Raise your hand if sometimes you get stressed. If you didn’t raise your hand you are most likely lying. This world moves so fast, relationships are imperfect, kids throw up, lists grow longer, jobs are demanding, dirty dishes smell bad, and we desire for perfection. In an imperfect world, the mess, the unknown, the overload can all cause us to freak out.

I wish that I could say that it is easy for me to not reach stress overload but that is not the case. If I am in a sad/ mopey mood and my husband asks me what is wrong my first reaction is “I am so stressed out!” What are all the things that make me unable to move, that steal joy from my life, what do I even need to get done? I’ve been sharing it in my goals this year but one of my biggest goals this year is to just let things go and focus on enjoying each day.

I was at Whole Foods the other day and checked out with an adorable tin I found of RESCUE Pastilles I saw (coupon here if you are interested!!!). When checking out my cashier said how much she loved these and how they helped calm and refocus her. I loved that they were a natural/homeopathic method of reducing stress and so I wanted to try them. Using a natural stress reliever is important to me because I know that our hormones and brains have so much to do with our moods but I am not a fan of taking medicine all the time. Here are my 10 go-to’s when I feel the stress monster creeping in!

NATURAL STRESS RELIEVERS

GO FOR A WALK

Getting outside give you fresh air, time to think away from the stress causers, and endorphins! Even if you only have time to walk around you office building or a around the block, a little break can help prevent the stress overload.

GRAB A HEALTHY SNACK

Sometimes we are so stressed or afraid of stress eating that we forget or choose not to eat! You body reacts when it doesn’t feel nourished. Grab an apple and peanut butter, a handful of almonds, or carrots and hummus. A little protein can go a long way.

When my phone starts to vibrate every half minute, I can easily start to go to stress mode. I don’t even have the time to physically respond to each message let alone emotionally respond to each one. When I am trying to work on a specific project or just calm myself down, I leave my phone in another room. That way I am not tempted to respond to each text but I can hear if someone is trying to call me. Set your phone down and forget about it until you have the time and state of mind to pick it back up.

WATCH JIMMY FALLON

I joke about this all the time but a good laugh does wonders to your stress levels. If you are overwhelmed by bad news, deadlines, to-do lists, or relationships, take a break and laugh at something. I am constantly heading to Jimmy Fallon’s YouTube because I know just 10 minutes there can lift my mood. I laugh out loud, let those hormones go off, remind myself that the world is A. bigger than me and B. still good, and I can come back to the problem on a much better emotional level!Need some Jimmy Ideas? Emma Stone Lip Sync Battle, #hashtags with Justin, or any of the hashtag tweets!

DANCE BREAK

Listening to music helps focus your thoughts and inspire you. Pop in a great album, dance around your room, and sing along. The movement gets your body working again (if you have been sitting at a computer screen all day) and the act of singing and dancing like a middle schooler does great things to your mood! If you are feeling like everything around you is too loud and busy, pop on some classical music and let yourself relax to the music.

CUDDLE

Physical contact and connection helps relieve stress. Hug a friend or coworker, sit with your toddler on your lap and watch a show, kiss your spouse (or french kiss if you have time), scratch someone’s back (or let them scratch yours), or get your cuddle on! Sometimes the quick fact of acknowledge another human can bring you back to reality and make you feel safe. Also, there are all these crazy hormones going off in your body that make you calmer!

The simple act of getting up from whatever you are working on and filling up your water is a great little break to give you a second to breathe. Drink that water so you have to go back when you need a break again. Water is also great for your physical well being and comfort giving you more relaxed muscles keeping you hydrated (dehydration does crazy things to your body including head aches and when in stress mode you want to avoid those!)

TAKE THE PRESSURE OFF

What is one thing that you can drop from your list? Maybe thinking about dinner is about to set you over the edge, can you make the frozen pizza or get take out? Or maybe you got five projects from your boss to complete right away, can you let them know you can do three today and two tomorrow? Sometimes we just need to look at our to-do list and cut it down to something manageable.

PRAY (BONUS!)

When I am feeling the stress overload and I want to freak out, I have to take a minute and pray. There are so many times that my emotions are not aligning with reality or I just need to let go of some things. There are moments when a quick closing of the eyes and prayer helps greatly but there are other times I need to remove myself from the situation, cry a little and pray in a bathroom stall. The world is heavy and we were not meant to carry it all. You are not defined by what you do and you do not need to do everything. Lay it down at His feet and trust Him with the future, your life, and next steps. Want some verses to memorize to help with this? I love Phil 4:6&7 and 1 Peter 5:7!

How do you stop the stress overload? What are some ways that help calm you down and bring you back to reality? Have you every tried RESCUE before? I am interested to hear about any other natural remedies you know of!!!