Worthwhile Ways to Relieve Stress
I would say that I stress out quite a bit. I have some anxieties, self-esteem issues, and fears of failure. Therefore, I decided that I must try and challenge myself to enjoy this world more. Here are some of the activities I’ve found that contribute to my self-peace, especially the ones that are fun.
- Taking cold showers
Perhaps it is a great surprise to put this as the first item on my list. However, I do not wish to lie to you when I say: I look forward to taking cold showers when I wake up. They are great for increasing your energy levels and helping you feel calmer when you start your day. When I take cold showers, I put on very energetic and heavy music, usually some exciting folk metal (mostly Ensiferum), and I try to survive 5 minutes or more. The overall feeling of letting go of one’s sensation of discomfort, combined with the water, is like being revitalized. It is like being enlightened by cold water. Anything is worth a try when you’re stressed out.
2. Listening to very calm music
It is obviously ironic to deviate from exciting music in the shower to very calm music. However, while exciting music is cathartic and energy-building, calm music is more important for concentration and clarity of mind. For example, if you’re doing an assignment of some kind, it makes sense to have music that is slow, rhythmic, and pleasant. I particularly like choral chants, atmospheric ambient music, and classical music, since they give way to a sort of blissful emptiness in the mind, and don’t distract from the task at hand. Another important note: For the daytime, it helps to listen to alpha waves, which stimulate mental activity, and when you want to fall asleep, it helps to listen to delta waves, which are released during deep sleep.
3. Playing chess
Chess reduces your feeling of stress because you are literally working with your own mind, trying to make sense of something that’s constantly changing. Somewhat unsurprisingly, the feeling of playing slow chess is quite like meditating. You have as much time as you need to make reasonable decisions, you can try out different combinations in your mind, and you can pace yourself. I also particularly like fast chess (3 or 5 minutes per game), which is more exciting, because you can try more interesting ideas and you have to rely more on intuition. I used to love playing fast chess with friends in college, at Bryant Park, in my local area, and meeting countless different people. You can learn a lot from such a socio-intellectual activity as chess.
4. Watching comedy podcasts
Perhaps this one isn’t as serious as the others, but it’s worth arguing for. Life makes a person very self-involved sometimes, wherein they forget that there are many ways to see a particular experience. By watching good comedians discuss life, I am often reminded that everything is encoded in the way it’s explained — the stories we tell ourselves influence how we feel. And so, when I laugh along with these wonderfully charismatic people, I actually begin to relate to their experience, and tie it back into my own. Perhaps there is some objective truth to what they’re saying, since they know what evokes laughter in many different kinds of people, and that is a genuine talent.
5. Discussing ideas with close friends
I think this is something we should all strive towards. A person cannot bear the weight of the world entirely on their own —we all need sincere feedback. The trust between close friends ensures that better ideas and lessons can be derived from their conversations: that is to say, if we have people whom we are completely comfortable speaking to, we must try to speak with them on any conceivable range of topics, especially in terms of problem-solving, because that can be really productive and enjoyable. Note: this is especially fun if you don’t have debates with the people in question.
I truly hope you appreciated my list of stress-relievers.
Thank you.
