Diane DeMasi

Favorite Ways to Destress – Day 15

Posted on by Diane DeMasi

28-Day Personal Challenge

When life gets chaotic, you need to destress, take “you” time, chill out, whatever you want to call it, it’s the time you take away from your troubles or the stressors in life to recharge.

My Favorite Ways to Destress

I’m going to break these up into separate categories: Mindless Moments, Body Refreshers, Brain Boosters, and Miscellaneous.

Mindless Moments

These are activities you can do that don’t require much brainpower. I’m not saying there’s no brain activity, these are things you can zone out to or that are repetitive so your brain isn’t actively working a solution. Chill brain things.

Binge-watch television shows, have a movie marathon, or stream YouTube videos.

I’m a sucker for shows like What on Earth, Mysteries of the Abandoned, and Mysteries at the Museum. The first two are on the Science Channel and the last is on the Travel Channel. These make me happy because they feed my love of learning.

I love to laugh so if I go for movies, they are usually comedy. I don’t binge-watch movies very often though. If you have some favorite comedies, let me know so I can check them out. Let me know what your favorite

When I get on YouTube, it completely depends on my mood. I love funny fail videos and creepy videos. Not really sure I can say creepy videos are relaxing. My brain is actively running through a security checklist.

Work on a Repetitive Project

The key is, this needs to be something you do regular enough that you aren’t trying to learn something, you’re just repeating a motion and not taxing the brain. So maybe it’s knitting a scarf or crocheting a blanket or cutting coupons or coloring pictures. It’s a simple task, maybe a few counts, maybe a decision between blue or yellow.

Body Refreshers

These are active or inactive things we do to destress and through the act of tending our body, we also tend the soul.

Take a Soak

Use a fizzy bath bomb, add essential oils with Epsom salts, put in a really foamy bubble solution. Just turn the lights on low, play some light music, have a candle going, whatever you need to create a calm, soothing environment.

Treat Your Body or Face

Do a face mask, exfoliate your body, self-tan, paint your nails and toenails, any one of these is a little confidence booster. You feel better after tending to yourself.

Exercise

I know, we’re refreshing our spirits and the thought of an all-out workout isn’t really appealing. However, we know that we feel good after the workout is done.

You don’t need to make it tough. Make it fun. Do a gentle yoga session, take a slow stroll outside, explore a new park or trail. There are many apps you can use to find new trails. I like AllTrails.

Do an activity you don’t get to do every day: kayak, paddleboard, take up archery, go to the gun range, ice skate, sled, fish, bird watch.

Brain Boosters

These are activities that you enjoy and that require your focus.

Crafts

Scrapbooking, cardmaking, painting, writing, activities that you put some effort into. That brings you joy.

Learning Activities

Learn a new language, read a new book on productivity, try a new recipe, just do something you haven’t tried but that sounds interesting. Expand your mind.

Miscellaney

One of my favorite ways to destress is with puzzles. Jigsaw puzzles, Puzzle books, crossword puzzles. Three of my favorite puzzles are from PennyPress/Dell and they are Crypto-Families, Word Games, and Anagram Magic Squares. These are not affiliate links, nor is this post sponsored. These are just the games that bring me joy. Also when you click on the links of my three favorite puzzles, it takes you to the order page, BUT, there is a FREE PDF link where you can download and give that puzzle a try. That’s why I included the links.

Share your favorite ways to destress.

I love to learn and try new things, I can’t say that enough.

Previous 28-Day Personal Challenge Posts