Managing Stress Without The Pills

Modern life, particularly in urban settings, has its attractions and consequently ever more people are drawn to cities seeking a better life. However, as population densities grow as a result so do the stress factors that city dwellers are increasingly exposed to. Traffic jams and conditions in overcrowded public transport carriers can fray the nerves and competitive work environments lead to heightened stress levels both for those striving to get higher up the ladder and those in fear of falling under the redundancy axe. These are just some of the ways in which city dwellers’ mental health is threatened. What’s to be done about it?

Give yourself a break

Taking a break away from it all can be therapeutic and a private yacht rental in Hong Kong from Simpson’s extensive fleet could provide such a tonic for Hong Kongers who, in these troubled times, must be much in need of one. With 24 yachts to choose from and trips ranging from one-day outings to 10-day cruises there are a lot of options available and forming a group (family, friends or colleagues) makes the per capita cost very affordable. Renting one of the larger yachts for the day or a weekend would also be a very popular choice for a company outing.

Clear your mind

Experiencing the wide-open spaces of the ocean and the shipshape tidiness so necessary for the safety of a yacht’s guests and crew might lead to some reflection about the state of matters at home. A cluttered home tends to produce for its occupants cluttered minds which, in turn, adds to the physical clutter – a vicious circle that is not conducive to mental health. While a treasure hunt is a fun activity, frantically searching for misplaced keys or a purse when already running late for a date produces stress and maybe also worry about recriminations. Having a clear-out and donating anything that’s usable to a charity shop or bazaar is a win-win solution to the cluttered home-mind syndrome.

Being at peace with yourself

Yoga, meditation and some martial arts are widely touted as ways of washing away the mental knots and tangles produced by the stresses of everyday life. These approaches are not, however, everyone’s cup of tea. There are other ways of centering or grounding as psychologists call it. Consider, for example, someone tending their garden or houseplants  Don’t they seem to be at peace with themselves? There are many other ways of achieving such a state, a few of which are:

• Creative activities such as painting, carving, model construction, pottery etc,
• Dance,
• Jogging, cycling, swimming laps, aerobics,
• Music – both instrumental and vocal,
• Photography, and
• Thinking of other ways of grounding or centering that might work for you.

Change can be healthy

In addition to finding ways of reaching a healthy state of mind, if you are not happy with your life as it is identify the reasons and seek to make changes. There may be some, your job being one, that will be a long-term goal but others, like the place you’re living in may be more easily changed.

Expert advice

For anyone experiencing excessively high levels of stress, the U.S Government’s Department of Health and Human Services has published an informative guide as to how it may be managed.