5 Ways To Relieve Stress In 30 Minutes Or less

Slowing down will help to relieve stress and allow all the things you desire to catch up to you.

It’s interesting how the very thing we stress over is never as bad as we make it out to be. A few days go by and our perspectives begin to shift. Unless of course worry and stress is a habit for you, and has been so for quite some time. In that case the familiarity factor will make it more difficult to change your stressful ways. But don’t fret, what I’m about to share with you will help to begin turning your focus back to what’s pleasant in your external world.

1. Guided imagery (passive or body based)

Guided imagery can quickly begin to change the scary pictures in your head into more pleasant ones. When applying guided imagery you can passively imagine the best case future scenario, or a past situation where you released the emotional charge within you rather than repressing it.

Body based guided imagery work on the other hand emphasizes a focus on using your body along with your imagination, and working with your human energy field that surrounds all of us to relieve stress.

In body based imagery work a practitioner who specializes in hypnosis or NLP (near linguistic programming) will direct your attention to your body. This is the whereabouts you’re storing the repressed emotion. The goal is to create a bridge between the body and the image that’s connected to the feeling. Pointing to particular spots outside of your body (where the information lies within your field) and making shifts in the image will bring about physiological changes.

Check out the video below (and Subscribe on YouTube) for a beautiful introduction into passive guided imagery.

2. Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Progressive muscle relaxation (PMS) is a fast working technique that helps to relieve stress. It’s also valuable in dealing with insomnia, and reduces symptoms of certain chronic pains. The whole idea behind this wonderful practice is to begin by tensing each one of your body parts, prior to releasing. I usually start with my forehead and work my way down to my toes, taking 10 seconds to tense and 10 seconds to release. This alternating between tightness and relaxation will put you in a calmer emotional state to take on your day.

This article will show you a step by step method to implement progressive muscle relaxation today.

3. Binaural Beats

The debate over whether binaural beats are truly affective to relieve stress is still ongoing. But having said that, here’s my personal opinion… they work! Binaural beats naturally shift the speed and intensity of our thoughts. As you listen to specific tones that alter your brainwave states, deep changes in the brain are occurring. Depending on the frequency you can enhance your creativity, give a boost to your focus, or alter your mood. Binaural beats work fast and can make a big difference in your mental clarity and overall health.

Binaural beats can help to relieve stress and studies are catching up to this reality.

To understand binaural beats at a more technical level it’s known as sound wave therapy. Binaural beats involve the right and left ear listening to two slightly different frequencies, yet perceiving them as one. Here are the 4 main types of binaural beats and their purposes:

• Delta frequencies – Associated with dreamless sleep
• Theta frequencies – Associated with sleep in the REM (rapid eye movement) phase, as well as for meditation, and imagination purposes
• Alpha frequencies – Encourages relaxation and inner creativity
• Beta frequencies – Helps to promote concentration and alertness

The guided meditation video below is accompanied by theta frequencies. Listen daily and relieve stress quickly.

4. Morning Release Journalling

• Set a timer for 2 minutes
• Open up your journal and begin writing in all your pessimistic, catastrophic, and negative ideas
• When the 2 minute timer goes off rip the piece of paper out of the journal and walk over to the trash can
• Begin slowly and emotionally ripping the piece of paper you just wrote on, and placing it into the trash can

This technique works fast because of the associations that what you write down is leaving your inner world. Also, anything we throw out into the garbage we forget in a short time anyway. If those same thoughts show up throughout the day you’ll be less interested, which is great! You’ll also begin forming new options on how to think about the situation, and how to act.

Watch the video below to go even deeper and understand the power of journalling for your anxiety.

5. Call Your Mom!

That’s right, put aside all the reasons for why you can’t right now, and call your mom. The term ‘mom’s know best’ is true, they always have a way to pick us up as long as we can get our egotistical and all knowing side out of the way.

Since this is a blog post on how to transition away from stress within 30 minutes, a quick phone call to mom while you share all your mental and emotional baggage can turn your emotional state around fast. Trust me, you’ll be glad you did, and so will she.

Want to share your personal progress or a technique to relieve stress that’s been working for you? Share a comment below and join the conversation with the other warriors.