If you are feeling stressed in your life, here are 5 things you can do to alleviate it:
1. Social interaction
The same study found that the effects of stress on the brain were reversed following a social interaction – but only in females!
2. Eat dark chocolate
The flavonoids in dark chocolate (min 70%cacao) was recently linked to brain hyperplasticuty, and can lower stress (possibly up to 2 hours)
3. Bite a pencil!
This tip comes from my Mental Health app, Brappy. Your facial expressions can impact how you feel.
4. Write it out
Sometimes people adopt a “stay positive” approach when faced with a challenging task which means that they avoid thinking about a negative event or failure. But a new study shows that giving attention to that can actually lead to positive outcomes. Writing critically about past failures can lower the stress hormone. The act of writing and thinking critically about a past failure helps prepare a person for new challenges.
5. Financial stress
Dr. Tracy Alloway is partnering with Capital One to highlight a survey of 2,000 Americans that explored their financial, mental and physical health
- The survey found that more than half (58%) have acknowledged that how they think about and value money, including how they think about spending, saving, borrowing and planning, is different from their pre-pandemic perceptions
- As we gear up for the holiday shopping season, one financial habit that Americans would like to change is impulse spending, which varied by Gender: Nearly half of women (48%) regretted their purchase in under an hour (For men this was 40%) This year – focus on experiences instead of things. Multiple studies confirm that the gift of experiences, especially an emotionally evocative gift (like something funny and personal.