Create a Ritual to De- Stress

Stress is a fact of life. It comes in all shapes and sizes. It comes from inside us, in the form of our reactions to daily life. It comes from outside us, as the world around us does not always conform to our wishes. You can’t escape stress. It will never be totally gone from your life. You just have to “deal” with stress and learn how to counter the negative effects it can have on your body.

Stress causes complex chemical reactions in your body that can affect your internal organs. Over a long period of time, stress can cause headaches, heart problems, digestive disturbances, reduced immune function, insomnia, asthma, allergies, pain in the body, and irritability. And that’s just a list of the most common effects of stress. Everyone is affected differently, and everyone reacts differently to stress. The only thing we all have in common when it comes to stress is the fact that we can’t escape it.

Everyone has to combat stress on a daily basis. Stress can be many things—the alarm going off when you haven’t rested enough, interacting with co-workers you do not enjoy, financial or relationship worries, or changes in your life and routine.

Eating right, getting enough rest, and exercise can all combat stress. So can laughing. We know that your attitude and mental state can greatly affect your health. It’s hard to be stressed out when you’re giggling.  I think that creating a ritual to de-stress that works for you can also combat stress. “Ritual,” in this sense, means a procedure regularly followed. It is something that you decide to do regularly, in basically the same way, whenever a good de-stressing is needed.

My favorite ritual for de-stressing is to snorkel in the swimming pool. Now, I’m sure my neighbors wonder what the heck I’m doing out there in wetsuit and fins, splashing around in mask and snorkel and looking at absolutely nothing on the bottom of the pool. That’s okay—regardless of how silly it looks, it’s how I relieve the stress of the day. I enjoy the bit of exercise I get paddling around, and the fact that I’m under the water, where it’s quiet and sheltered from the world, just makes it my favorite place to relax and let my cares float away. This is something that I can do regularly, without taking a lot of time out of my day. I can do it in any weather, any time of day or night, and, after the initial cost of equipment, it’s free.

Now, what is your de-stressing ritual going to be? Ideally, it would be something you could do easily, almost anywhere and anytime. Make it easy—don’t choose a ritual that adds more stress to your life. Pick something that takes between twenty and sixty minutes, depending on how much time you feel you can give yourself on a day when you’re stressed out. Stress is often related to a lack of time, or feeling rushed. We don’t want to add to that. Many times stress is related to financial issues, so choose something that won’t cost more than you can comfortably and regularly afford.

Maybe your own personal de-stressing ritual is something you do alone, or maybe it’s something the whole family can do together. Maybe it’s a walk along a favorite wooded path, watching a favorite movie, taking a long bubble bath, shooting a few baskets, listening to music (while wildly dancing around the living room), doing deep-breathing exercises, working in the yard, banging on your drum set, or flying your plane. Your ritual may involve some form of exercise, like a long run. Maybe it doesn’t. Maybe you find relaxation in spending a few minutes meditating. Just as stress itself is different for everyone, so is the de-stressing ritual. The key is to find the activity that works best for you, one that tells you that, whenever you do this activity, you are releasing the stress of the day. This will make it all the easier for you to make a commitment to performing this ritual whenever your stress levels are getting out of hand.