Maybe your goal is to save more money in 2024. Or perhaps you want to exercise regularly. Whether you realize it or not, the ultimate result of most New Year’s resolutions is reducing a level of stress in your life. Instead of making big changes, however, Jenny Taitz, PsyD, clinical psychologist and author of Stress Resets: How To Soothe Your Body and Mind in Minutes, says there are several small things you can do that will give you a stress reset.
“A stress reset is a quick thing that you can do in a matter of minutes to prevent stress from snowballing or spiraling,” she says. “Something that allows you to slow down and proceed with more thoughtfulness and bandwidth.”
When you start to feel like you just don’t have the time for stress reset, that’s the time you need to do it, says Megy Karydes, author of 50 Ways to More Calm, Less Stress: Scientifically Proven Ways to Relieve Anxiety and Boost Your Mental Health Using Your Five Senses.
“Some of the things you can incorporate are designed to create a muscle memory,” says Karydes. “It’s getting into the habit of realizing you need [stress resets] as part of your daily life.”
1. Do a Mind Reset
Many of the solutions for reducing stress are within us, and you can tap into them by doing a mind reset, says Taitz. One is an exercise she calls “wise mind,” aligning your head and heart. “We just need to listen to ourselves,” she says. “Slow down and remember that you have a wise mind. Tune into that.”
Another mind reset that reduces stress is replacing worry with coping ahead. “So often we’re running through all the things that may go horribly, terribly wrong, which isn’t cathartic or therapeutic or preventing those things,” says Taitz. “Coping ahead is the opposite. It’s like productively thinking about what you’re about to face and creating a coping plan that’s both like emotional and logistical. It’s a game plan ahead of time.”
A third type of mind reset is noticing your beliefs about emotions. “A lot of times, people think ‘If I’m having a bad morning, it’s going to be a bad day,’ or ‘If I’m sad, there’s no point in going to dinner with my friends,’” says Taitz. “Work on your beliefs about your emotions because emotions are fleeting. If we can reenter the moment, we keep our negative beliefs replaying.”
2. Try a Body Reset
Our faces communicate with our brains, and Taitz says simply paying attention to and correcting your facial expression can help.
“Scowling is a landscape that allows you to have more negative critical thoughts,” she says. “Intentionally notice the tension between your eyebrows and imagine an eraser going between your eyebrows softening that space.”
In addition, scan your body for muscle tension. “Often, we don’t realize we’re sitting at the computer where our shoulders are nearly touching our ears,” says Taitz. “Taking a moment to intentionally scan your body and progressively relax everything from your head to your toes.”
3. Look for a Behavior Reset
In addition to changing your mind and body triggers, Taitz says you can reduce stress by paying attention to behaviors. “Urges are like waves in the ocean, rising and falling,” she says. “Just remember that you don’t have to indulge the urge to make it go away. Take a step back and practice urge surfing. The urge will go down.”
Another behavior reset is feigning energy. “A lot of times, we like we think that we have to feel energized to get going,” says Taitz. “Research studies that have found that when people act in more energetic ways, they experience more positive emotions.”
4. Do a Stress-Reducing Activity
In addition to paying attention to triggers that come from your mind, body, and behavior, Karydes says there are plenty of activities you can incorporate on a regular basis that will give you a stress reset. Adult coloring books, for example, became popular tools for stress reduction. However, Karydes recommends painting by numbers, instead.
“As silly as this sounds, especially for people who are a little bit more type A, you choose the color to color in your coloring book,” she says. “With paint by number, a number is associated with that color. It takes out that element of decision making, which is attractive to people because we have to make so many decisions every day.”
Cleaning can also reduce stress, says Karydes. Instead of tackling a huge project, like cleaning out an overstuffed garage, start small by organizing a kitchen drawer, which will leave you with a sense of accomplishment. Mindfully washing the dishes can also create a buffer against stress if you pay attention to the feeling of the warm water on your skin and the scent of the soap. Or pull out the vacuum and enjoy the calming effect on your body from its vibration.
Another stress-reducing activity is a timely one after the holidays: send a thank you card. Expressing gratitude can increase your happiness and they benefit the receiver, too. But skip the temptation to send off a quick text or email, says Karydes. “The physical act of sitting down and taking the time to compose and write your letter matters,” she says. “You can inject your personality into the card. You can choose a card that is simple, formal, funny, or sentimental.”
Why Stress Resets Are Important
While you can do any of these resets in the moment, Taitz recommends building a practice around stress resets. “Life is really stressful,” she says. “That’s all the more reason to remember we don’t need big fancy solutions. Something small can make a big difference and lighten your load.”
Activities that become habits can take you out of fight-or-flight mode, says Karydes. “Doing them on a regular basis will give you regular moments of comfort in your day,” she says, likening these activities to driving a car. “You can only focus on what’s in front of you or you will get into a car accident. When you focus and are present with one thing, it helps your ability to calm your body.”
