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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at VCU chapter.

With most of us confined to our homes in an attempt to social distance, it’s important that we find ways to relax and relieve stress that don’t require us to come in contact with other people. Here are five ways you can destress and focus on your own health and wellbeing at home!

Take a Bath

Feeling stressed? Run yourself a nice warm bath and pop in that bath bomb you’ve been waiting to use for a while. Sitting and just feeling the warm water wrap you in its tight embrace will feel amazing. Just kick back and unwind and allow your tense muscles to loosen. The comfort the bath brings will allow you to momentarily forget about the things that have been plaguing your mind. 

Do a Face Mask

Take some time to take care of yourself! Grab a face mask you have lying around at home or create a DIY face mask using a recipe you found on Pinterest. Use this time to focus on yourself and do something that will contribute to your skin’s health. Take just 10 to 20 minutes out of your day and lay back and relax while you let a face mask work its magic. You’ll look and feel more refreshed after you remove the mask, and taking that time to take care of yourself will give you an opportunity to forget about the other things going on in your life and just do something that makes you feel good. 

Read a Book 

Reading provides you with the opportunity to escape reality and forget about real life. You’re transported into an alternate reality, and you get the chance to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. This is a great way to distract yourself and de-stress because you get to focus your attention on things other than the problems that may be ailing you in your day-to-day life. You could even listen to an audiobook if you prefer to just listen to someone else reading aloud instead of reading yourself. 

Chronicle Your Thoughts and Feelings in a Journal 

Our minds store so much information, and it can be overwhelming to just be consumed by all your thoughts and worries every day. Emptying out your brain onto a blank page can help you relax, and doing so can almost make you feel as if you are venting to a therapist or person you feel comfortable with. Getting all of your thoughts and feelings onto the page can help you cope with everything you’re dealing with and may even leave you feeling like you have had a weight lifted off of your chest. 

Listen to Music

Listening to music can be a great stress reliever. Musicians tell stories in their songs, and if the song does its job correctly, it can make you feel whatever emotion the musician intends for you to feel. When you focus on the lyrics or the beat of the song, you’re distracted from other things going on around you, and it allows you to just focus in on what the music is trying to convey to the listener. When you listen to music, you can just relax and enjoy yourself and maybe even dance along to the music if you’d like to. 

Hopefully, some of these things will help you relax!

Britney Simmons is a senior at Virginia Commonwealth University who is majoring in Mass Communications with a Concentration in Print/Online Journalism. She has loved reading and writing since she was a child, and is an animal lover. She loves to travel whenever possible, and you can usually find her binging some new series or napping.
Keziah is a writer for Her Campus. She is majoring in Fashion Design with a minor in Fashion Merchandising. HCXO!