HEALTH
7 Ways to Relieve Stress in Your Life

Nowadays, it’s difficult not to feel overwhelmed. There is a danger of being overburdened by the demands of many things. For example, your job, family, and other responsibilities may result in stress. Therefore, your physical and emotional health may suffer.
Although it takes time and effort, you can and should practice stress management techniques.
What does it mean to be under stress?
Stress is your body’s response to a demand or a challenge. You can experience stress from various events. For example, feeling overwhelmed may happen from divorce, job loss, or minor inconveniences.
Below are healthy methods to deal with stress in your life.
1. Regular Physical Activity
Besides improving your health, exercising reduces stress.
Are you getting enough physical activity each week?
To work on your fitness, start by setting realistic objectives for yourself. Then, focus on cardio and movement exercises like yoga and strength training.
All these forms of exercise can improve your mood. Exercising releases endorphins that help you retain a positive outlook. You’ll find you feel much better after working out. So, it’s wise to implement exercise as often as possible.
2. Eat and Drink Properly
Eating a healthy diet can improve your well-being. Plus, it can help regulate stress. A healthy diet should include fruits, vegetables, proteins, and whole grains.
Also, don’t skip any of your meals. Not having a regular eating schedule can cause depression. And when you’re struggling with depression, anxiety is also common. So, it’s best to stick with the planned times you intend on eating each day.
3. Speak Up About Your Issues
Talking about what’s troubling you can help you feel better. You can contact a therapist, doctor, friends, or family to discuss your issues. Talking to them about what bothers you is an excellent way to cope with stress.
Also, there’s the option of talking to yourself. We all participate in self-talk at some point in our lives. However, for self-talk to be beneficial, you must be positive, not negative.
When stressed out, take note of your thoughts and words. You may find that you’re not very kind to yourself. It’s vital to speak to yourself positively to correct this.
Self-love may seem like a trend, but it has vast benefits. Focusing on how to forgive yourself is vital to keeping your stress levels low.
4. Identify and Reduce the Causes of Stress
Find out what stresses you out the most in your daily life. Identifying what they are may help you get rid of them. Or, at the very least, figuring out what they are may decrease their impact on your life.
Furthermore, keep a diary to figure out what’s causing your stress. The best strategy to deal with stress is to track when you’re most stressed. Later, see if there is a trend so you can focus on coping with the issues.
5. Learn and Practice How to Relax
Your mind and body will thank you if you take a few minutes each day to unwind. To relax, employ methods like:
- Meditation
- Guided visualization
- Deep breathing
- Relaxing your muscles
There are a lot of websites and phone apps that can help you learn these techniques. While some resources may require paying, most are free to access.
Additionally, you can use devices such as the custom night guard to help you relax and enhance your sleep.
6. Give Yourself More Grace
Acknowledge that you can’t control and accomplish everything flawlessly. Thus, do yourself a favor and quit believing you can do everything. Focus on what can be done, and leave the rest to another day.
Additionally, remember to preserve your sense of humor. Laughter is a great way to relieve stress.
7. Avoid Procrastination
You can also reduce stress by staying current with tasks and avoiding procrastination. Excessive procrastination can hinder your performance and make you scramble for time.
As a result, you may experience stress, which harms your health and ability to sleep. Creating a prioritized to-do list might help you avoid procrastination. It’s wise to list all the tasks you need to do and prioritize them based on importance.
Conclusion
There are multiple techniques to relieve stress on your own. However, you should get professional assistance if you need it. A therapist or healthcare expert can help you address your mental health concerns. By applying these tips, you can cope with stress more efficiently.

Khalil ur Rehman is a proud born and raised in Abbottabad. Khalil has worked as a journalist for nearly a decade having contributed to several large publications including the Yahoo News and The Verge. As a journalist for The Hear Up, Khalil covers climate and science news. [email protected]
HEALTH
4 Occasions When Employers Can Make Use of Drug Testing Services

In many places of business, being under the influence of alcohol or any other addictive substance can create problems. It’s not just about being able to handle the job; it’s also about the safety of everyone working in the place. For this reason, it’s not unusual for business owners to make use of drug testing services from time to time. Here are some examples when testing may be necessary.
Part of the Advance Screening For New Employees
Hiring for an open position involves finding the most qualified person. In order to complete the process, prospective employers may require new hires to take a drug test before being allowed to report to work. If all goes well, the job offer stands, and a start date is set.
Most employers understand that false positives can occur, in that there are foods, prescription medication that’s being taken as prescribed, and other factors that may mimic the use of certain substances. That’s often taken into account when evaluating the test results.
Periodic Testing of Current Employees
It’s not unusual for an employer to have random drug testing conducted once or twice a year. The point is to ensure that employees who are entrusted with proprietary information, or who handle tasks that require a great deal of concentration, are capable of managing their duties responsibly.
With random testing, employees generally don’t have much advance notice. Since testing may be requested at any time, employees are more likely to refrain from abusing different types of substances and may choose not to use anything at all. This is true even with legal substances like alcohol.
Unexplained Changes in an Employee’s Demeanor
Along with random drug testing, a change in the demeanor of an employee may lead to the employer requesting a drug test. For example, an employee who is normally articulate but has grown increasingly unable to communicate effectively may be suspected of substance abuse. Assuming other explanations don’t apply, determining if drugs are involved sense.
Depending on the test results, the employer may take several courses of action. The employee may receive a warning. There’s also the chance that the employer will offer the employee a chance to enter some type of substance abuse program. In the event that the employee does not want to pursue any of these options, terminating the employment may be the only solution.
Testing as a Requirement For Returning to The Job
Even after employees emerge from a rehabilitation program, it’s not unusual for the employer to require one more drug test. In fact, it may be necessary to undergo the test before being allowed back into the workplace. If the results indicate no drugs in the person’s system, plans are made for the employee to resume his or her duties.
After that, there’s not likely to be another need for a test outside of the random testing that the employer already conducts. Hopefully, the employee will have no more problems, and the past abuse will remain in the past.
Whenever there’s the need for drug tests, reaching out to one of the professional drug testing services is the most practical approach. Doing so helps to ensure the testing is accurate, done in a timely and discreet manner, and that the results are only shared with the employer.

Umar Nisar was born and raised in the busy city of Abbottabad. As a journalist, Umar Nisar has contributed to many online publications including PAK Today and the Huffing Post. In regards to academics, Umar Nisar earned a degree in business from the Abbottabad UST, Havelian. Umar Nisar follows the money and covers all aspects of emerging tech here at The Hear Up.
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