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Think positively

Positive thinking isn’t about wishful or dreamer thinking; it’s about making the most of the situations that you find yourself in and avoiding any tendency to add negative overlays.

• Use visualization techniques. While you might not feel calm and relaxed, imagining a calm and relaxed scene in your mind can do wonders to improve your outlook. Picture beaches, lying down resting, going for a hike, etc., to help you stay relaxed.
• Use affirmations to change your outlook on life, to stop yourself from always jumping to the negative reasoning. Affirmations are short, powerful statements that build you up and increase your confidence, helping you to expect positive outcomes.[4] Be careful about the words you choose – the things you say about yourself over and over again will ensure that you believe your own rhetoric – use positive, believable, and caring words about yourself.
• Teach yourself to step back and see the “big picture” when you’re in the thick of things that don’t seem to be going well.

Learn how to use logic and less emotion

If you learn to think more sequential and logical, then things will be less stressful.

• Change your ways. If the problem is something you’re doing, then change the way you act or react. Stop and listen to those around you to figure out and correct what it is you might be misunderstanding or doing wrong.
• Focus on the beauty in everything.

Find a quiet place when you are feeling overwhelmed and pamper yourself

• Draw a warm bath. Light candles around the tub, dim the lights, add bubbles or lavender, if desired.
• Lie on your bed or sofa. Play some soft music or nature CDs. Relax listening to ocean waves, waterfalls or birds.
• Read a good book. Curl up on the couch with a blanket and a cup of chamomile tea.
• Imagine a personal paradise. Close your eyes and envision a different setting. What do you see around you? Is there a breeze? What do you hear – birds or water? Imagine the calming sound of ocean waves reaching the shore. Enjoy a moment in your special place.
• Even the stall of a bathroom at work is an ideal “quiet spot” for a breather if you have no other place to go.

Stop feeling guilty

Guilt is a potent source of stress. Get rid of the source of guilt by behaving yourself; stop engaging in behaviors that make you feel guilty. Seek professional help, if necessary, but don’t allow destructive behavior to escalate and sabotage your life and health.

Learn to prioritize

Make a list of tasks for the day. Organize the list by importance. Learn to be proactive and take care of things before they become a big problem. Time spent more productively means more free time to relax.

• Work! Although this may sound counteractive to your goal of relaxing, procrastination never feels as good as having nothing to do. Get it done now and then you can truly relax

Practice meditation

Remove all thoughts and emotions from your mind by concentrating on your breathing. Meditation takes you into focusing on your whole being as a form of relaxation, rather than just focusing on one area of your body as any other relaxation technique tends to do. It can take a while to master but it is well worth the effort.

• Begin with a sitting posture for a minimum of 15 minutes per session, and build up to 45–60 minutes per session.
• Try to meditate regularly.
• Find a respected mentor if you are having difficulty learning meditation by yourself.
• Avoid being intense, competitive, or frustrated about meditating – all of these emotions defeat its purpose!

Consider self-hypnosis

Focus on something, take a few deep breaths and let yourself become hypnotized. If you have trouble with self-hypnosis, go to a licensed hypnotherapist. Do not allow an amateur to try to hypnotize you, and beware of subliminal messages.

Do activities or hobbies that relax you

Get your mind off the things that normally stress you out. You may just need a break every now and then.

• Go fishing, sew, sing, paint or take photographs.
• Try singing a song using numbers instead of words. Singing can help to distract you from stress to suddenly relax.
• Use music as relaxation therapy. Play it as loudly or as softly as you like, whichever calms you the most.

Spend time with your pet

Cuddle or play with your pets. They’ll love it and so will you. Talk to your pet about all the stress and anxiety you’ve been going through and you’ll feel a lot better. Pet therapy is a genuine means for relaxing; you can also learn a lot from watching how your pet relaxes (note, animals don’t carry guilt around!).

Smile and laugh

Laughter is the best medicine. Rent, buy or see a hilarious movie. This is guaranteed to help. Smiling and laughing releases endorphins, which fights stress, helps to relax and reminds you that life is more than just work. Even if it feels strange at first, make it a point to smile more often.