Close your files and put them into a drawer. Log out from your laptops. Switch off your cellphone. Leave all your papers at your desk.

Feel free. Let your mind be free from all the daily schedules. Take a break. Go on a vacation to a place where you can be free from the busy metropolitan life. Start your day with the magnificent view of sunrise with the chirping of birds and end it with the beautiful sunset.

Try to write some notes expressing your feelings towards nature’s beauty. Spend your day with laughter and joy. Share jokes with friends and families. Try to live each and every moment happily. Make the vacation beautiful and most importantly memorable so that you can cherish it all your life.

This is what I do to refresh my life and reduce my stress.

— Saqir Mark

My way of reducing stress is going to a garden and looking at the beautiful flowers and butterflies. I feel that the flowers have to tolerate everything — rain and sun, but still keep on blossoming and fill the air with their sweet scent.

— Angela Gurung

Art is an integral part of my life. Being an artist I paint to wipe out my sorrows and troubles. When I was studying ISc it was tough and the stress that one had to go through the times of the exams was unavoidable. Most prefer to choose drugs to get rid of such stress, but somewhere inside me, I knew that it was only a temporary solution and it would lead me nowhere. Listening to music made me relax but soon I got frustrated with it too. Yoga is said to be the perfect solution but one does not always have time to learn it fully besides the basics. So, whenever I find myself drowning in stress, I sit in front of a canvas, grab my brushes and deal with my stress and emotions on the canvas. It is better than any silence therapy or yoga and I also get a beautiful painting at the end. Painting could work as a stress reliever for anyone.

— Sworup Shrestha

The best way to reduce stress would be to have a cup of coffee and hang out with friends in the evening. For me friends along with some coffee is the best remedy for almost everything. Whenever I’m stressed, I go out with friends for a cup of coffee and just talk about almost everything and yet nothing. When you are surrounded by people where you can be yourself totally, there is no space for stress!

— Regina Tuladhar

In my opinion taking a nap is the best way to reduce stress because if we are in stress and take a nap, we wake with a cool mind and we can think better.

— Saja Shakya

Stress is what you feel when you have to handle more than you are used to. The best way to relieve stress is different for each person. You can try some of these ideas and see which ones works for you.Exercise: Regular exercise is one of the best ways to manage stress. Walking is a great way to get started.

Write: It can really help you to write about things that are bothering you. Let your feelings out.

Talk, laugh, cry, and express anger when you need to. Do something you enjoy. A hobby can help you relax. Volunteering or doing something that helps others can be a great stress reliever. Learn ways to relax your body. This can include breathing exercises, muscle relaxation exercises, massage, aromatherapy, yoga, or relaxing exercises like tai chi and qi gong. Practice ‘being in the moment’. Try meditation, imagery exercises, or self-hypnosis. Listen to relaxing music. Try to look for humour in life. Laughter really can be the best medicine.

— Nitu Kedia, Kathmandu

I think that stress can never be coped with by indulging oneself in different activities like reading books, gardening, listening to music etc. As s/he gets bored of those hobbies, one finds that those problems have never been solved but were abandoned for some time. And s/he finds that those problems have gone nowhere but are in the same place in same condition. I reiterate that those who do these types of silly things are very very weak people and seeking excuse and can do nothing in life. That is why, if a human being is genuinely interested to eradicate the word stress from the dictionary of his/her life, s/he should find the root cause of the stress and exterminate that. While doing ,so one will find that our heart is the sole cause of each and every problem and nothing else. After knowing that fact, one will be eager to keep the heart under his/her control. Therefore s/he will be able to live his/her remaining life with peace and tranquillity. This is the reason why enlightened people are always happy even during serious or difficult conditions of his/her life.

— Dhrub Maharjan

Stress must be one of the most disliked words for all people all over the world. It is mine as well. Either you have your back paining or you notice that you’ve yawned in an awkward way while you’re doing something important. To me, it occurs mostly at the time when I do things at the eleventh hour. So when I am in stress, either I take a deep breath, take some coffee or do something I enjoy for a short period of time. Music is another form of meditation, says Osho. And the best thing I enjoy doing when I am stressed is listening to music. Sometimes using the Internet is the best solution for me. I log on to the Internet and chat with my friends or do something that I am interested in. So at such times coffee, music, meditation, Internet and my interests help me easily remove the word ‘stress’ from my list.

— Mimansha J

I get up at five in the morning everyday, take a bath and then dance to loud music to reduce stress. This gives me new energy.

— Anjum Rajbhandari

I think the best way to reduce stress is to divert our mind to some other work because by doing that our mind will be fresh. Our mind will be focused on that work and later the work, which we were not able to do before, can be done easily, properly and peacefully in a new way.

— Junima Tamrakar

In this modern world we have to face many competitions, which caus a lot of stress and tension. I think yoga is the best method to get rid of stress and tension. It is a kind of exercise and also keeps us healthy. It keeps our mind fresh and we are also relaxed. We also get rid of many diseases.

— Keepa Shrestha

I think laughter is the best remedy to reduce stress. Laugh till it hurts! So, when you are stressed out due to any reasons, tune in to a comedy show or hire some comedy DVDs that would definitely bring your stress level down or keep your stress level under control. I would recommend Mr Bean’s Holiday or any other of your choice and feel the difference. If you can’t laugh at yourself or your misfortunes, you can just compensate by laughing at others — I mean at the comic characters! Besides, one can have a great deal of recreation and that helps rejuvenate you.

— Rhea Gurung,

Maharajgunj

When I am in stress, I listen to music, which makes my mind fresh. I forget everything that depresses me. Listening to music makes our body fresh. It is one of the best things, which helps you relieve stress. It calms the nerves and turns your bad mood to a good one.

— Sanjana Shakya

Many people try many things to be free from stress like listening to music, reading books. I listen to music to be free from stress as music sets you in a romantic mood and makes us free from stress.

— Uddesh Dangol

Every individual on this earth has to go through stress and one who can handle stress is a really successful person. Thus, music, yoga and exercise are some of the best medicines to get rid of this problem.

— Abhinay, Kathmandu

For me listening to music is the best way to reduce stress. I love to listen to Sonu Nigam’s slow and soothing songs that resemble my deep sentiments, and Nigam’s songs revives the pleasure hidden in the tranquillity of my heart which I am not able to feel in the hotchpotch of everyday life.

— Sareeta Manandhar

Since I am a student I usually have a lot of work. Home assignments, project works and exams are really stressful. Since I am also engaged in sports, I have to manage time for my both studies and sports. Sometimes I even have sleepless nights. However, to reduce stress I listen to music and take a nap. Listening to music makes me feel relaxed and it is also fun. Sometimes I even go swimming. We feel tired from work the whole day, so we should let our body rest for sometime. Going for swimming is very refreshing and makes me cool too. Therefore these are the things I do to reduce stress.

— Ava Pradhan,

Dhobighat

Different people have different ways to reduce stress. Some listen music, some join yoga classes but I travel different places. I take part in social work by which my small work gives them happiness. I visit old age homes and orphanages. This is not for me only but for all who have the problem of stress. Our small help will remove other people’s problem.

— Kripa Karki

Looking various historical events, stress is caused by the sense of greediness. Lord Buddha neither performed yoga nor listened to music, but he was free of stress. Hence, I feel reduction of stress is possible if we remove the feelings like jealousy, greediness. A short rest in middle of the work also helps to reduce stress. However, the best thing I feel regarding being away from stress is to obtain mental satisfaction. Mental satisfaction can be obtained by various social activities like serving for poor, helping others!

— Dwaipayan Regmi,

Biratnagar

Stress is a part of life so I wish to reduce it by making it a part too. Most of the stresses have to do with our daily lives. Therefore, there can be no one way out of stress. That is the reason why I prefer to produce new ways of way outs. If I am in my house, I prefer to cook food that I like. If I am at campus, I like to steal the sight of a smiling face. To be frank, I am a fan of beautiful smiling faces and that is why I have attached those faces in my books. When I feel stressed, I look at them a sudden smile comes to me. And I am on my way.

— Raju Lamichhane, Khanigaun, Parbat

One of the ways to reduce stress in life is meditation. I think it is the most effective way to

get peace of mind because when we meditate we concentrate on a particular matter and it helps to forget all our worries. It also freshens our mind by removing all the tensions and helps us to live a positive life. People who have already been spoilt are also recovered by meditation.

— Jasmina Joshi

I am a student and I believe that taking up a hobby is definitely a pretty good way to relax. Your hobby is something you enjoy doing. And when things are going the hard way for you, doing something enjoyable can quite relieve your mood. When feeling low, I sit down with my book and a pencil and draw — something that defines how I feel or how I’d like to feel or simply what I see from my window. If it turns out cool, I feel better already. But even if I cannot ske-tch what I can picture, I so indulge myself in it th-at I can leave my worries behind and keep trying.

— Rashmi, Pokhara

For me the best way to reduce stress is expelling out the negative feelings through creativity. I usually try to write poems, articles, songs and music when I am stressed.

— Viveckh Pandey

Whenever, I am tensed, I pick up a pen and start writing. Writing helps us share feelings.

— Rubin Maharjan

Personlly I think the best way to be stress-free is when a man is able to appreciate what true faith is, and understand the real position of spirituality and mother nature.

— Saroj Waiba

I think the best way to beat stress is to sleep because it refreshes my mind and I am ready to work again. If i don’t get enough sleep, I get cranky and get stressed out again.

— Lizen Shakya,

Daubahal