3 Effective Ways to Relieve Stress and Anxiety

Adjust your breath, practice cognitive defusion, and accept what is.

Photo by Fineas Gavre on Unsplash

1. Adjust Your Breath

When you’re under stress, your breaths spontaneously become fast, short, and shallow.

That breathing pattern strains your body and creates a downward spiral of more and more stress.

So, it’s good practice to adjust your breath whenever you feel stressed.

All you have to do is follow the three simple rules of optimal breathing:

1. Breathe through your nose.
2. Breathe into your belly.
3. Exhale longer than you inhale.

By deliberately breathing slowly, deeply, and rhythmically, you’ll signal your nervous system to calm down.

And that, in turn, will spark physiological processes to put your body and mind at ease.

2. Practice Cognitive Defusion

If you’re having stressful thoughts, that’s not a problem.

It only becomes a problem if you “fuse” with the thoughts and can’t separate yourself from them.

Imagine, for instance, that you’re preparing a presentation for work, and your inner…