Stress. The feeling of overwhelming tension emotionally or physically. It is your body's reaction to a change or challenge. We all experience stress sometime in our life. Each person deals with stress in different ways. Here are some ways which has worked for me:

#1) Do something you enjoy. Doing something you enjoy helps your body feel less overwhelmed and feel happier. What activity makes you happy? This could be different for each person. Bake, sing, dance, read, watch your favorite show, play an instrument, a sport. Bottomline, pick an activity you enjoy thoroughly to achieve a relaxed state of mind.

#2) Meditate/Breathing exercises. People often underestimate the power of meditation and breathing exercises. However, even a single deep breath can help with your body's overall state of mind. Meditation is proven to produce a deep state of relaxation. It controls anxiety and is a well known stress reliever. Simple way to meditate is sit in a comfortable position and observe your breath. Ignore the urge to react to the hundreds of thoughts which pass your mind. Just stay still and notice them pass.

#3) Change in environment. The environment which you are in, plays a crucial part in your mental state. If something is stressing you out, distract yourself and get a break from it. Move out and do something completely different to take your mind out of it.

#4) Exercise. It is a known fact that exercise has a lot of benefits not only physically but mentally too. Studies show that exercise is helpful when stress has depleted your energy and your ability to concentrate. When stress affects your brain, the rest of the body is impacted as well. So, try going for a walk or playing a sport. It will quickly elevate your depressed mood.

#5) Expressing your emotion. It is important to express how you feel. We all have different ways of expression. Although talking to a family member or a trusted friend is recommended, there are so many other ways to express yourself such as writing, painting, drawing, music, dance etc. When feeling stressed and overwhelmed, the worst thing to do is keep it trapped inside you. This could lead to making the situation even worse. So, just get it out and see how relaxed you feel!

Those were a few tips from me on how to de-stress but it is so crucial to find out what works for you. Also remember that you are not alone and everybody gets stressed at some point in life. The most important part is to know how to handle it. When it passes and you look back, you will wonder why you got so stressed about it in the first place! :)