The hideous monster known as stress can creep in and scare you at any point of the day. It can appear because of work, school, your personal life and even your social life. It seems to always have a way of sticking around longer than hoped. I, for one, have stress filled days where I have to work on shooing the monster away or at least putting up a good fight. Even though sometimes this is not an easy task, here are some quick suggestions that you can do to help manage your stress when it makes an appearance!

1. Move it, move it!

Physical activity is one of the leading busters of stress according to the American Psychological Association. Activities can include running, going to the gym or even taking a cool yoga or palates class in your local area. Also consider doing these activities with a group of friends for some guaranteed fun!

2. Take a breather!

What can you not do today that will allow you to have free time? Taking a break from working hard or juggling a number of thoughts or things at once for just a few minutes can make a world of difference. Step outside, blast your favorite album or even chat it up with whomever you call on for comfort (my personal favorite). No matter what your go to move may be don’t hesitate to take some time to use it as a way to subside the stress!

3. Eat well and sleep well!

From personal experience, when I am stressed out I tend to skip out on meals and sacrifice sleep for the sake of getting things done. Needless to say this isn’t the healthiest approach. It is so important to eat good meals throughout the day and stay hydrated. It is encouraged that you drink at least 8 glasses of H2O a day! When it comes to counting z’s the more sleep you get the better. Your body relies on that time to recuperate and rest!

4. Talk nicely to yourself!

Decrease negative self-talk and speak positively to yourself. Replace phrases such as “I will never get this done” or “My life will always be chaotic” to phrases such as “I will get this done and it will be done well” and “My life will get better and this is only a temporary feeling”. Plaguing your mind with negative thoughts when stressed is definitely not uncommon. It is definitely not impossible to turn those thoughts around!

5.  Monitor your space!

Maybe the main reason stress is plaguing your life is because of the company you are keeping. People who are not being a positive stress-free influence in your life need to be removed from your space. As cut-throat as that may seem, people can have an influence on your well-being. Like mentioned in my previous point, decreasing the negative self-talk and speaking positively can also be encouraged by friends and family instead of discouraged or simply just ignored. It makes a world of difference!