Quick stress busting hacks
Fast and effective tricks to reduce your stress
Hi, and welcome to the final video in my stress busting series. In this video we’re going to be looking at quick stress busting hacks – how to quickly return to that stress free you.
Hack 1: Dance for stress-busting success
Let’s remember that when you feel fearful, anxious or stressed, resources are being diverted to the fight/flight, stress centre of the brain. It lights up like a lightbulb and you feel caught by it, unable to get out of its grip. The heart races, we breathe faster, we feel sick and we’re alert to everything around us.
In that moment, we need to stop those resources going backwards and instead fire them forwards. One of the most effective ways to do that is to burst into a silly dance. You have to dance long enough that it causes you to smile. The muscle that pulls your face into a smile is stimulated when your brain is in a state of happiness. When this happens naturally, it means that the resources have stopped going backwards and are instead going forwards.
In that moment, the resources move away from the stress, fear and anxiety regions, and convert into positive emotions. The more you practice, the better the brain learns how to do it and the faster it happens.
If you’re somewhere where its impossible for you to dance then go to YouTube and find a funny video. Do anything or watch anything which is silly enough to make you smile, and you’ll have hacked your brain.
Hack 2: Breathe your way out of stress
When stress builds up we become anxious. The heart beat increases, making us ready to run and, because the heart and lungs are linked, we breathe faster.
When this happens, focus on your breathing. Concentrate on the air going in and out of your lungs. Take a deep breath in. Hold it for three seconds, then slowly breathe out. When we do this, we counteract the fast breathing associated with heightened stress. The deep breaths send extra oxygen to the brain for clarity of thought and our muscles relax. Repeat this breathing exercise until the feeling of calm sets in.
Doing this will convince your brain that there is no danger and no reason to fire the stress response. We can then take a step back and look at the bigger picture and notice that everything is actually alright.
Hack 3: Burn off that adrenalin and cortisol at the gym
When stressed, the body releases cortisol and becomes mobilised, ready for action. But there has to be a physical release of the fight or flight response otherwise these stress hormones build up in the blood, keeping us in this state of high emotional arousal.
It’s said that going to the gym is like receiving a dose of prozac. We release endorphins and feel happier. It provides the outlet we need to complete the fight/flight response and gives us the necessary distraction away from our problems. So when you feel it’s all getting too much for you, go to the gym – it’ll fuel your work out, improve your physical health and bust away that stress.
Anxiety is energy, so use it creatively. If the gym is not for you, take up a hobby, play a sport, learn to dance. Use the energy constructively instead of using even more energy worrying about it.
Contact me for a free hypnotherapy consultation
So, I hope you’ve got some useful tips from this stress busting series. If you’re interested and would like to find out how hypnotherapy can help you, make an appointment to see me for a free consultation at my practice in Bristol. I help people every day tackle stress and anxiety, smoking, sleeplessness and lots more. So, why not see how this can help you too.
Thank you for watching my stress busting series.