We have all heard it before. You are telling a friend, a family member, or a colleague that you are feeling stressed out, and they recommend exercise in an oh so chipper tone of voice. You groan inside and endeavor to change the subject, because just thinking about exercising and how you always mean to but never have time just makes you feel even more stressed.

But like it or not, it is true that exercise is a great stress reliever. Fortunately, there are lots of things you can do which will not even seem like exercise. These activities are just fun.

Yeah, okay, you can do yoga, but if you are pretty doubtful about your abilities to touch your toes to your nose, don’t worry. Swimming is great for relieving stress, and in the sweltering month of August, it is the perfect activity.

Karate can help you in a lot of ways. Guys enjoy it, women can learn some self defense moves, and no matter what, you will develop a strong sense of self discipline.

Last but most certainly not least, just take a walk!

You know what the experts all say.  They say that, when you are feeling stressed, talking about it is the best way to relieve it.  You are supposed to discuss your stress factors with anyone who will listen.  Talk to friends, talk to family members, talk to therapists — talk to someone. For some of us, however, that is easier said than done.  In theory, talking our feelings out makes sense; in practice, though, many people are wary of doing some.  We may not want to burden other people or we may simply not want to open ourselves up that way.

So, why not talk to yourself?  Now, of course, that does not mean walking down the cereal aisle in your local grocery store, discussing your stress factors — though, you know what?  If that helps, go for it.

Specifically, however, keeping a journal can be enormously beneficial in helping you to reduce stress.  In a journal, you do not have to worry about offending anyone.  You can rant all you want without hurting anyone’s feelings or censoring yourself at all.  For a journal like this, however, designed to be solely for you and to help you relax and relieve stress, an online journal might not be the best option — unless you take the appropriate measures to make sure it is private.