According to the World Health Organization, stress fuels about 50% of depression cases, and it is tightly connected to cardiovascular diseases, metabolic syndromes, and increased cortisol levels. It is a significant problem of the 21st century and it appears that it will only get worse. As the lyric of Queen/David Bowie smash hit Under Pressure says: “It’s the terror of knowing what the world is about”.  The increasing number of stressors and has turned anxiety into the second leading health problem in the western world. This is why so many people are turning to any conceivable, science-backed, and natural stress relievers.

1. Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR)

In a way, PMR has been with us forever. The sheer method of stretching in the morning and developing disciplines like yoga actually show that we humans always intuit certain things. PMR is a technique of tensing and relaxing muscles in order to reduce stress. 

It has been developed in the 1920s by an American doctor Edmund Jacobson. The key is to be consistent and start with your toes before you work your way up from there. Tighten every muscle you can feel, from soles to forehead, and you will truly feel the difference after the fact. 

2. Talk With Your Best Friend

A true friend will be ready to listen to your woes. While we all have those “fun-designated” pals and acquaintances, a true friend is something more. A prolonged conversation about matters that bother you will reduce your cortisol levels and help you figure out the most effective ways to tackle certain problems. You will actually solve them. The study has shown that this holds true in teenagers, but there is a consensus that this also goes for adult BFFs. 

3. CBD Oil Gets Rid of Stress

Cannabidiol, or CBD for short, is a phytocannabinoid that can be extracted from industrial hemp. It is a certified pain and stress reliever. While the produced oil has an amazing nutritious value (omega-3, omega-6, and linoleic acids), it is also a certified anxiety and pain reliever. In addition, it stimulates the immune system and ameliorates intestinal problems. These are only some of the reasons why an increasing number of people are considering the utilization of CBD oil for stress relief and other uses. Its multilateral influence on crucial aspects of one’s physical and mental condition is nearly too good to be true, and while there is a lot of research to be done still, all the conclusions point to the best. 

4. Listening to Music Relieves Stress

Different songs emerged during various phases of our lives, creating an idiosyncratic “tape mix” of everybody’s lifetime. You can use this to your advantage as a natural way to relieve stress. In fact, the latest research in the field of neuroscience has concluded that listening to certain songs can significantly reduce stress in very short time spans. One of such songs, Marconi Union’s Weightless, has marked a 65% reduction in the anxiety levels of the study’s participants. Soothing music has become easy to find these days and you can assemble the appropriate soundtracks that will flow through your earbuds and keep your anxiety at bay. 

5. St. John’s Wort Is a Great Stress Reliever

The well-documented presence of St. John’s Wort throughout history is the best argument for its anxiety-relieving properties. It has been used to treat mental illness and depression and in some cases, it can be more effective than Prozac. Combined with another herbal remedy, for example, valerian root, it can do wonders for hard cases of insomnia and restlessness. 

Ignoring the signs of stress and anxiety can lead to chronic physiological problems which will become harder and harder to solve. Before you know it, rainy days will turn into downpours and it will become all too overwhelming for you to deal with without professional help. Thankfully, nature has a way of balancing things out, and you can find numerous elegant solutions to stress if you just knew where to look and decided to take that extra step. More often than not, people tend to be surprised by how strong they are after they’ve managed to solve a problem by themselves.