{"id":7400,"date":"2021-04-12T09:27:32","date_gmt":"2021-04-12T08:27:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog-content.thortful.com\/?p=7400"},"modified":"2026-04-02T12:17:36","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T11:17:36","slug":"stress-busting-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog-content.thortful.com\/stress-busting-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"Stress busting tips for Stress Awareness Month"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">April is National Stress Awareness Month \u2013 and in our modern world, surrounded by notifications, alerts, reminders and alarms, it\u2019s hardly surprising that we\u2019re all feeling a bit stressed out. After some bleak winter months, April is the true start of Spring, when days get a little lighter and we all feel a little brighter, so<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0National Stress Awareness Month couldn\u2019t come at a better time. If you\u2019re suffering from stress and can\u2019t seem to stop worrying, here are a few of our top stress tips to help put your mind at ease.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Four top stress busting tips for Stress Awareness Month:<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stress can wreak havoc on your mind and body \u2013 so it\u2019s vital to find a way to cope when it all gets a bit much. We\u2019re here to help, with some top stress tips to help you let go of internal tension. Here are some of our top things to help with stress.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Try the 54321 technique<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sometimes you need things to help with stress in the short term \u2013 if you\u2019re having one of those days where you feel like you might cry, or scream, or do some kind of nightmare cry-scream combo, then stress tips that involve immediate action like the 54321 technique might help.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This method for dealing with anxiety is great for stress busting, as recommended by the<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/life-style\/how-to-ease-anxiety-54321-trick-b1812654.html\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Independent<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. It\u2019s simple \u2013 if you\u2019re feeling overwhelmed or stressed, take a moment to stop and look around you. Then, count:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Five things you can see<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Four things you can hear<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Three things you can feel (like the temperature of the room, or your feet in your shoes)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Two things you can smell<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One thing you can taste (even if it\u2019s just your tongue)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This stress-busting exercise shifts your focus away from the thing that\u2019s making you feel stressed to your surroundings instead. We\u2019re not going to get too fluffy on you about \u2018living in the moment\u2019, but this stress tip can be really helpful for interrupting stressful thoughts and helping you to feel grounded, which can help you to stop worrying.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Breathing techniques<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Breathing is a bit of a no-brainer. Literally, since your brain does it for you without you having to think about it. But if you\u2019re feeling really stressed out, focusing on your breathing is really powerful for stress busting. Even the NHS recommends<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhs.uk\/mental-health\/self-help\/guides-tools-and-activities\/breathing-exercises-for-stress\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> breathing exercises<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to help with stress. (And there are some<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC5709795\/\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">serious scientific studies<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to back this up.) During National Stress Awareness Month, if you feel yourself getting flustered or stressed, try a breathing exercise to calm down your thoughts and help give you a moment of peace and calm. A technique like square breathing might help:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Breathe in deeply through your nose for 4 seconds.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hold that breath for 4 seconds<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Exhale out through your mouth for 4 seconds<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rest for 4 seconds\u2026 and then repeat the steps again.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Here&#8217;s a handy little graphic from thortful to help you remember how to do square breathing:<\/p>\n<h3><b>Have a cup of tea<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes, really. It\u2019s a very British solution to a crisis, but there\u2019s actual science to back up the idea that having a cup of tea can help with stress. Scientists at<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.webmd.com\/food-recipes\/news\/20061005\/drinking-black-tea-may-soothe-stress#1\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">University College London<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> found that people who drank black tea were able to de-stress more quickly when compared to people who drank a fake tea substitute \u2013 and tea drinkers had lower levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, when they were exposed to a stressful situation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not to mention, taking time away from a stressful situation and taking a moment to relax with a cup of tea is always a good idea. So yes, when your mum always used to say \u2018put the kettle on, a cuppa will make it all seem better\u2019 she might actually have been onto something.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Focus on the positive<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This one might sound deeply, deeply patronising if you\u2019re stressed out of your mind over something you can\u2019t control. But trying to be more \u2018glass half full\u2019 can really help you to stop worrying, or at least help you to get your frazzled brain back under control by thinking about the good rather than the bad. But saying \u2018just think positive!\u2019 isn\u2019t very helpful \u2013 instead, here are some helpful stress busting tips for focusing on the positive that are a bit more practical during National Stress Awareness Month.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the end of the day, write down a list of everything that went well that day. Even if it\u2019s only one or two things, after a week you might be surprised how many good things happened that you\u2019d otherwise have forgotten about in the haze of stress!<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Practice some gratitude \u2013 think of people or moments that bring you happiness. If a co-worker helped with a project at work that\u2019s stressing you out, take a moment to be quietly grateful for their support. If you\u2019ve got a friend who\u2019s going through a tough or stressful time, our<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thortful.com\/cards\/sendasmile\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Send a Smile<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> cards are perfect for sending a lovely little note of positivity.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Start your day off with a positive moment \u2013 practice some positive affirmations, listen to an upbeat song, or share the good vibes by complimenting someone else.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s worth mentioning that while these stress busting tips can help if you\u2019re having a stressful day or going through a tough time, continuous stress can really have an impact on your mental health. If you\u2019re suffering from serious stress that\u2019s affecting your health and wellbeing, check out resources from the<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhs.uk\/mental-health\/feelings-symptoms-behaviours\/feelings-and-symptoms\/stress\/\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">NHS<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or from<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mind.org.uk\/information-support\/types-of-mental-health-problems\/stress\/what-is-stress\/\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mind<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hopefully, some of these simple stress busting tips will help you to relax a little during National Stress Awareness Month. If you\u2019re looking for some more guides to relieving little worries and stresses, try our guide on how to<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thortful.com\/blog\/make-the-most-of-working-from-home\/\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">make the most of working from home<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, or our list of<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thortful.com\/blog\/small-joys-in-life\/\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">39 small joys in life to be grateful for.<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> And for more lifestyle guides and tips, check out<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thortful.com\/blog\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the thortful blog<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>April is National Stress Awareness Month \u2013 and in our modern world, surrounded by notifications, alerts, reminders and alarms, it\u2019s hardly surprising that we\u2019re all feeling a bit stressed out. After some bleak winter months, April is the true start of Spring, when days get a little lighter and we all feel a little brighter,&hellip;<\/p>\n<a class=\"read-more-link\" href=\" https:\/\/blog-content.thortful.com\/stress-busting-tips\/ \">Read More<\/a>","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":7403,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[463],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Stress Busting Tips for Stress Awareness Month | thortful<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In honour of National Stress Awareness Month, here are a few of our top stress busting tips to help put your mind at ease if you can&#039;t keep 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