Did you know that there are self care tools that can help you with stress relief? Nourishing practices such as self care often go up in smoke when you’re faced with stressful situations.
There are so many benefits of self care but it can be hard to concentrate on the bare necessities of taking care of yourself when life gets rough.
The thing is there are times when there is a greater necessity to sustain and look after yourself.
A good way is to have a set of tools that can help you during these stressful times. When you have a handful of self care routine in rotation it makes it easier for you to apply/use them when you need to.
A great place to start is to have a self care toolkit that can help you out in those situations. And, when you have a compilation of self care routines in place it makes it a breeze to implement them when needed.
Self Care Tools For Stress Relief
There are tons of tools that are effective to help you manage and cope with stress in your life. When you have these tools on hand you’ll gain the benefits of caring for yourself without getting too frustrated. Or from having to think about it too much when the situation arises
Here are some things you can tuck in your toolkit and use to get you through those challenging times.
1. Water Bottle
The body demands water. Your body needs water in order to function properly and when you’re dehydrated you can’t perform at your best. Not being able to operate at your full capacity can result in you feeling stressed.
Drinking enough water is plays a big role in helping you to manage your stress levels. Studies have shown that dehydration can lead to higher levels of the stress hormone, cortisol.
It also leaves you fatigued and makes it more difficult for you to handle day-to-day issues. if you’ve had enough water it can give you a feeling of calm and relaxation. Think about it, if you’re not feeling well the first thing that is offered to you is a glass of water.
One useful tool to ensure that you’re upping your water intake is a water bottle. When you have a water bottle handy you have no excuse not to drink water. It makes it easy for you to have your water on the go.
Or even if you’re at home you have your water bottle filled, so instead of having to pour a glass of water your bottle is right there for the taking to keep you dehydrated.
2. Yoga Mat
When you’re stressed out sometimes the best way to combat that stress is to move your body. Whether you’re stretching or doing any yoga exercises or any other form of workout, it’s a good way to fight stress.
When you do exercise it helps to reduce stress because it encourages physical and mental relaxation and calm.
A yoga mat is very versatile and you can use it for yoga stretching, to meditate, regular stretching exercises or if you choose to do some for other form of floor workouts.
They are soft but firm enough and will give you ample support during your exercise session.
3. Journal
Did you know that if you write down your feelings it can help you to figure out and give you clarity to manage your emotions during stressful times?
It allows you to express yourself, explore possibilities and your experiences. It also helps you to see different ways and options tied to things that are stressing you out or even things that terrify you.
You’re better able to work through issues and do some reflecting to discover your best ideas and give you a safe place for emotional release.
When you journal it also helps to lower your stress levels because it provides an avenue for you to check in on yourself. It gives you an emotional outlet allowing you to vent your frustrationand let of negative thinking and attitude.
Grab a pen and your journal, then find the best time for you to do your journaling when you have some quiet time. Just be intentional and create a journaling routine that meets your needs.
4. Essential Oils
Essential oils are potent oils extracted from plants and hold the distinctive scent of the particular plant.
These oils are intended to be used externally. The compounds in the essential oils can interact with your body in different ways. One of the great benefits of Essential oils is that some of them help to provide stress relief.
When you inhale the fragrant scent from some of these essential oils it can stimulate a particular area of your brain and help to relieve stress. You could even add a few drops of essential oils to a carrier oil before adding it to your bathwater. Works wonders.
Here are some Essential Oils for stress-relief:
- Lavender: helps to relieve stress
- Sandalwood: helps you to focus and calm your nerves
- Rose: helps to improve your mood and reduce anxiety
- Chamomile: helps to improve your mood and relaxation and improve your sleep
- Bergamot: helps to lower your stress levels
- Clary Sage: helps to relieve stress
- Ylang-Ylang: helps to treat headaches, and queasiness
- Lemon: helps to boost your mood and treat headaches
5. Essential Oil Diffuser
An essential oil diffuser breaks up and dissolves and scatter the vapors into the air and fills the space with its unique scent which is called aromatherapy.
A lot of us tend to use aromatherapy as a pick me up especially after a really rough day, and can be really helpful when you have tension and is stress out. The vapors from the oils can help to promote feeling of relaxation and calm.
You can also add water and an essential or add a mix of different essential oils to your diffuser. This will allow the diffuser to disperse the oil particles in small tempered amounts around your space so that you can inhale them.
6. Adult Coloring Books/ Crossword Puzzle Books
Children are not the not the only ones who can benefit from coloring pages. You can get creative and use them as a means to manage your stress and anxiety.
Coloring books, as well as crossword puzzles or word searches, are great resources to help get you in a calm and relaxed frame of mind. They help take your mind off the cares of the world including any stressful situation that you’re facing and switch your focus and distract your mind.
So, ease the stress and tension by getting a pack of coloring pencils and your coloring book or crossword puzzle of choice and dive into those pages to take your mind off worrying, burdensome situations.
7. Tea
Sometimes a good cup of tea might be just what you need to calm you down. When you sip on a warm cup of tea can be very soothing and can help you to relax.
According to Medical New Today research has shown that drinking tea has the effect of reducing stress. The purpose of the study was to show the effectiveness of tea in creating calm during stress and anxiety.
And, that the chemical properties are related to making the brain more alert and help you to bounce back from stress. In addition, that drinking tea is is linked to a positive mood and helps with relaxation.
At the end of the experiment the researchers confirmed that the practice of making and drinking tea plays a huge role in n assisting to relieve and cope stress and anxiety. Some teas that help in the fight against stress are:
- Chamomile tea
- Green tea
- Valerian root tea
- Linden tea
- Rosemary tea
- Peppermint tea
- Passion flower tea
- Oat straw tea
- Lavender tea
8. Foot Spa
Think about it, your feet have been doing so much work. From holding up your body, doing long standing , to taking you where you want to go.
For these reasons, it makes sense that if they ‘re to continue supporting you you need to take care of them.
After a long day and with your feet being so busy with tons of walking, sinking your feet in just a tubful of warm water is a great way to relieves any aches and pains and soothe those tired muscles.
A foot spa is a great way to take care of and pamper those feet. No, you don’t have to to go to the spa.
Whether you choose to do it on self care sunday or after a tiring day, you can Have your own DIY relaxing spa like experience at home with your very own foot spa. Take the stress off, relax and soothes those tired feet and foot muscles.
9. Epsom Salts
Even though Epsom salts is a simple everyday item, it packs quite a punch. It’s used on the outside of the body and offers a ton of benefits.
The healing salts have a combination of magnesium and sulfate and can help to relax the muscles, flush toxins from the cells of the skin and improves circulation.
It also works great to help reduce inflammation, relieve tired sore muscles, and stabilizes your bodys electrolytes,
So it totally makes perfect sense that when you feel stressed out to take the opportunity to soak your feet or run a hot bath complete with epsom salt. Then allow your feet or body to get a good soak to soothe and relieve aches and pains.
Another good option is to make a body scrub from your epsom salt. Combine epsom salts, essential oils and olive oil or coconut or almond oil and use them when you’re showering or on your feet to blast stress.
10. Stress Balls
Stress balls were designed to relieve tension and stress. When you squeeze the stress balls it also helps to activate the nerve and muscles in your hands and wrist causing an isometric contraction and helps to strengthen the muscles.
This helps to boost your nervous system which in turn helps to improve circulation, lower your blood pressure and reduce stress and anxiety.
Whenever you feel stressed out , nervous, upset or unhappy just grab a stress ball and squeezel to help calm your mind and redude stress and anxiety. These are small and very budget friendly so you can take them anywhere.
No matter your line of work, you can take it to work with you or better yet have one for work and one at home to use.
11. Face Rollers
Face rollers are the new hype these days even though they have been around for many years. This little tool is often made from jade or rose quartz, with two roller balls at each end which can have different sizes.
You do get a two fer when you use a facial roller. It not only help to relieve tension and stress on the skin but it also gives you a smooth area to help to stimulates the movement of lymph fluids around the body.
This helps to remove waste and toxins from the tissues in the body. Just apply some type of moisturizer, oil or serum to your face roller and roll upwards – not back and forth and roll away the stress and tension in your facial muscles.
12. Foam Rollers
Don’t think that your foam roller is just to tackle soreness after you’re done working out. It has so many other uses. Apart from combating the recovering from injuries, it’s also a great stress buster.
After a tiring day, a foam roller can massage your muscles helping to relieve tension cause by your day to day life.
When you use your foam roller to roll out your muscles, it tend to reduce muscle soreness and stiffness. This also increase your blood flow calming the nervous system and therefore reduce stress and bring calmness.
13. Foot Massager
If you’ve had a tough, stressful day on your feet, where you feel so overworked, you just feel like you just need a break. We all have those days ever so often and have different ways of dealing with it.
Here’s the thing, a foot massager is a great tool to have in your arsenal. It can help to improve blood flow and circulation helping you to shed some of that stress
So, the next time you find yourself in this situation , all stressed out give yourself a foot massage and You’ll be well on your way to relieving pain on your sore feet and help to relive stress overall.
14. Weighted Blanket
If you struggle with stress in your daily life you can get really frustrated and this can definitely affect your sleep cycle.
Even though there are tons of medication and herbal remedies that you can use, becoming more and more popular is the weighted blanket. When you wind down these blankets can make it easier for you to get some shut eye.
As the name suggest, these are heavier than regular blankets and vary in size and weight. When you use them to cover your body whether you are sleeping or sitting on the couch or chair and wrapping the blanket around your shoulders it mirrors the feeling you getting a hug.
Because of that it may calm your central nervous system and help you ease the stress away. This helps you to feel more calm, comforted and relaxed.
15. Back Massager
One of the best ways to arrest stress is to get a massage. Massages is one of the best things you can do for yourself on so many levels.
After a difficult day it can take a toll on your back muscles. Taking the time out for a massage can help you to recover, recoup, recharge and rejuvenate so that you can bounce back and feel like yourself again.
It stimulates and charges up those muscles in the back from within. A back massage helps to knead those knots and kinks in your tight muscles helping break and melt the tension in your back and neck.
It improves blood circulation, relieves muscle tension and reduces pains related to stress. As a result, it helps you to be more calm and relaxed both mentally and physically.
Back massage helps to knead out the knots and kinks in your muscles helping to melt and break the tension in your neck and back. A spa is not necessary for this You can have an effective massage session in the comfort of your own home.
Conclusion On Self Care Tools For Stress Relief
Stress can have a major impact on both your mental and physical health. Some types of stress just can’t be avoided and this is true for all of us and we do react to them in many different ways.
The thing is, you have to be able to manage your stress in order to get some relief and keep a clear head. Especially during stressful times, self care has to take top priority.
Apart from basic foundation of eating nourishing foods to to help boost your energy levels, get a good night’s rest and doing regular workouts, there are a lot of tools that are helpful when it tackling stress on the daily.
What tools do you use to help you manage stress on a day-to-day basis? Comment below!
