Out-of-the-Box Stress Management Techniques
Go for a run. Talk to a friend. Take a hot bath. Get an early night. Leave work on time. Turn off the tech. Cut down on coffee. Rediscover nature. All great stress management techniques – but you’ve heard them all before.
We’re not taking anything away from the ideas above, because we prescribe them on the daily (well, we don’t actually prescribe them; we’re not chemists) – but sometimes, you just need to shake things up a bit. Try something new. Air on the side of adventure. Scream into a pillow.
These days, our stress levels are soaring fast. And is it any wonder? Between Covid, economic uncertainty, health concerns, rising prices, cross-country conflict, and trying to juggle every last part of our lives so we can stay happy and healthy and successful without neglecting our family or friends or ourselves or our hobbies or our diets and PHEW. It’s a lot.
Which makes now a good a time as any to step out of the box and try a fresh take on stress relief.
Why Stress Management Matters
Stress isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it’s not bad at all. It’s the not recovering from stress that creates all the complications.
We actually covered the value of stress last Stress Awareness Month, but we wouldn’t be doing our job as on-the-ball wellbeing professionals if we didn’t offer a timely reminder that stress is (honestly) not the enemy.
Eustress (A.K.A the ‘good’ type of stress) is what powers us to push forward in our lives; to get out of bed in the mornings with the determination to grab life with both hands. Stress is also responsible for stimulating neurotrophins – which boosts brainpower, and producing extra interleukins – which increases immunity.
If we eradicated stress completely, our drive, ambition and motivation would follow suit. In fact, research suggests that a complete absence of stress would create boredom to the point of depression. We want to be kept on our toes and feeling alive; the key is in managing that stress effectively.
Under-recovery from stress is where the problems lie. And it all harks back to our caveman days. The flight or fight response that evolved to protect us worked wonders when our bodies did what they were programmed to do – which was to face stress, then adequately rest and recover. But in our stressful modern lives, how often do we actually do that? Do we rest and recover, or do we go from stressful situation to stressful situation?
To manage stress effectively – without eradicating it completely, because stress is necessary, remember? – you need to find ways of quickly achieving rest, relaxation, and release. And because we’re all pretty jaded right about now, we’re coming in with some out-of-the-box ideas to jolt you into a state of recovery.
Out-of-the-Box Stress Management Techniques
SCRIBBLE: You’ve all heard that art is a great outlet – but you seriously don’t need the stress of creating a masterpiece right now. Alternative? Get your scribble on! Seriously, just scribble. Grab a pen, pencil, crayon, eyeliner, lipstick – anything with colour – and go to town. Let it all out. Scribble until you can’t scribble any more. Those lines? That’s your stress falling out onto the page. The messier the better! There are no rules (isn’t that refreshing?)
SCREAM: You know those moments in your day when you Just. Need. To. Scream? Everything is building up, and the only outlet is a big outpouring of rage and immense frustration – but civilised society dictates that screaming at/around/in front of people isn’t really on. Well, have you ever screamed into a pillow? If you’re yet to try it, you’re in for a treat. Honestly. When you get home, grab a pillow, place it strategically to mute the sound, and SCREAM.
SWEAR: Did you know that swearing can help to lower stress levels and even alleviate pain? We’re not suggesting you swear at people, but if you need a release, having a good old swear session in your own company – or with people whose sensibilities aren’t easily offended – can work wonders. You might even want to check out this totally out-of-the-box guided meditation: ‘F*ck That: An Honest Meditation’ . It’s swears galore!
DANCE: Dance like no one’s watching. Better still, dance when no one is actually watching. Dance by yourself: in the kitchen; in your bedroom; on your solitary nature walk; in your garden; round your bathroom when you’re brushing your teeth. But really give it some welly. Don’t hold back; not even a little bit. Throw yourself into a full body dance that allows you to wiggle and wriggle and jiggle every last part of your body. Be a kid again, and enjoy every second of reckless abandon.
BREATHE: Breathwork is nothing new, but people tend to either try to go it alone and consequently struggle with discipline, or find themselves plugging into tech for a guided session. There’s nothing wrong with using your phone or smart watch to help with breathwork, meditation or mindfulness, but it can take you out of the moment – particularly when you see notifications popping up. Friend of FormScore, the moment pebble, uses light to guide your breathwork, without the need for technology (and FormScore app members can bag themselves a discount!) Learn more about how it works.
You could also swap run-of-the-mill exercise for trampolining (find your closest Flip Out), unleash destruction at a rage room event, or explore the benefits of cold therapy through non-evasive cryotherapy (you can learn more about the plentiful benefits of cold therapy with FormScore Founder Rob Stephenson’s Well of Wellness series – where he plunges himself into the icy depths of a magical* wishing well).
Whatever form of stress relief you choose to explore, don’t hold back. The best stress management techniques are those you embrace fully, and whole-heartedly – so let yourself go, rediscover the giddy freedom of being unencumbered by societal expectation, and reclaim your right to drink in all that life has to offer(with a little less stress than you had before).
*magical status yet to be determined