Five stress relief games

Here are five short games that anyone can use to help relieve stress for employees, students, families or others. Each is designed to give them a quick but refreshing break before returning to their activities.

This game is imagery relaxation. Have each person get in a comfortable position. This can be sitting or lying on the floor, anywhere that will allow them to relax. Ask them to close their eyes and then focus on their breathing, making slow, even breaths. In a clear voice, tell people to picture a scene or pleasant event in their head. Ask them to notice all the details of their mind picture. Tell them to involve all of the senses in their image. Smell the air, hear the sounds, see the landscape, feel the temperature, etc. As they picture this comfortable scene, they should begin to feel safe and relaxed. Allow them to stay in their daydream for a minute or so, enjoying the image they have created. After, ask them to slowly come back, and when they are ready, open their eyes.

Have everyone stand in a line. Have each person massage the shoulders and neck of the person in front of them. Remind everyone to do a good job because the person who is receiving the massage will be returning the favor in a few minutes. Allow everyone to massage the person in front of him or her for several minutes, them ask everyone to turn around and massage the person that was behind them.

Ask everyone to get up and walk around aimlessly for one minute. During this time, they are to make a list of their top ten favorite foods. This provides a ready distraction, while allowing them the pleasure of thinking about their favorite things to eat.

Have a chocolate toss. Lots of people think that eating chocolate will help relieve stress, and they are right. Chocolate contains flavanoids, which are good for the heart and release endorphins, which make us feel good. Dark chocolate is the best choice, but really any chocolate will do! Ask everyone to stand up. Designate one person as the chocolate distributor, and have this person toss a small bar of chocolate to a random person. This person must then toss it to someone else. That person then keeps their chocolate bar and stands to the side. Have the person who is tossing chocolate do so in a speedy manner so that everyone gets involved.

Give everyone a cold glass of water or other beverage. Have everyone concentrate on drinking that glass of water in thirty sips, no more, no less. Concentrating on something completely different allows the mind to relax and switch gears.

Stress management games can be very simple. By allowing themselves to concentrate on something else that is pleasurable, it allows the person to relax and feel refreshed for the next challenge of their day.