Giving Your Brain a Break: Tips to Effectively Relieve Stress

In the constantly changing landscape of our lives, it can feel counterintuitive to quiet your brain. More thoughts equal more progress, right? But this isn’t necessarily true. Burnout extends beyond the workplace. You don’t have to work a 9-5 job to feel overwhelmed and overextended. In a society that over-values productivity and under-values personal growth, it is easy to forget about the importance of taking a break.

Here are some ways to help give your mind the break it deserves:

• Breathe. There is power behind a deep breath. This gives you the opportunity to pause, calm, and reset.
• Free write. Release all of your thoughts onto a page without judgment. Set a timer for 5 minutes and try to write without overthinking or focusing on the quality.
• Try a Guided Imagery activity. Go to this link for more information from VeryWell Mind.
• Stretch or do a short exercise. Moving our bodies can take us out of our minds and refocus our attention on the body.

These breaks don’t have to be long to be effective. Actively working on improving your mental health is not always about making big changes, but rather, many small ones. Try to take 5-10 minutes each day to do one of these stress relieving activities.

Photo Credit: Canva

Written by Jessy Pucker, LMSW