Taking a Mental Break | Putting Yourself on Your Own Schedule

We all need to clear our heads sometimes (some of us more than others!), whether we are stressed about work, the household, family members, or just life in general.  Nobody should ever have to feel guilty about being overwhelmed – it is part of life.  But what can we do when we just need a break?

I have found one or all of these simple things to be very helpful when I am being pulled in too many directions:

Deep breathing – I tend to do this when nobody else is around (or sometimes I even escape to a bathroom if need be!).  First I stretch.  Stretching feels good, although we often forget to do it.  After I stretch, I take a really deep breath, and then slowly exhale.  Try to concentrate on letting all of the stress leave your body.  Follow this with a few more deep breaths.

Exercise – you’ve probably heard that exercising releases endorphins.  The proof is in the pudding, I always feel clear headed after doing some leg lifts, arm exercises or just running in place.  Even if you can only do simple exercises, it really does help.

Take a walk or go jogging – I personally can’t do much jogging, due to some shin issues, but I certainly can take a walk!  Walking is one of my favorite ways to relieve stress, and it gets me out of the house and into a new frame of mind.

How do you relieve stress?  I would love to hear your thoughts!

[photo by lululemon athletica]

Editor’s note: This post was written by Jennifer Regan, author of the Eighty MPH Mom blog and The Speedy Gourmet blog.