6 Ways to Relieve Stress and Anxiety at Home. Say It with Us: Stress, Begone!

6 Ways to Relieve Stress and Anxiety at Home. Say It with Us: Stress, Begone!

Is it just us, or does it feel like 2022 is living up to its phonetic pronunciation (2020, too) with each passing day? The headlines are depressing AF: Omicron is surging, hospitals are filling up, schools and workplaces are going back to fully virtual…


Next thing you know, we’ll be throwing elbows over toilet paper again! It’s like we got into a time machine to the year none of us wanted to revisit.


If you’re feeling the impacts of the stress and anxiety that come with, well, being a human being in 2022, you’re not alone. 


Here, we share 6 ways to help relieve your tensions and find joy amid a rough start to the year.

1. Laughter is the Best Medicine

When’s the last time you had a really good laugh – the kind that makes    your sides hurt? Sure, laughter can’t cure everything, but did you know that a good laugh has both short- and long-term effects? 
Laughing helps with oxygen intake, it relieves your stress response by decreasing your blood pressure and heart rate and it soothes tension. What’s more is that it can ease pain by releasing the body’s own natural painkillers! Thinking happy, positive thoughts can release neuropeptides that fight stress and improve your immune system’s function. One perk to working from home solo is that you can get away with cackling like a psycho with no judgment! So go on, turn on those old reruns of Seinfeld or think back to that time your friend embarrassed herself in front of her high school crush and get those giggles out.


2. Get Moving: Exercise

You’ve heard it before because it works: moving your body helps with relieving anxiety and stress. Regular exercise lowers cortisol (that pesky stress hormone), helps release endorphins and improves sleep quality. And, let’s face it, you feel a strong sense of accomplishment that boosts your self-confidence when you crush your workout goal, whether you opt for a nightly walk, yoga or a HIIT workout.

3. Scream

Make like Neve Campbell and get your scream on! If you’re feeling anger, grief and frustration at the state of the world, try releasing those emotions out loud. Go on, scream into a pillow. Step outside and yell into the great outdoors. The primal act of screaming can be quite therapeutic (assuming you don’t frighten anyone) and cathartic. Learn more about the benefits of letting out a good yell.

4. Just Breathe 

Breathing is one of those things we sometimes ignore, but it can feel so good. when you put some intention into it. Have you heard of box breathing? Even though it has its own fancy name, the practice is pretty simple. You exhale to a count of four; hold your lungs empty for a count of four; inhale for a count of four; hold air in your lungs for a count of four. And repeat! As you can imagine, this can be a quick tool in your stress-relief artillery to do while you’re scrolling or in the thick of a conflict, but try it when you’re able to focus on only breathing for an added sense of calm. 

5. Eat Chocolate

Ahh, one of our favorite pastimes: eating chocolate! Chocolate has a plethora of benefits for the body and mind; after all, it is an antioxidant. Pair high-quality chocolate with superfoods and you get even more bang for your buck. One of our favorite ways to relax and indulge is with our Calm Milk Chocolate supplements. We use an amino acid named L-Theanine, magnesium and chamomile to help you shake off the stress and unwind. Read more about how our Calm chocolates work (and remember to always consult your doctor or other qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment).

6. Listen to Good Tunes

Music as therapy has been around since, well, we’ve been around! Whether you like to zone out to your favorite chill music, or lead a family dance party in your living room to the Encanto soundtrack, music is a natural mood-lifter. We have a playlist of some of our favorite calming melodies.
So if you’re not quite feeling ‘22 so far, we hope these suggestions help you better handle the year ahead with these calming strategies. We’d love to hear your go-to stress relievers, too. Tell us in the comments!