You don't have to go into a dark room and meditate for an hour, or drop everything and run off to a tropical island, to relieve the tensions of your daily life. In fact, there are things you can do at any time, no matter where you happen to be, that can give you instant stress relief.

Slowly Count To Ten

Yes, some problems can be stressful. But how you react to stressful situations is the key. If you immediately get worked up over every problem or challenge that pops up in your life, you're going to spend a lot of time feeling tense and anxious. But, if you can stay relatively calm and in control, stress won't be as much of an issue for you.

When something bad or unpleasant happens in your life, don't react immediately. Instead,make a determined effort to take a moment and slowly count to ten. As you count, rate the stressor on a scale of one to ten.

Your boss yelled at you? On the scale of bad things that can happen on any given day, that's about a two.

You lost your keys? That's about a four. Not an ideal situation, but one you can well handle. Counting to ten gives you time to really evaluate the stressful situation. Once you put things in perspective, you might find it's not worth stressing over.

Take Some Deep Breaths

In a way, stress is a fear response. One thing that happens when you are afraid or in danger is your breathing becomes quick and shallow. And the same thing can happen when you're anxious about a busy day, or nervous about giving a speech. And this impaired breathing can actually make your stress and anxiety even worse.

So concentrate on taking slow breaths, breathing deep so that your stomach expands, then slowly letting the air out. This is a way of tricking your body into thinking the stressor is gone, and you will start to actually feel more calm as a result.

Massage Your Temples

When they are feeling stressed, some people instinctively reach up to massage their temples. And indeed it's a good instinct to have.

Gently rubbing your temples in a circular motion is an acupressure technique that helps relax tense muscles, especially those in your shoulders and neck. And, as your muscles relax, some of your stress will drain away.

There are many ways to relieve stress. And, with these quick and easy techniques, you can ease tension, and help yourself feel calmer and more in control, no matter where you happen to be.