by Mary Lake

Created on: August 26, 2008   Last Updated: June 29, 2009

Stress surrounds us every minute of every day and can come from a variety of sources ranging from work, home, people, and school. How a person deals with these daily issues is important in maintaining and improving both mental and physical health. When stress becomes unmanaged we weaken the body's immune system making it more prone to illness and results in the feeling of being mentally as well as physically drained. However, most of the time you will not be able to ignore the source of stress. Managing it may even appear to be an obstacle. Below are 5 simple tips to follow that take 15 to 20 minutes out of the day, but in the end will make you calmer and more productive.

Take a walk. You may be stressed out and unable to walk away from the situation immediately, but eventually you will have a moment where you can take a walk. Use lunches and breaks at school or work to your advantage and step outside. Even if you can not take a full 15 minutes even 5 minutes directly outside the situation can work wonders. It will end up boosting your energy and clearing your mind because it places you away from what is causing you to be stressed. Also, it alters your breathing. Typically when an individual becomes stressed instead of breathing normally they take shallow, quick breaths. Walking forces you to change the way to breathe and as a result reduces stress and restores a feeling of calm.

Vent what you are feeling. Sometimes the biggest cause of stress is not being able to get the idea of what is stressing you out of your mind. Venting can be done a number of ways. There are those who like to talk out their situation with a friend, who can not only be a good listener but might be able to give a bit of advice as well. The biggest key is to find a good listener (someone who will allow you to ramble without interruption until you are finished) that you trust. You will not feel any better by just having a normal conversation - you need to blurt it all out. A word of caution when doing this: do not do this in public areas or in or around areas / people that you need to vent about since this can cause additional problems if you are overheard. Just wait until you are in an area that is "safe" to have a conversation. For those who do not want to talk the situation out, writing it down can be just as beneficial. Your written thoughts do not need to be refined, neat, or perfected in any way - just get them all out, even if it makes the page look like a mess when you are done. I

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