There are thousands of articles and blogs – some even on this website – packed with useful information on how to manage your stress. Most offer very tangible stress relief tools – eat healthily, get more exercise, spend more time with friends and so on.
All of which is very useful, valid and relevant advice.
But an equally useful way to find relief from stress is through developing, or perhaps rediscovering, your spirituality.
Spirituality is different for everyone, and can be defined in many ways, but essentially it is a belief in something outside of yourself that gives substance and meaning to your search for purpose in your life.
Research shows that religious people are generally happier and less stressed than other people. But what’s extremely important to note here is that there wasn’t one specific religion or religious practice that could lay the sole claim to this trend.
All forms of meditation, existential contemplation and prayer stimulate nerve centres in the brain that promote feelings of relaxation and peace, which in turn help to lower levels of experienced stress.
How Can Spirituality Reduce Stress?
Feeling a sense of purpose helps you focus on what’s really important in your life. This means you learn how to devote less time and emotional energy to unimportant things. This is a great way to eliminate stress.
Having a purpose also means you feel less alone in the world – even during those times when you are actually alone. This creates powerful feelings of inner peace during stressful times.
When you feel connected to other people, you learn it’s OK not to take sole responsibility for everything bad that happens in life. You can share the burden of difficult times just the same way in which you share the happiness of good times.
Getting in touch with your spirituality won’t make you immune to stress, but it will reduce the number of stressors in your life, and help you cope with stressful situations much more successfully.
“The truth is that there is no actual stress or anxiety in the world. It’s your thoughts that create these false beliefs. You can’t package stress, touch it or see it. There are only people engaged in stressful thinking.” – Wayne Dyer