IL CANTONE

Urban stress is the stress of living in a big city. All those people who live in a big city have to coexist with situations that consistently produce undesirable stress. This stress eventually could lead to anxiety, depression and other diseases. Doing things in a rush, the pressure of having a million things to do, traffic jams, lines, too many people in too little space, noise, pollution and a long etc. All these things can turn our lives into absolute chaos. In this article I´m going to give you a series of tips to manage and reduce that daily stress.

• Organize and manage your time better and avoid last minute hurry

You have to organize your time to boost productivity and to relieve stress. You have to arrive at places where your presence is required (University, date, job, etc.) with enough time. You have to walk around calmly and quietly. Breathe and enjoy the walk.

Photo by: Gozdeo

• If you can you should use public transportation

You have to analyze what is advisable for you: Maybe you should use public transportation, or maybe it´s better for you to use your car or motorbike. Depending on the distance and the travelling expenses public transportation could be a good choice. Besides, when you use public transportation you don´t have to do anything but sit back and relax. The driver will give you to your destination while you are reading a good book or listening to your favourite music on your iPod.

• Find your personal space

You should have a place where you feel comfortable and calm, which helps you to get relaxed, both in your home and in your job. It is convenient if the place is quiet and silence because it will be easier to you to relax. In a nutshell, you have to find a refuge where you can get relaxed alone, with no people around who would bother you. When you are feeling very stressed you ever can go there and take some minutes to relax, charging your batteries to energize your body and mind. Believe me, relieving your stress you will be more productive, efficient, creative and happy.

Photo by: Lizerixt

• Find a quiet oasis in the city

The big cities are full of magic and wonderful places where you can go. Enjoy the city. Go out for a walk, go round its green parks, sit back on a bench and admire the blue sky. You also could enter in a church, it´s a perfect place to relax due to its respectful silence. Or maybe you could go to a bar where you feel inspired and makes you feel good and comfortable. As you can see, a big city gives you a lot of options you only have to choose your special places and enjoy them.

• Switch off technology

How many of us, due to our job or our hobbies or both, are for a large part of the day in front of a screen (pc, pda, tv, cell phone, etc.)? My advice is to switch off technology (all electronic devices) when you arrive home, or at least for two hours a day- so no surfing, watching or playing anything with a screen. You will have more spare time to do those activities you like to do and relax you, like painting, drawing, reading, writing, who knows, whatever thing you like to do as long as it does not imply to use a screen. I personally keep Sunday mornings for myself, to enjoy free of any electronic device, above all without using any computer or watching tv, at least for 5 or 6 hours.  Every Sunday morning is reserved. It´s my creative moment: I usually go out for a walk, sit back on a bench where I feel comfortable and read one of my favorite books, then I try to get some good ideas for future short stories or articles for the blog. Besides, during the working days I always try to limit the hours of work and leisure in front a screen. Definitely, it has been one of the tips that helped me to noticeably improve my quality of life. I swear it works, give it a try you won´t regret it!

You always have to keep in mind that all the time you spend relaxing and feeling comfortable is time well invested.

Written by: David Cantone

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How do you manage urban stress? Do you have any tip to relieve stress in big cities? Please share your knowledge and thoughts with the community.