Topic: ​Struggle

Question:​ How do you relieve stress?

“12 Tips to Tame Stress.” ​Mayo Clinic​, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 12 Mar.

2019,

www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-relievers/art-20047257​.

The authors, staff from Mayo Clinic, claim that stress relievers help calm the chaos going on in

your life. There are many ways in which a person can relieve stress. First of all, staying active is

a great source to resort to. Staying active doesn’t even require a person to stay in shape to be a

good stress reliever. When a person is walking, swimming, weightlifting, or doing many other

activities, the brain supplies “feel-good” endorphins. Eating a healthy diet while staying clear

from unhealthy habits can improve a person’s stress levels. Some unhealthy habits include:

drinking too much caffeine and alcohol, smoking, or eating too much. Other tips to relieve stress

are things like getting enough sleep at night, writing thoughts into a journal, being creative, or by

speaking to a counselor. This is a useful source for my topic due to the fact that it focuses on

how to relieve stress by giving out several methods. Also, this source included its references

and it’s a trustworthy site.

Segal, Jeanne, et al. “Quick Stress Relief.” ​HelpGuide.org,​ 14 Mar. 2019,

www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/quick-stress-relief.htm/​.

In the article, Jeanne Segal, Melinda Smith, and Lawrence Robinson talked about stress in

general as well as how to manage it. The first step involved is to recognize when you are

stressed by observing your breath or your muscles. Then, the next step is to identify your stress

response which depends on your emotion like whether you are angry or depressed. After you

have done those two steps, you bring your sense to the rescue which is dependent on your
 personality. If you are a music lover, listen to some of your favorite songs. This source also gave

useful information on how to quickly relieve stress if you are at work, in the car, or at home. This

source was not only handy for the fact that it contained information to the topic but the authors

are well-informed people, too.

Harvard Health Publishing, and Julie Corliss. “Six Relaxation Techniques to Reduce Stress.” ​Harvard

Health​, 2016,

www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/six-relaxation-techniques-to-reduce-stress​.

In this article, the researchers at Harvard talked about ways to deal with stress in difficult

situations. In the year of 1970, a cardiologist, Dr. Herbert Benson, developed a technique. This

technique involves six parts to it. It starts out by taking slow, deep breaths to disengage your

mind. The next step requires to body scan yourself and what muscles are tensed up. After

releasing physical tension from your muscles, the next step is to visualize soothing scenes. The

other aspects of this technique require meditation, yoga, and then a repetitive prayer. Rather

than choosing just one aspect of this technique, it is recommended to try several of these

things. Once you find whatever method works best for you, you should practice doing it for

twenty minutes daily, but a few minutes a day would work as well. This article worked well with

my question because it provided many different types of methods for people to work on daily.

Also, this was a relevant source due to the fact where the information came from. The

information was tested to see how well it worked.

Jennings, Kerri Ann. “16 Simple Ways to Relieve Stress and Anxiety.” ​Healthline,​ Healthline Media, 28

Aug. 2018, ​www.healthline.com/nutrition/16-ways-relieve-stress-anxiety​.

This article claims that 70% of adults experience stress or anxiety daily. Due to this being very

common in everyday life, they gave sixteen simple ways to reduce this stress intake. Exercise is

one simple method and the more you exercise, the more it will affect you. Exercise doesn’t only
 lower your stress hormones, but it helps people sleep better at night along with gain more

confidence. Another simple method is to take supplements like by drinking tea, consuming

omega-3 fatty acids, along with a few other things. Another method is by chewing gum because

it promotes blood flow into your brain. Spending time with friends and family can also help. In

addition to that, laughing with them relaxes muscles. Other methods include: learning to say no,

avoid procrastination, cuddling, listening to soothing music, or by spending time with your pet. I

really thought this article was useful because it relates to me the most on stuff I do. For

example, I am the person who isn’t the best at not saying no and my caffeine intake it poor. This

source was very applicable because of the fact that it included studies showing the results of the

outcome which was very beneficial.

“Stress: The Good, the Bad and the Healthy - Relief from Stress.” ​AEA Digital Library,​ Human Relations

Media, 2012, ​www.aeadigitallibrary.org/Media.aspx?id=5410​.

This video was very well done on the fact of giving good advice about the question that I

provided. There are four simple steps which are to recharge your body, focus your thoughts,

relax your emotions, and reconnect your relationships. The first step is to recharge your body by

getting sleep. If you aren’t getting eight hours of sleep per night, you are just being your worst

enemy. Another simple, practical thing to do is to drink water. The kids presenting this talked

about personal stuff they do in order to relax. For instance, the girl talking claimed that

whenever she was tensed up, she sat down her stuff to go for a run. While she runs, she tries to

think about positive things as well. This article was done well because it was done by a

professional psychologist who deals with this type of stuff on a daily basis with people. Also,

they provided the information in an understanding way because it was very relatable to people.