Relaxation Tips

As someone who has suffered from her fair share of anxiety disorders and panic attacks over the years I believe that finding time in your day to day life to relax and de-stress is extremely important for your physical, mental and emotional well being. What with it now being exam season for many people I thought it would be the perfect time to share some of my favourite and most successful ways that I have used over the years to unwind and de-stress...

1. Digital Detox

I always find that turning off all of my gadgets and stepping away from technology and social media, even for an hour or two, is a great way to unwind. As it has been proven that constant connections to the online world causes increased stress in your daily life, taking a digital detox is one of the most beneficial ways to relax and take a break, as well as focus more on the real world, which in turn leads to lowered anxiety and stress levels. 

2. Pamper Yourself

For me, I don't think there is anything more relaxing than treating yourself to a pamper evening, especially in extremely stressful or anxious times. I would quite often try to take a little bit more time on a Sunday night to have a long soak in the bath, complete with my favourite bath bomb, before cleansing and steaming my face, as well as popping on a face mask which made me truly relaxed before the start of the week.

3. Read a Book

As a massive bookworm one of my favourite ways to take a breather was to curl up in bed with a good book, especially after suffering from particularly bad panic attacks. I always found that reading helped take my mind off whatever was causing me to feel stressed or tense as I could escape to the fictional world I was reading about and take a break from my own worries for a while. My favourite was definitely Harry Potter, however non-fictional books, magazines or even audio books worked just as well!

4. Listen to Music

Listening to music was mostly an accompaniment to one of my other relaxation techniques, particularly my pamper evenings, yet it also worked pretty well on it's own to help me de-stress. Classical music and movie scores were always my go-to choices, and I created and followed a number of playlists on Spotify of all my favourites. I always found that listening to classical music helped me to focus so much more on my schoolwork, especially when working towards a deadline, as well as being the perfect background noise for my A-Level revision last year. 

5. Download an App 

Although it kind of goes against my first tip, there are some great apps available that are really helpful when it comes to trying to relax. There are some specific meditation apps, such as Headspace, which is a great way to have an easy and guided meditation session, whether it be 2 minutes or 60 minutes, however, my favourite app is definitely Relax Melodies. You select sounds and melodies that you like and combine them to create a relaxing soundtrack and although it is targeted to help you sleep, I swore by this during the height of my anxiety and depended on it in stressful times to help me stay calm and relaxed. 

How do you like to relax?

Megan