Last Updated: 6th April 2020
What do you do when your mind seems about to explode? When you have to stand upright even though the weight of the world is on your shoulders? When you slyly reach out to scan your pulse rate fearing the onslaught of nervous talk and sweaty palms?
You calm yourself down.
Easier said than done, right? Calming yourself down is not like flipping off a switch. The stress prickling your eyes, the heaviness on the top of your forehead, even a slow kind of breathlessness. Any or all of these symptoms should be enough to propel you into taking some kind of action. Take a look below and use one (or all) of these methods to calm yourself down..
Sit Back and Take a Breath
Walk away from whatever you are doing and sit down somewhere quiet. Don’t have a quiet corner? Then just sit facing a wall and start taking deep breaths. There’s no need to do Ramdev-style jumpy deep breaths, simply take deep breaths filling your belly first, then your chest. Continue till you feel more clearheaded.
Have Some Tea
Chamomile, Jasmine teas are special teas to help during stressful times. But if you’re like me who finds these teas to be simply boiled flower water, then you can find blissful solace in plain green tea. Sip some hot green tea and relish it as you would a neat glass of wine. And feel your stress peel away.
Take a Shower
The quickest way to relieve stress is taking a cool shower. Jump into the shower, and stand under the waterfall till you hear nothing but the deep whoosh of the falling water. Stand immobile and let this whoosh wash away those stressful thoughts.
Oil Your Hair
Sometimes too much stress makes my hair hurt. Yes, my hair. It hurts. If you’re female, you might understand what I’m talking about. And no, it’s not a figure of speech. The hair really hurts under stress. Lots of frowning squeezes the pores on the scalp, hence resulting in painful hair roots. Anyways, times like this I rely totally on oiling the hair to relieve the physical tension of stress. Oil the roots. Put some extra on the scalp. Shampoo the hair after an hour or so, or sleep on it. It’s totally up to you.
Use a Face Mask
Slather on some good quality face mask or face pack, either cream based or gel. Cream based will dry out within 15-20 minutes, but gel ones will stay put just like the way you put it on till you rinse it off. On that note, gel ones are better since they hydrate the skin, without drying it out. Or better yet, do a DIY home mix consisting of honey and fruit pulp, put on this sloppy mix and zone out for half hour or even more. It’s best not to work or talk or even watch TV with a face pack on, or else there will be lines and cracks visible on your face once you rinse out.
Light a Candle
Put out the lights. Light a candle, scented or otherwise doesn’t matter. And just look into the glow. Try to clear your mind of thoughts, or simply stop thinking those complex thoughts which cause you stress. Ignore everything and focus on a happy thought or memory, or make some happy plans for the future, or just fantasize.. about anything (doesn’t cost a thing, right?) till you feel you are ready to face the world again.
Give these a try and hopefully you’ll feel some relief to get a smile, or maybe a hint of a smile, on your face. Smile and watch the world smile with you :)
Read our other Business Etiquette posts to build your personal brand at work.
Love what you just read?
Tell us what you think in the Comment section below.
If you have a question, or would like Ankitaa to blog about something in particular, use the Contact Us page.
There is a playlist on my music player that is just for relaxing. That and some tea usually does the trick!
Love your ideas to calm! One of the best things I’ve found to calm me down is warm water. It’s calming washing the dishes by hand, taking a warm bath/shower, and drinking warm tea. :)
Thanks Naomi. You’re right, I too love washing dishes by hand in an effort to calm down. Though I included the bath/shower and tea options, I missed the washing dishes one – glad you reminded me of that one. Keep visiting my website :)