From Anxiety to Calm
Tiny ways to reduce your stress
Many of us are feeling stressed and anxious about the economy. About politics. About a loved on losing their job (my hand is raised). About our expensive car repairs. About someone that let us down. About life in general.
While I usually write about museums and art, my second career was as a psychotherapist. No matter what the client’s issues, I worked hard to provide everyone with self-coping strategies, especially ways to reduce stress and anxiety.
This list uses art and creativity to boost your mental wellness, distract you, and reduce your anxiety. Each of these can be accomplished in 10 minutes or less. Do them all today. Do one each day for the next 10 days. And, it just might nudge you to create a few of your own self-calming tools.
Reminder: stress and anxiety don’t go away because we wish it. We need to dedicate a small amount of time every day to boosting our wellbeing and reducing our stress, while improving our resilience.
1. Admire this bird’s eye view of the architecture in Florence, Italy. The cathedral was begun in 1296 and completed in 1436! Stay focused on this video for the whole two minutes.
2. Buy some sidewalk chalk. Draw a flower or house or a sun on your driveway or sidewalk. Do it no matter your age. Do it even if you don’t have kids. Watch your neighbors smile!
3. Pull out your phone and make a video of clouds. Paying new attention to everyday occurrences improves our creativity.
4. Print off a mandala and color it in. Use your favorite color or limit yourself to three colors. This is a peaceful way to be in the moment, to improve concentration, and to reduce stress.
5. At the Art Institute of Chicago’s website, breathe in the blue of the Marc Chagall stained glass window. Look carefully, escape for a moment!
6. Applaud the craftsmen who made these 18th century American chests-on-chests. The design. The carving. The inlay. These were expensive, high style, sophisticated pieces. Pick one and read about it. Can you find the one from New Hampshire? New Hampshire designs are often a bit quirky.
7. Each day for a week, take one or more photos of something that’s blue (or green or yellow or red). It might be your favorite color, or it might be a color you want to experiment with.
8. Go to the Detroit Institute of Art’s website and look at Pewabic pottery. Admire the shimmering colors in the glazes. Pewabic Pottery was founded in Detroit in 1903 and is celebrated for its distinctive iridescent glazes and handcrafted ceramic art that blends tradition with innovation.
9. Print out a paisley pattern and color it in with crayons, markers, or colored pencils.
10. Use Legos to build a centerpiece for your dinner table. Add a label as if it were a museum piece including title, artist, date, materials. And don’t say you’re not creative! Do it anyway!
Did it help? Do you feel a tiny bit less stressed? Continue to spend just a few minutes a day on creating your quiet space, your reflective moment, your time away from anxiety and stress.
Please like this story and consider sharing a comment that might inspire others to find new ways to address their stress. Thank you!
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