In the last six months, I have changed to three countries. I have lived in Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, and now I have moved to Mexico. At the same time, I move around on my own. And, of course, were without a huge amount of work. All of these factors create incredible stress and raise anxiety levels too high. It creates discomfort in which you just can’t focus on something and are in a state of frustration.

Photo by Nik Shuliahin 💛💙 on Unsplash

I’ve been doing a lot of work and looking for ways to get that level down from high to tolerable. And in this post, I want to share ways that I actively use to reduce stress and anxiety.

Download a time tracker.

I agree, it sounds strange. But in practice, it is a really useful tool. When you set yourself a time limit for some action, your brain will subconsciously focus on what you have planned to do. Setting a time frame is a must. That way you limit your attention span to a specific action and stop thinking about the source of stress and anxiety.

I recommend the Session app. It’s an incredibly handy app that allows you to set yourself a task and a time to do it in 2 clicks.

I’ve tried many apps, but I chose it based on a few criteria:

• User-friendly UI and UX;
• Description of my sessions;
• Integration with a calendar;
• Session analytics.

After I started using it, I noticed that I forget about everything except the task I set the timer on and focused only on the execution.

Share your problems.

The next way I keep a sober head is that I can get advice and support from other people. This is incredibly important.

But there is one BUT… I don’t like to share my personal problems with anyone, I don’t want anyone to know that I have problems. Not with loved ones, not with friends, not with anyone else. And then the question came up: how can I get support without giving away my identity?

And that’s when I came across the AskMeAnything platform. The concept of the product is that you share your stories completely anonymously and other people (also anonymously) give their comments, words of support, and advice.

Yes, of course, it’s not a professional psychologist who takes a scientific approach to solve mental problems — but I don’t need that. Sometimes I just need to hear from people who can share their experience of dealing with such problems, say words of encouragement, or give advice. In general, to feel the attention to your problems without judgment and assessment — it’s cool. The service is great, I recommend it.

It is also very interesting to read about other people’s problems and to help them. It somehow becomes easier inside. You feel that the experience you have been saving up for years is really useful and important.

Series.

Don’t judge me for this point, but it really helped me. When you’re alone jumping from unknown to unknown, it’s hard to stay constantly productive and keep your sanity.

Series are a good short-term way out of your reality. You begin to worry more about the lives of the actors in the series than you do about your own. You forget about your problems and start living a life that is not your own. All the problems in reality fade into the background.

But it’s important to understand the line here. It’s a short-term solution. You can’t always live someone else’s life and fictional problems. For me personally, soap operas are a good way to come to my senses quickly.

Communication with other people.

When we communicate with other people, we get distracted. We feel different. This is probably one of the best ways to reduce anxiety and relieve stress.

If you feel bad — just call friends, family, or acquaintances. Talk to them about anything. The subject of the conversation is not important. It’s just the communication that matters.

Conclusions.

We live in a world where stress and increased anxiety are normal phenomena that everyone faces. The most important thing is to be able to work with it and control these processes. If you know you are susceptible to it, start thinking about how to reduce it soon.