Simpleology Blog

I was talking to my friend Doug just the other day and he suddenly revealed, "Man, I have to find a cheap way to get rid of stress."

Retail Pitfalls
Doug went on to explain that he had become addicted to "retail therapy." His wife, he said, had gotten him into it when he came home crabby one day. Doug was an intern at a children's hospital and it's understandable why he would feel overwrought day after day.

Retail therapy--or the act of shopping as stress management--worked well for his wife, who only bought groceries when she was stressed out. But Doug, who was a gadget freak, ended up buying all sorts of quirky devices--from a glow-in-the-dark talking alarm clock to a fancy mobile phone--that had eaten away at his budget.

Priceless Therapy
In the past, I had also indulged in costly retail therapy. But I realized that the practice was not exactly therapeutic for my finances.

There are a lot of ways to manage stress for little or no cost. Here are some of them:

1. Cut the fat. If you're the kind who deals with stress by eating, make sure you stay away from grease food. According to the Journal of Nutrition, eating even a single meal with 42 grams of fat (like a Big Mac and small fries) would lead to negative changes in your blood pressure and heart rate. A fatty meal during times of stress would only reduce the elasticity of your arteries. As such, if you're seeking comfort food, it's best that you sink your teeth into a banana or chew on some berries. So, steer clear of fastfood chains when you're feeling stressed.

2. Hug it away. In 2006, researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found that huggers in their 20s, 30s, and 40s had lower blood pressure and higher levels of oxytocin, a hormone which helps shield the heart from stress. (Of course, it goes without saying that you should only hug friend and family. Hugging complete strangers isn't really healthy or wise.)

3. Take 10. To refresh your mind, Los Angeles-based trainer Ashley Borden, advises that you take time out. "As few as 10 minutes can refresh your mind," she says. So, if you feel like your workplace walls are closing in on you, get up and walk around your building or simply have a quick chat about non-work stuff with an office buddy.

Feel-Good Perspective
For the most part, I guess we all have to remember that stress management is a state of mind. We shouldn't rely on "props"--be it retail therapy or bingeing--to get us through a bad spell. It won't do us any good to find ourselves saddled with added baggage--be it in the form of weight or debt--just because we had a bad day or two.

Managing stress in the cheapest ways possible may be the best therapy you could give yourself.

Credits: Photo by Petr Kratochvil, courtesy of Public Domain Pictures.