Everyone suffers from stress in their life. While the frequency and intensity of stress varies greatly with everyone, we all wish that it be reduced or, better yet, gone completely.

However, it can be treated in more ways than one may think as there is something for all five sense.

Lavender, peppermint and lemon are calming smells. All three are relatively easy to obtain in supermarkets and it has actually been proposed that one keep a lemon in their pocket and take a sniff whenever they feel particularly stressed out. For the less daring, de-stressing could as inconspicuous as just keeping a small car tree freshener or smearing some scented oil on one’s wrists.

Lavender also ties into the sense of taste as lavender tea is great in lowering anxiety levels. Chamomile tea seems to be the tea that is recommended the most and another tea that is great and highly valued in the “tea community” is the kava tea. Although it is not as well known, there are many who suggest trying it during worrying situations.

Visuals is more obvious in how it can affect our anxiety as a cluttered workplace can give us headaches to just look at. It also explains why we value post-it notes and daily planners so much. We can maintain a healthy and clean mindset when we keep any part of our life organized and neat.

Our sense of touch can also be important in keeping our worry manageable. Soft fabrics could help us feel more comfortable, allowing us to relax easier. A world-famous destresser is bubble wrap. The relief we get out of this simple product simply transcends words. However, a cozy scarf would also work great!Music is the obvious way that our hearing sense can unwind. It has not only been scientifically shown to both lower stress but our favorite songs can actually cause the release of endorphins from our brain.

With this new plethora of information, I hope that more people can find de-stressing a simpler task.

<Viola Shin Crescenta Valley High School 10th Grade>