The Quora community has answers to questions ranging from “How do I export a Twitter list to a text file?” to “What is the best Pixies album?” But some of the best replies are to more general questions that apply to almost everyone. Witness the astonishing 43 answers to the question “What is the simplest way to be calmer, to relax, and to reduce stress?”
Some of the replies are more serious than others, but most of them will strike a chord with over-scheduled workers. Here are a few of our favorites:
1. Yoga or meditation. (Several users.)
2. Doing simple activities, including “fun kid-like activities like coloring in a coloring book.” (Several users.)
3. Re-prioritize. “Perhaps doing yoga, breathing and patting dogs sound like simpler solutions, but they are not solutions, they are Band-Aids … desperate measures that paste over cracks rather than addressing a problem.” (Alia Caldwell.)
4. Conscious breathing. (Several users.)
5. Exercise. Specifically, user Brian Browne Walker feels that you should “buy a red bicycle, ride it, repeat as necessary.”
6. Find a hobby you really love. “Instead of putting all of your energy and concerns into the thing(s) that stress you out, shift your energy into that. Accept that everything else has to be done, and the sooner it is done, the sooner you can do the thing you love. The thing you love is always the reward for getting through the other stuff.” (Kim Raymoure.)
7. Get more sleep. As user Caroline Zelonka points out, it’s “simple and legal” … plus, it’s hard to start stressing about new things when you’re conked out.
8. Hang out with your pets. “Pat a cat, walk a dog,” Caiti Baker writes. “Take note of their attitude toward life. It’s simple and puts things in perspective quickly.”
9. Get a psychic reading. Quora user and paranormal researcher T. Tharpa Doyle says it can help you manage stress, as well as chat with Grandma in the afterlife.
10. Skip stressful events whenever you can. (Ingur Zimmermann.)
11. Burn incense. Adriano Stephan recommends sandlewood.
12. Hypnotherapy. (Several users.)
13. Relaxing outdoors. (Several users.)
14. Smile — and accept that stress is a natural part of being human. (Beate V. Kittlesen.)
15. Write down your dreams. As in, the ones you have at night, although probably cataloging your life goals wouldn’t be such a bad idea either. (Douglas Crets.)
16. Scream. (John Christian Schwartz.)
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(Photo Credit: Robert S. Donovan/Flickr)
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