Stress is an emotion that has many causes in our day-to-day life. You may get stressed in a difficult work situation, while standing in a queue or in a traffic jam. It can also arise from unhappy relationships, school exams, pollution, faulty plumbing- the list is endless.

The most common cause of stress is the feeling that you have too much to do and too little time to do it. Once, you get into this loop, stress keeps building up and in no time turns into allergies, high cholesterol, hypertension and what not.

So it’s better to fight off this slow-killer at the initial level.

Here are 7 simple things you can do to tackle stress at the basic level-

1. Analyze your stress

Start by separating out things in your life that make you stressful into 2 categories- things you can do about and things you can’t.

With this, for the things you can do something about it, do it! If you can’t accept it and surrender to it. There will be peace.

2. Monitor your negative thinking

Stress is often the result of fear that is largely made of imagination. Try to look at your negative thinking and replace it with positive thinking.

Just changing your thinking or your attitude an alleviate much stress.

3. Yoga Stretching

Certain specific asanas are effectively used for the management of stress. Simple poses you can try are shoulder stand, plough pose, spinal twist, locust pose and lion pose.

4. Let yourself cry

When you cry, your body releases countless toxins and hormones that contribute to increased stress levels. So don’t feel guilty and grab that box of tissue and cry your heart out as it will help you release all the stressful feelings.

5. Examine your role and goal

Find the right match between our job and your personality. If you love what you’re doing, there will be no stress. When you do something that you don’t love and continue doing it every day then it becomes stressful.

So take time and discover your true role and goal.

6. Oils for relaxation

Rub a little Brahmi oil on the soles of your feet and on your scalp at bedtime.

Put 5 drops of ghee into each of your nostrils. You can also rub 3-4 drops of castor oil on the soles of your feet for a calming and soothing effect.

7. Stress-reducing tea

A tea made from equal proportions of herbs like chamomile, comfrey and angelica will be relaxing. So will be the Brahmi tea, which you can make by adding a cup of boiling water to ½ teaspoon of Brahmi. Or try a tea made from equal amounts of these herbs:

Brahmi
Bhringraj
Jatamamsi
Shanka pushi

Steep ½ teaspoon in 1 cup of hot water for 10 minutes. You can drink this tea 2 or 3 times a day for stress management.

What has been a game-changer for you in stressful situations and managing them? Let us know in the comments below-