We can find ourselves stressing out often, and sometimes we don’t even realize it. We get stressed before an exam, our interview, or any big or bad event. The question is how to calm your mind. 

Being anxious and stressed is not a bad emotion. Our brain makes us feel this to combat or fight any situation. It helps us think about scenarios that can happen and makes us cautious beforehand. 

But when the stress increases to a limit that it starts affecting your mental and physical health, you need to learn some techniques to relax your brain. 

Let’s first understand how a calm mind can help your mental health and how to relax your brain.

A Calm Mind And Mental Health

We all have busy schedules, which frustrates us sometimes, and we get stressed. Stress disrupts our mental health. Our minds can find a way to deal with stress and continue our work. 

Sometimes we bottle up all the stress, which affects our mental health. Being stress freé helps us have better mental health. A calm mind relaxes the brain and allows us to make rational decisions. 

A calm mind helps us be more productive and creative. It allows our minds to come up with new ideas and approaches. A calm mind lets us view the bigger picture of something or a situation.

Here are 13 effective ways on how to relax your mind when stressed. 

13 ways on how to calm your mind

1. Practice Breathing 

The first answer to your question on how to relax your mind when stressed is taking a deep breath.

Deep breathing exercises reduce stress and anxiety. When we are anxious, we take short and fast breaths. This makes our brain stimulate fight and flight reactions which might lead to stress or anxiety. 

Taking slow and long breaths helps in calming our minds and reduces stress. There are many breathing exercises that you can follow. 

2. Acknowledge Emotions

The vital thing in keeping your mind calm is accepting your emotions. One has to acknowledge that they are angry or sad, or frustrated.

If you accept your feelings, you can quickly get control over them. This can help reduce the effects of stress and anxiety, and you’ll feel calmer.

3. Challenge Negative Thoughts

Whenever we are stressed, we might experience negative thoughts. We think of all negative what-if scenarios and assume all adverse outcomes. This can demotivate us from doing any work and affect our lives. Then how to keep your mind calm?

Whenever you are having negative thoughts, try to understand your thought process. Ask questions like ‘what is the worst-case scenario?’ ‘Am I reasoning?’ ‘How can I handle it?’ 

This is a way of challenging your thoughts and reframing your thought process. Redirect yourself towards positive thoughts, which will help you stay calm.

Also, Read 15 Best Motivational Podcasts On Spotify You Need To Listen In 2023

4. Exercise

Whenever you are feeling stressed or anxious, try going for a walk or a run. This might help you control your emotions and make you feel better. Exercising helps release serotonin, which lifts the mood and makes us calm and relaxed.

If you are frustrated, try going for a 10 min workout, walk, or run. Feel the fresh air on your face, and you will feel better. Don’t exhaust yourself, do light exercises, and avoid forcing yourself if you don’t feel like doing it.

5. Defocusos

Try looking in a different direction when you are stuck in a situation. Take a break and leave it there. Give yourself some time to think it through. Try calming yourself down by not thinking of a solution for a while. 

We cannot always find a solution to everything; the best we can do at that moment is look at the problem from a distance. Pause for a minute, think of how to relax your brain, and then come back. 

6. Find a centering object

These techniques are used to distract from stressful situations or negative thoughts. In this technique, you can use your sense of touch or focus on things to move your mind from something triggering you or making you anxious. 

When you feel anxious or stressed, try looking at something and fix your focus on it. Stop thinking of anything else and concentrate on the details of the object. You can touch something, like your hands, a small pebble, or a locket, whenever you feel anxious to defocus from negative thoughts. This will help you calm yourself down. 

7. Chewing Gum

Chewing gums is another way to defocus from stressful situations using the sense of taste. Try chewing gum and concentrating on its flavor to take your mind off stressful thoughts when stressed.

Research has shown that people chewing gum are less stressed than people who don’t. You can also pop in a mint to calm yourself down by distracting yourself. 

8. Try Acupuncture

Massages and acupunctures are a great way to feel relief and calm from a stressful situation. They help in relaxing our mind and body. You can also learn acupuncture and try it yourself. 

Acupuncture stimulates the central nervous system. This enhances biochemical changes, encourages the body’s healing ability, and promotes mental well-being.

9. Eat something 

It is possible that sometimes being hungry causes stress and anxiety. Then the best way how to relax your brain is to grab something to eat. Various foods will lift your mood and make you happy. Be hydrated. Water is also beneficial when it comes to calming your senses down.

Dark chocolate and green tea are other examples of food that can boost your mental health and reduce stress.  

10. Listen to music

How to relax your brain with the help of music?

Music has a calming effect on your mind. Whenever you are feeling anxious or stressed, try listening to some music. This will help you clear your head, stop thinking of the worst scenarios and redirect your thoughts to something more positive. 

Music is also a great way to express your thoughts and feelings. Music therapy is used in many cases to treat anxiety and depression.

11. Dance it out

Dancing is just like exercising. Dancing has always been used as a healing art. It can reduce anxiety and depression.

So next time you are stressed and need a time out, get moving on your favorite tunes. You can have some alone time and dance your heart out. 

12. Talk to someone

Venting is also an excellent method to calm yourself down. If you have a friend who listens to you, try expressing your concerns. 

Vent to them about how you are feeling and ask them for their advice on how to relax your mind when stressed.

Talking to your friends and family will make you feel safe. It will make you understand that you aren’t alone and that your emotions are valid. 

13. Muscle relaxation 

Whenever we are tense, our muscles also tense up. We feel pain in our shoulders and our entire body. The body starts feeling heavy and causes you discomfort. 

Practicing muscle relaxation techniques will help in calming down. Tense your affected muscle and inhale, then exhale and relax your muscle. Keep doing it for your entire body until you feel relaxed. 

Conclusion on how to keep your mind calm:

These are some practical ways on how to calm your mind. Different techniques have different effects on people. How to relax your mind when stressed can be tricky sometimes. For some, it might work, while for others, it won’t. You should try these techniques in combination to get better and faster results. Be consistent.

Avoid any kind of sedative and limit caffeine intake. These are quick ways to calm yourself. They’ll cause adverse effects in the long term. They might increase your stress and anxiety. Try healthy methods even if they’ll take more time. You can do it. Don’t give up. 

The fundamental way to calm yourself down is by smiling. Don’t suppress your feelings; smile to make yourself feel better. It is hard to smile when you are stressed or anxious, but take small steps, breath, count to ten, and think of all optimistic scenarios that will make you feel better. 

Many exercises might help you reduce anxiety. If you want to know more about it, click here. 

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