A relaxation technique in which a person focuses on taking slow, deep breaths.

Deep breathing involves breathing in slowly through the nose and then out through the mouth using the diaphragm (the thin muscle that separates the chest from the abdomen) and abdominal muscles. This helps boost the amount of oxygen in the blood, lowers blood pressure and heart rate, and reduces muscle tension. Deep breathing may be used to help relieve stress, pain, and anxiety.

How To Do It:
You will get the most benefit if you do it regularly, as part of your daily routine. Make yourself as comfortable as you can. If you can, loosen any clothes that restrict your breathing.

1. Let your breath flow as deep down into your belly as is comfortable, without forcing it.

2. Try breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth.

3. Breathe in deeply and slowly. Some people find it helpful to count steadily from 1 to 5 as you inhale.

4. Let the air out gently, counting from 1 to 5 again as you exhale.

5. Keep doing this until you feel more relaxed.

Journaling is an effective way to channel intense feelings into healthy and productive internal fuel. It is a form of self-expression that when done properly can lead to personal growth. When writing down your thoughts and feelings, you are forced to pause and focus on the details you may have otherwise missed. Through journaling, you have to listen rather than avoid your most intense feelings.

Journaling is a way to learn more about yourself and reflect on how you felt during different periods of time or different phases of your condition. But to thoroughly benefit from journaling, it is necessary to be completely honest and transparent with yourself and consistent with the practice. It is also helpful to be specific and detailed in your entries.
 

Here are some questions you could answer if you are going through something or went through something you need to let out. These questions are intended to help you dig deep and make necessary connections as you journal:
 

• What happened or what was said, exactly?

• When did this occur?

• If a big amount of time has passed why are you now deciding to deal with/release it?

• Name all parties involved and the specific parts they played? (Include yourself as well)

• What was your initial response when this occurred?

• What emotions did you display when this happened?

• What were your exact thoughts at the time?

• Has this happened more than once? If so, what was different this time?

• What lessons can be learned from this experience?

• How do you feel at this very moment?

• Do you feel loved? (If so, why? if not, why?)

• How do you feel about your life as it stands right now?

• Do you consider yourself an emotionally and mentally healthy person? (If so, why? if not, why?)

• Are you content with being yourself or do you feel constant pressure to become someone else?

You can also reformat these questions if you are just attempting to process your day, a specific way that you are feeling or an ongoing situation. There is no right way to go about journaling, so you should do whatever works best for you.

Having a reliable social support network can be a powerful buffer against stress. Friends, family, and support groups offer emotional support, fresh perspectives, and even practical advice during challenging times.

Don’t isolate yourself when you’re going through hard times. Reach out to someone you trust. Sometimes, just talking about it can offer a fresh perspective and lighten your emotional load.
 

Setting Boundaries

Learning to say no is empowering. You can’t be all things to all people, and you shouldn’t have to be. Setting boundaries helps protect your emotional energy.

When you feel overwhelmed, don’t hesitate to decline additional responsibilities or invitations. Explain your need for space in a polite yet firm manner.
 

Active Listening and Empathy

Offering an empathetic ear to someone else can also serve as a coping strategy for you. It can make you feel valued and can also put your own problems in perspective.

Practice active listening by giving the other person your full attention, nodding to show understanding, and responding appropriately. It will improve your conversations and often make the other person feel valued, generating positive feelings all around.

The stress response involves a rise in some hormones, such as cortisol. Physical activity offers many benefits, including hormone balance.

Stepping out of your thoughts by focusing on physical sensations and your body, even if momentarily, may also help with anxiety management.

Exercising may seem fairly simple on the surface, but a complex chemical cascade occurs inside your body each time you participate in a physical activity.

This chemical cascade is responsible for several positive effects on your brain.
 

1. Releases neurotransmitters

As you begin exercising, depending on the intensity, a number of important chemical messengers called neurotransmitters are released throughout your nervous system.

2. Endorphins and Endocannabinoids

Endorphins block pain and increase sensations of pleasure, and exercise certainly increases your endorphin levels. Endocannabinoids, in particular, are a group of neurotransmitters that are thought to be responsible for that “runner’s high” — the feeling of calm euphoria that occurs after a strenuous workout.

3. Dopamine

Another impactful exercise-related neurotransmitter is dopamine.Dopamine plays an important role in how you feel pleasure. It’s also responsible for other processes in your body, such as regulating heart rate, sleep cycles, mood, attention, motivation, working memory, learning, and pain processing.

4. Promotes neuroplasticity

Neuroplasticity is the ability of your brain and nervous system to change their activity in response to internal or external stimuli.

5. Increases oxygen supply to the brain

As your heart starts to pump faster during exercise, it increases the oxygen supply to your brain.

This results in certain changes to the blood vessels of your brain, promoting potential improvements in executive function, which includes working memory, flexible thinking, and self-control.
 

Low impact exercises like brisk walking, yoga, and tai chi can help you reduce stress and anxiety symptoms. Even a little bit of physical activity can boost your mood and calm your mind. For example, try doing squats, pushups, or jumping jacks for 30 to 60 seconds, or taking walks regularly.

Meditation is a type of mind-body complementary medicine. Meditation can help you relax deeply and calm your mind.

During meditation, you focus on one thing. You get rid of the stream of thoughts that may be crowding your mind and causing stress. This process can lead to better physical and emotional well-being.
 

Types of Meditation
Meditation is an umbrella term for the many ways to get to a relaxed state. There are many types of meditation and ways to relax that use parts of meditation. All share the same goal of gaining inner peace.
 

Ways to meditate can include:

• Guided meditation. This is sometimes called guided imagery or visualization. With this method of meditation, you form mental images of places or things that help you relax. You try to use as many senses as you can. These include things you can smell, see, hear and feel. You may be led through this process by a guide or teacher.

• Mantra meditation. In this type of meditation, you repeat a calming word, thought or phrase to keep out unwanted thoughts.

• Mindfulness meditation. This type of meditation is based on being mindful. This means being more aware of the present. In mindfulness meditation, you focus on one thing, such as the flow of your breath. You can notice your thoughts and feelings. But let them pass without judging them.

• Qigong. This practice most often combines meditation, relaxation, movement and breathing exercises to restore and maintain balance. Qigong (CHEE-gung) is part of Chinese medicine.

• Tai chi. This is a form of gentle Chinese martial arts training. In tai chi (TIE-CHEE), you do a series of postures or movements in a slow, graceful way. And you do deep breathing with the movements.

• Yoga. You do a series of postures with controlled breathing. This helps give you a more flexible body and a calm mind. To do the poses, you need to balance and focus. That helps you to focus less on your busy day and more on the moment.

Benefits of Meditation
Meditation can give you a sense of calm, peace and balance that can benefit your emotional well-being and your overall health. You also can use it to relax and cope with stress by focusing on something that calms you. Meditation can help you learn to stay centered and keep inner peace.

These benefits don't end when your meditation session ends. Meditation can help take you more calmly through your day. And meditation may help you manage symptoms of some medical conditions.
When you meditate, you may clear away the information overload that builds up every day and contributes to your stress.

The emotional and physical benefits of meditation can include:

• Giving you a new way to look at things that cause stress.

• Building skills to manage your stress.

• Making you more self-aware.

• Focusing on the present.

• Reducing negative feelings.

• Helping you be more creative.

• Helping you be more patient.

• Lowering resting heart rate.

• Lowering resting blood pressure.

• Helping you sleep better.

Positive thinking doesn't mean that you ignore life's less pleasant situations. Positive thinking just means that you approach unpleasantness in a more positive and productive way. You think the best is going to happen, not the worst.
 

Positive thinking often starts with self-talk. Self-talk is the endless stream of unspoken thoughts that run through your head. These automatic thoughts can be positive or negative. Some of your self-talk comes from logic and reason. Other self-talk may arise from misconceptions that you create because of lack of information or expectations due to preconceived ideas of what may happen.

The health benefits of positive thinking
Researchers continue to explore the effects of positive thinking and optimism on health. Health benefits that positive thinking may provide include:

• Increased life span

• Lower rates of depression

• Lower levels of distress and pain

• Greater resistance to illnesses

• Better psychological and physical well-being

• Better cardiovascular health and reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease and stroke

• Reduced risk of death from cancer

• Reduced risk of death from respiratory conditions

• Reduced risk of death from infections

• Better coping skills during hardships and times of stress

It's unclear why people who engage in positive thinking experience these health benefits. One theory is that having a positive outlook enables you to cope better with stressful situations, which reduces the harmful health effects of stress on your body.
 

Focusing on positive thinking
You can learn to turn negative thinking into positive thinking. The process is simple, but it does take time and practice — you're creating a new habit, after all. Following are some ways to think and behave in a more positive and optimistic way:

• Identify areas to change. If you want to become more optimistic and engage in more positive thinking, first identify areas of your life that you usually think negatively about, whether it's work, your daily commute, life changes or a relationship. You can start small by focusing on one area to approach in a more positive way. Think of a positive thought to manage your stress instead of a negative one.

• Check yourself. Periodically during the day, stop and evaluate what you're thinking. If you find that your thoughts are mainly negative, try to find a way to put a positive spin on them.

• Be open to humor. Give yourself permission to smile or laugh, especially during difficult times. Seek humor in everyday happenings. When you can laugh at life, you feel less stressed

• Follow a healthy lifestyle. Aim to exercise for about 30 minutes on most days of the week. You can also break it up into 5- or 10-minute chunks of time during the day. Exercise can positively affect mood and reduce stress. Follow a healthy diet to fuel your mind and body. Get enough sleep. And learn techniques to manage stress.

• Surround yourself with positive people. Make sure those in your life are positive, supportive people you can depend on to give helpful advice and feedback. Negative people may increase your stress level and make you doubt your ability to manage stress in healthy ways.

• Practice positive self-talk. Start by following one simple rule: Don't say anything to yourself that you wouldn't say to anyone else. Be gentle and encouraging with yourself. If a negative thought enters your mind, evaluate it rationally and respond with affirmations of what is good about you. Think about things you're thankful for in your life.

Humor is often a way to cope with difficulties. Research shows that when people are stressed or anxious, they become calmer and more at ease after enjoying a good joke. Humor can also draw people closer together. Sharing laughter with others is a bonding experience.
 

Why Does Humor Help?

Humor Changes Your Body Chemistry
A chemical reaction happens in your body when you smile and laugh. Endorphins—hormones in your brain and nervous system that affect your mood—are released and activate receptors in your brain. These receptors lessen pain and trigger feelings of pleasure. Feelings of stress and discomfort are reduced, and feelings of joy and happiness increase. 

Humor Connects Us
Humor also can make people feel less alone. You make a connection when you laugh with someone, whether you’re in person or online. The laughter that humor brings is contagious thanks to mirror neurons, which are brain cells that cause you to do what you’ve just seen someone else do—“mirroring” their actions. Just sharing the joke or video that caused you to laugh—and knowing someone else had the same reaction—creates a shared experience.   

Humor Builds Resilience
Finding humor in hard things changes your perspective on them, helping you have a more positive outlook. Being able to take a lighter approach to a problem can also make it feel less overwhelming. Research shows that laughter can be calming when you’re scared. After confronting and dealing with a negative interaction, laughter can provide a release from the tension of the situation and return your nervous system to a calmer state.
 

When Humor Isn’t Helpful

Humor is a very valuable tool, but it’s less helpful when it keeps you from dealing with emotions.

Experiencing a range of emotions is healthy and necessary. If you find yourself using humor to cover up pain, sadness, anger, fear, or trauma, you are depriving yourself of the chance to process and work through tough emotions. That means they will just find another way to come out. 

So how do you figure out a balance that makes sense while adding helpful humor into your life?
 

Is Humor Keeping You From Dealing With Tough Emotions?
  Ask yourself: 

• Am I making jokes to avoid dealing with painful feelings?

• Am I using humor as a weapon or defense mechanism?

• Does this humor give me the relief and release I need?

• Is humor helping me deal with this situation?

• Is this funny situation connecting me with others?

Once you’ve figured out the reason you’re using humor, you can determine if it’s helping or hindering you. If you find that you’re using humor to avoid your feelings and it’s hindering you, try to experiment with letting yourself feel tough feelings without making a joke.
 

Ways to Incorporate Humor Into Your Life

• Watch funny videos on YouTube.

• Watch a video of one of your favorite comedians.

• Share something funny on social media.

• Turn on your favorite sitcom or comedy film.

• Do something silly: Do a cartwheel, dance around, or take silly selfies.

• Read a funny book, comic, or webcomic.

• Have a funny contest with a friend, such as blowing bubbles, making paper airplanes, or karaoke.

Aromatherapy is the use and application of pure essential oils to promote physical, psychological, and emotional balance. Essential oils that are concentrated, hydrophobic liquids (liquids that are incapable of combining with or dissolving in water), containing aroma compounds extracted from plants.

Each essential oil has a unique effect such as helping with anxiousness, soothing queasiness, rejuvenating, calming, etc.
 

How aromatherapy can positively affect Emotions:

The limbic system is a complex system of nerves and networks in the brain that controls basic emotions, behavior, long-term memory, and smell.

When we smell something it’s our limbic system that stores and then interprets the emotional significance of an aroma. Therefore, an essential oil can instantly trigger a behavioral response in our body and why certain aromas put us on guard while others calm us down. Many hospitals and healthcare systems are embracing and promoting clinical aromatherapy as an adjunct treatment.

Some essential oils and their associated scents and uses: 
Peppermint - Boosts energy, reduces headaches, and improves concentration
Lavender - Relieves stress, treats anxiety and depression, and helps with sleep
Sandalwood - Calms nerves and helps with focus
Chamomile - Reduces stress
Clary sage - Promotes relaxation
Lemon - Increases happiness and improves concentration
Rosemary - Increases focus
Sweet orange - Reduces anxiety
Ylang-ylang - Decreases stress
White Camphor - Improves mood and helps with depression
Cedarwood - Relieves stress, enhances focus, and helps with depression
Frankincense - Lifts mood, balances hormones, promotes relaxation, and alleviates depression

You can start doing aromatherapy by:

• Lighting a scented candle or incense

• Using a diffuser with essential oils

• Taking a bath with a few drops of essential oils

• Rubbing drops of essential oils into the skin (on wrists, the neck, and behind the ears)

• Using a scented lotion

• Using an aromatherapy necklace

Art therapy is a unique approach to channel inner feelings, emotions, stress, and trauma through mediums such as painting, sculpting, poetry, creative writing, music, and photography. 
 

It is important to understand that some people might not benefit from traditional therapy, and that is why people are encouraged to explore options that might better suit them. If you question the impact of traditional therapy, here are some of the benefits of finding a creative outlet such as art therapy:
 

• Alleviates symptoms. Taking the time to focus on art might help ease your anxiety, depression, and stress. Practicing art and channeling your emotions can help to alleviate some of your symptoms and increase development in positive coping skills and art techniques.

• Increases confidence. For some individuals, it might be more difficult to vocalize their feelings or even be vocal at all, and art is another way to be expressive with feelings. Another reason for creating art is the reward of seeing it displayed—seeing your own work complete and displayed can really boost your confidence which is great for you and your art!

• Social connection. One of the great things about art is that you can create art individually or you can do it in a group. Regardless of your preferred method, you get to meet other individuals, create lasting, supportive friendships, and learn from professionals about different art techniques.

• Enhances focus. Most of the time when we are so enveloped by creating things like art, we lose track of time and are beginning to enhance our focus skills with our artwork. This type of focus is good for us when we are trying to relax and find peace within ourselves and just enjoy creating art.

To practice art therapy, create a comfortable space, choose an art medium you enjoy (like painting, drawing, sculpting, coloring, etc), focus on the creative process rather than the final product, and use prompts to guide your expression of emotions, allowing yourself to explore and represent your feelings without judgment, while reflecting on your artwork afterwards to gain insight into your inner experiences.

Not sure where to start? Get some inspiration with 100 prompts from this website here: https://intuitivecreativity.typepad.com/expressiveartinspirations/100-art-therapy-exercises.html