Let’s face it. Try as we might, sometimes, we just can’t just relax, chill, and practice self-care. It can be any of the million things we do every day or a combination of a ton of little things that pile on our heads until we explode from the pressure.
But we can’t stay in a state of panic or stress all the time; it would eventually cause us so much mental and physical strain. So how do we relax?
Well, let’s start by getting to the root of the problem. Once we know what’s genuinely bothering us, we can work toward fixing it. Then we can decide on the best way to solve the issue.
Sounds like a lot of work? It might be, but it’s the most important work you can do for yourself and your family. Being the healthiest and the best you is what your family needs. As parents, we can’t do our best if we don’t feel our best.
So today, we are going to break down five of the most common reasons why you might not be able to relax and then some ways to remedy the situation. Don’t worry: Relaxation is on the way!
What It Means To Relax
There are a lot of physical and mental responses from your body when you truly relax. You can expect to experience these senses as part of the relaxation response.
- Your heart rate will slow down
- Your blood pressure decreases
- Digestive wellness will get better
- Breathing slows down
- Muscles relax
- Your body is less tense: pain decreases
- Your immune system strengthens, leaving you less susceptible to health problems
- Mentally, little things become more manageable
- You have an easier time falling asleep
It isn’t easy to relax, and the road to total relaxation may be a long one, but don’t give up. The physical and mental benefits of finding a state of relaxation are worth it.
5 Reasons Why You Can’t Relax
We might not always be able to pinpoint the exact reason we became stressed, but when you feel your chest get tight and everything bothers you, finding out what’s going on is critical.
No one should have to or needs to live with anxiety and walk around with feelings of stress. These aren’t the only reasons why you can’t relax, but these are definitely some key reasons that should be examined.
1. Your Brain Is Addicted
Sometimes we can’t relax because our brains don’t want to. Why? Because we may be experiencing low levels of dopamine in our brains. When we have deficiencies in dopamine in our brains, our bodies will start looking for an external supply.
While stress can cause low dopamine, it can also help to replace dopamine our bodies aren’t currently making. When we come into contact with something that stresses us, it triggers the release of dopamine. It’s not a healthy cycle, but it’s one that can be easy to fall into if we aren’t careful.
2. Overactive Emotional Trigger
We may find it hard to relax if we have an overly emotional personality or overactive emotional trigger. For many that suffer from anxiety disorders or depression, this is likely the case.
When anxiety and depression set up home in our brains, emotional responses to stressors become heightened and more intense. We are faced with an issue, no matter how small, and it’s enough to derail our entire week by causing an overload of negative thoughts. This will make it hard to relax as everything we face has the potential to cause an emotional outburst or mental breakdown.
3. Overactive Fight or Flight Response
The fight or flight response is the nervous system’s reaction to stressors or external factors. Many of us suffer from an overactive response triggered by the hormone cortisol and are constantly worrying about what could happen as opposed to what is happening. This response can eventually lead to panic attacks and other mental health issues.
If we are going through the day just waiting for the next issue, then we are essentially walking on pins and needles all day, waiting to freak out.
4. Trying To Relax Feels Stressful
You might be stressing about not stressing out.
When we try so hard to relax, we start obsessing over the little ways in which we can calm down. We check our blood pressure constantly and check the time to see how long we’ve been waiting to calm down.
All these little things add up to be even more stressful than the point we started with.
5. The Outside World Is Intimidating
A fear of the outside world, or a social anxiety disorder, is a widespread occurrence, and it is happening more and more due to the stress and pressure of social media. This can happen when we go into public and get nervous and feel tense just having to interact with friends and strangers.
It can take a toll on our mental health as we feel the need to keep up with those around us and those we see on TV. We feel less than others due to what we see in the media and feel that everything we do pales in comparison. This can do a number on our mental state and cause us to be overly emotional.
How You Can Fix It
We can’t stay in a state of panic forever, and we need to calm down fast. Learning some relaxation techniques and other tips and tricks to get zen is important.
Let’s go over some ways to fix the worry circles today.
1. Take a Brain Break
It can be hard to de-stress without a safe space to head to. Taking a brain break to relax and clear your mind is a great way to start relaxing fast. You’ll be able to remove yourself from the stressful situation and take a few deep breaths.
A little quiet time and deep breathing can do wonders to get your brain to chill out.
2. Take a Walk
Taking a walk around the block after a stressful day can help to get out some of the nerves and frustration of the day and get you back on track with your headspace. After a long day or a tense situation, take a break and go for a walk.
Your body will get some physical activity and work out the problems you’ve been facing.
3. Meditate
Deep breathing exercises can really help keep you at the center of calm. Anytime throughout the day, when life starts to get overwhelming, you can close your eyes, empty your mind and start to breathe away the stress.
If you’re about to meditate for the first time, don’t worry. It will take time and practice to truly perfect the technique, but once you have it down, you can use it anywhere, anytime, any day.
4. Use Aromatherapy
Utilizing the healing qualities of essential oils to find relaxation and calm is a great tool. Aromatherapy works by inhaling the scents and aromas of essential oils. These scents trigger chemical responses from our brains that guide us in how we should feel or respond to a situation.
Our ZenPatch is a patch that goes on clothes and is full of up to eight hours of the perfect blend of essential oils to keep you totally chill all day. You can stick them on your top and forget that they’re there. The scents will release at timed intervals throughout the day, and you will be able to get through the afternoon and tackle anything that comes your way.
5. Stay Mindful
Keeping your mind on the present is a key practice to keeping yourself grounded and centered. The more we worry about what has happened or what could potentially happen, the less calm we are able to feel.
Instead, we need to stay present and keep our attention on what is going on around us and enjoy those moments.
6. Practice and Practice More
No matter how much it feels like we’re practicing, practice some more. It will take time and repetition, but once we maintain the practices, they will become second nature. We will be able to employ these techniques at the drop of a hat and not even worry about how we’ll relax.
Form Helpful Habits and Find Relaxation
We are confident that these tips and tricks will get you to zen quickly and easily. You may find that a few of these techniques work for you, and you try to switch it up a little every time you feel a little out of sorts.
That’s great! It will always be a benefit to have a few tricks up your sleeve to calm down, and there may come a time when you need more than one activity to get you to relax. You’ll be happy to have more than one practice ready to go if you have a particularly hard week.
Sources:
Health and Balance: What Happens to Your Body When You Relax | Avail Hospital Lake Charles
Techniques to Tame the Fight-or-Flight Response | Verywell Mind
THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON SOCIAL ANXIETY | National Social Anxiety Center
