Your favourite 5-minute de-stressors

Bills, deadlines, relationships, obligations, expectations and hey, what's for dinner? No matter how cool, calm and collected you may be, stress has a way of poking its ugly head into everyone's life.

When tension mounts and you need instant relief, take some pointers from the following Homemakers readers who shared their best advice on how to return to a more mellow you.

Sing stress away
My favorite five-minute de-stressor: Blare an up-beat song in my car with the windows rolled down and sing at the top of my lungs!

Noelle
Port Coquitlam, BC

Call on the kids
My five-minute de-stressor is laughing with my children. Carter is 4 and Chloe is 2 (going on 12!) and they bring the most joy into my life. It doesn't take much to make them happy and when they're happy, I'm happy.

We laugh together, tell jokes, make funny faces, sing silly songs, dance crazy -- it's a ball! Laughing with my children lifts my spirits like no amount of chocolate ever could (this, coming from a chocaholic!)

Vivianne Sharpe
Oshawa, ON

Watch a favourite flick
Oftentimes when I am stressed, it's because I've lost my perspective. To gain it back, I throw on a few minutes of a favourite movie... either "It's A Wonderful Life," or "The Family Stone."

[Spending] a short time watching either of these great films provides me with a reminder of wonderful, permanent things like family and allows me to let go of less important mental clutter.

EJ Lee McBride
London, ON

Treat it with aromatherapy
My best five-minute de-stressor is simply applying aromatherapy/scented hand lotion anytime anywhere. I keep a small bottle in my purse, car, office, night stand, family room, den, and coat pockets. I buy different scents to keep it interesting.

When I feel a need to de-stress, I apply some lotion, close my eyes, breathe deeply a few times while holding my hands close to my face and voila! I feel better and get back to whatever I was doing in a more relaxed fashion. It's easy and works well.

Silvy Picciano

Laugh a little! Click to continue for more tips on how to relax...

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