minute episodes with practical how-to’s on coping with stress and anxiety and panic.
- What We Should Have Learned in School with Amy Leo → a podcast series with both short and longer podcasts designed to cultivate greater psychological freedom and resilience.
- 10% Happier with Dan Harris → A podcast on meditation. He also has a free introductory “Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics” series on his website.
- Waking Up: The Neuroscience of Awareness → An exploration of the neuroscience of being human in a simple, easy-to-understand way.
Laughter Really is Good Medicine
Watch spoofs on YouTube. Watch cute animal videos on Facebook. Enjoy an episode of your favorite sitcom. Check out stand-up comics or even this guy.
Daily laughter really does reduce stress and anxiety, improves mood, and will even boost your immune system in the process!
Making Stress Your Friend
What?! This may seem counterintuitive, but thinking about how bad stress and anxiety are for us, only makes us feel well…more stressed! In How to Make Stress Your Friend, Kelly McGonigal shares that one study showed that a 43% increased risk of premature death was only true if a person also believed that stress was bad for one’s health. Meaning, the other people in the study who experienced a lot of stress, but didn’t think it was bad for their health, did not have the same stress-related health issues as those who believed stress was bad for them. If you’re not sure how to shift how you relate to stress, check out another one of our blog posts to read more about self-compassion and how to heal your inner critic!.
In conclusion, you are definitely not alone in your journey! Furthermore, there is nothing inherently bad about or wrong with you. You are a human being who is experiencing very human sensations, like stress and anxiety. It is common to worry about the future or feel overwhelmed.
People who tend to be outwardly successful and internally peaceful often focus on only one task at a time, listen to themselves when they need to rest, and lean into their innate ability to have new thoughts when solving problems instead of relying on rumination or trying to predict the future (which it turns out, us human beings are pretty bad at anyways).
So reach out. Connect with others. Speak with a therapist at Lincoln Park Therapy Group. Find ways to deepen your understanding of being human to reduce the frequency and intensity of your feelings of stress and anxiety by starting with these tips. Contact us today to schedule an appointment.
Additional Resources for Managing Stress & Anxiety
How To Use Nature To Heal Your Anxiety – I cannot say that nature has 100 percent healed my pattern of type-A anxieties—fear of being disliked or letting someone down, among other things—but I can say that, like yoga, it dramatically enhances my well-being.
5 Simple Strategies to Navigate Stress with Self-Compassion – We all experience stress and anxiety at some point, but the key is learning how to manage it effectively.
Nicolle Osequeda, LMFT, is the founder of Lincoln Park Therapy Group, specializing in anxiety, depression, and relationship counseling in Chicago. As a Certified Daring Way™ Facilitator, she incorporates Dr. Brené Brown’s research into her therapy. Nicolle holds a Master’s in Counseling Psychology from the University of San Francisco and is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in Illinois and California. She is a Clinical Fellow of AAMFT, a member of IAMFT, and the Financial Therapy Association. Nicolle has Gottman Method training and has taught at DePaul University, dedicated to helping individuals and couples achieve meaningful change. 
