Although modern life has brought about many positive changes in our lives, yet there is one thing it has contributed immensely to, and that is mental and physical stress. Many stressful situations arise in our everyday life and in such situations it becomes hard to remain calm. Work, family, personal concerns, finances, etc. are considered the major causes of stress. Excessive stress can cause numerous physical and mental symptoms, like, irritability, palpitation, sleeplessness, etc. It can interfere with your daily life and impact your physical and emotional health. Stress can also result in severe heart problems and complicate the situation. Hence stress relief is essential for your optimum health and well-being. Although it's not entirely possible to avoid or run away from stressful situations, we can try to manage stress altogether. There are various tips and techniques that can help one overcome stress. Also, it is necessary to find out the exact cause of stress, only then can one take positive steps to cope with it. Many people recommend activities for stress management. Let us have a look at some of the activities that can be beneficial for overcoming stress. Breathing Exercises One of the most advocated stress management techniques, breathing exercises can be done at any time of the day and at any place. Irregular, shallow breathing and palpitation are observed when a person is stressed. So one must concentrate on their breathing pattern and try to take deep and regular breaths. Deep breathing is one of the best ways to relieve stress. When a person takes deep breaths, an excess amount of oxygen enters the body. This inflow of oxygen helps in relaxing the muscles of the body, calming the mind as well as waking up the brain, thereby relieving the person. Healthy Diet A well-balanced diet is crucial for maintaining health and helping to manage stress. A healthy diet involves all the essential nutrients in adequate amounts. Eating a good, healthy and nutritious breakfast is a good way to start your day and keep the energy levels up throughout the day. Eating five small meals instead of three large ones, help in keeping a person energized too. Avoiding caffeine, which causes mood swings in a person, will keep a person more relaxed and calm. So try to eliminate tea, coffee, chocolates and soft drinks from your diet to get rid of stress. Pursue a Hobby Though medicines and exercises help to get rid of stress and bring stability to a great extent, indulging in any creative activities that you enjoy doing during your leisure time can positively affect your psychological and physical health. A hobby will give you happiness and peace of mind as it is an activity that you love doing. Pursuing a hobby of your choice, be it painting, dancing, gardening or cooking, will keep you relaxed and help you unwind at the end of the day. When a person finds time to do something that he likes, it contributes immensely to stress relief. Relationships Forming and maintaining relationships and having a strong support system, helps a person in preventing and dealing with stress. It is very important that a person stays in touch with and socializes once in a while with his friends and family as all these bonding activities help in relieving stress. Sharing your feelings with your near and dear ones is as effective as talking about them to a therapist. Time Management The most important of all stress management activities is to manage one's time well. To do this, planning ahead is very essential. Doing the most important tasks first, followed by the lesser important ones, will help too. By being consistent with one's work and not procrastinating, will help in better time management. Play Games Games work very well as stress management group activities, especially in a workplace. Of course, most organizations rely on preparing stress management lesson plans, and then lecturing their staff on it, yet these oral lectures can never be as effective as games. A simple game that can be played for stress relief is when the leader presents the group with an ethical dilemma. It can be something related to office ethics, such as, "If you see Mr. X using the office photocopy machine for personal use, will you report it to the manager?" One of the participants then answers this question. The remaining vote whether they think that the person will actually do what he is saying or not. If the majority feels that he is lying, then he is out of the game. The game then proceeds with the leader asking one more question. De-stress and be Happy Your emotional health can greatly impact your physical well-being, so it's essential to maintain a positive outlook on life and learn how to cope with stressful situations and move on. Stop worrying about the future, enjoy life, be happy and content, laugh a lot and do things that give you joy, to relieve stress. Laughter is a powerful stress-relief medicine. So watch a funny movie, read a humorous book or some funny quotes, to relax yourself. Music is also a great stress buster. Whenever you feel stressed out, listen to any genre of music, of your choice. This soothes and relaxes your mind. Spend time with your family and friends, as there's nothing as meaningful as spending time with people you love. This helps to deal with trying situations and makes you feel better. Besides the above activities, it is very important that a person gets adequate sleep every day to stay energized throughout the day. Besides, one should also take steps to prevent stress. So eat healthy, exercise, stay happy, enjoy life and develop the strength and resilience to bounce back from problems. All these can help to reduce stress and yield positive outcomes.