Simple Ways To Live A Stress-Free Life in 2021

Aside from physical health, 2020’s also highlighted the importance of mental health, as the coronavirus pandemic threatened to throw thousands (if not millions) of people over the edge. According to experts, the impact of COVID-19 led to a sharp increase in the number of people who experienced mental health issues, including stress and depression. It is safe to guess that nobody wants to wallow in depression or live under pressure for most of their lives. But sometimes, even with your best efforts, stress has a way of dragging you through the gutters. 

You deserve to be happy and break free from the chains of depression. And with 2021 still expected to bring on more challenges (especially with new cases of COVID-19 springing up every day), now is the time to learn how to live a stress-free life. So, are you looking to have some peace of mind in 2021 and beyond? Then here are some simple ways to free yourself from stress.

Take good care of yourself

The first thing you need to do is take good care of yourself. A sound mind, people say, lives in a healthy body, and the reverse is true. You will have to admit that the most important person to you is yourself. That means no one else can help you if you do not make a conscious effort to take good care of yourself. Start by following the usual health tips of eating healthy and exercising regularly or, at least, living an active lifestyle. Eat healthily and incorporate a lot of plant-based foods into your diet. Give your body enough sleep (at least seven hours of uninterrupted sleep) and be sure to drink at least eight glasses of water every day.

Additionally, practice good self-hygiene and focus on activities that will help boost your mental health. If you’re being held back by some addiction issues, you need to do your best to seek assistance from your friends, family, or loved ones as soon as possible. If that option isn’t available to you or you require professional help, you can also rely on addiction treatment and rehab centers to give you the assistance you need to get back to a healthier you. Fortunately, you do not need to look far to find such help, as you can visit websites like https://enterhealth.com/residential-drug-alcohol-addiction-treatment/ if you seek any form of professional help to quit your addiction.

Fix your relationships

After (or while) fixing yourself, take the time to work on your relationships. Whether you’re married, living with a boyfriend or girlfriend, or just your circle of friends, maintaining a relationship can be very stressful most of the time. According to experts, broken and toxic relationships are capable of causing severe mental health issues. 

When a relationship becomes stretched beyond its limits, it begins to break apart, leaving the parties involved to deal with depression, loneliness, and the fear of permanently losing the ones they love. No matter how toxic your relationships are, there is always a healthy way of working on them (that is if you want to mend them). It all starts with working on yourself and improving your communication with the person or parties involved. 

Many relationships fall apart because of one simple reason - a lack of communication. When the parties involved fail to either express how they feel or communicate their feelings in a way that involves personal attacks, this can easily lead to misunderstandings. That is especially true when the persons involved decide to go on the defensive. So, if you want your relationships to work, take the time to communicate how you feel in a positive or understanding manner while you work on yourself. 

Don’t take the opinions of others too personally

One of the most crucial life hacks you can use to get rid of stress is never to take others’ opinions to heart. That in no way means that you should ignore what others think or live your life without taking advice from others. The point here is not to let other people’s judgemental opinions suck the energy or life out of you. One of the most valuable keys to happiness in life is your ability to be yourself and enjoy the things in life that bring you joy. Unless you’re doing something wrong, do not allow others’ judgment to be your focus of attention. 

On the other hand, do not also rely on others to validate yourself or your emotions. Try to find ways to find contentment, beauty, and happiness in yourself without seeking them from others. Otherwise, you will often end up losing yourself to the ones you believe carries the key to your happiness. And the need to please them will only drag you into a stressful life. You cannot please everybody - and you shouldn’t. 

Save up and pay down debts

It is time to shift focus from mental and physical health to financial health, with a simple tip - save up. This point is especially important if you’re still young enough to start saving. The last thing you want is to grow well into your old age and still hustle it out to make a living. That alone can potentially put you under a constant cloud of stress and anxiety in your old age. But saving up cannot be limited to life after retirement only. Learning to budget and save as often as possible will also help give you some form of a financial cushion for those unexpected emergencies. Life always has a way of springing up a surprise when you least expect it. And one of the most dreaded surprises is the one that can bury you under a heap of financial crises. The COVID-19 experience is a typical example and has sent thousands of people into serious financial situations.

So, it is essential to start saving as early as possible, only purchase the things you need, and learn to be content with the things you have. While saving up, also ensure that you focus on paying down debts. It is a no-brainer that mounting debt is one of the major causes of stress for most people. From bills that keep piling up to mortgages, debts can quickly take you down and under and lead you into depression. If you have more than one source of debt, create a list according to which ones are more pressing. Next, create a budget and allocate a percentage of your monthly income to paying down some of them. You may need to find side-hustles and other means of raising extra funds to clear your debts.

Meditate

Believe it or not, daily meditation offers one of the quickest ways of getting rid of stress. From as little as five minutes to as much as 30 minutes, you can quickly empty your mind of all the negative thoughts taking up free space. Meditation allows you to take a break from the fast-paced nature of your daily routine, declutter your mind, and quieten those loud and negative thoughts. It enables you to handle challenging situations with the calm they require.  

Getting started with meditation shouldn’t be difficult. You can either choose to sign up for a meditation class or look up available classes online. 

Plus, you can also practice it almost anywhere you find peaceful - whether in your bedroom, the park or even in your office. The most important thing is to make this practice a part of your daily life if you’re going to reap the benefits it offers long-term. For example, practicing meditation can help you improve your brain performance and boost your mental health. If meditation is not your thing, you can instead focus on hobbies that help take your mind off all your negative thoughts. Only make sure that you find something you love doing.

Don’t hesitate to ask for help

No one is an island, and everyone needs help sometimes. Unfortunately, many people shy away from asking for help when they need one to fear being considered weak and dependent. Other people also use the excuse of not wanting to be a burden on others.

But, no matter what situation you find yourself in, asking for help is not a sign of weakness. In fact, the contrary is true, as it takes a lot of courage, maturity, and humility to realize the limits of your capabilities and acknowledge that someone else is better placed to offer the relief you seek. 

A problem shared is a problem halved - a statement you may be used to. And having someone to confide in helps to make the situation you’re facing less stressful. Also, asking for help lessens the burden on you and makes different solution options that you may not know existed available to you. You may break down mentally, trying to carry your burdens alone. So, don’t be afraid to ask for help.

Filter your news

A quick scan through various news channels and social media platforms will reveal that the world is currently under a lot of stress. And it is a bad idea to spend most of your hours feeding yourself with information about one bad news or another, as doing so may cause you to worry, leave you with a lot of uncertainty, and increase your stress levels. Staying updated with current affairs is important, but don’t stay glued to the info. Instead, take a break from all the bad news channels and find the positives around you to focus on.