Life is a stressful game — one that you have no option but to play till the end. However, like all games, players will inevitably have a moment or two of frustration at how the cards have been dealt. People grow frustrated with the rules and regulations of the game, as well as having a sense of indignation at how some people are able to bend the rules while others are incapable of doing so. These instances of stress and anxiety can really get to people though there are several ways to help alleviate the problem. Some people are able to react well or have the ability to cope with the stress and anxiety of modern life, with all the trials and tribulations that playing the game entails. However, some people cannot deal with stress and anxiety, eventually making that person’s mind open ground for a number of mental disorders.

However, for the average person, getting away from the stress and anxiety is better than embracing it and going insane. Just taking some time to get away from it all is practically required, with all the pressure and stress that the modern world puts on people. There are several ways to go about this, with no two options having exactly the same parameters. Indeed, there are some who might argue that stress relief methods that work for one person may only serve to compound stress in another person. However, some unofficial studies have found that, among the general population, there are several common methods that people use as stress relief. Drinking and smoking are among the most commonly used means of handling stress. Yet both vices are also potentially harmful due to the habit-forming effects of nicotine and alcohol. Alcohol is rapidly metabolized by the body and can impair judgment fairly quickly. In large quantities, it may also cause damage to a person’s liver. Smoking poses even more long-term health risks, in the form of lung cancer and various other respiratory problems.

Music, particularly classical or symphonic music, has also been known to be an effective form of stress relief. Psychiatrists believe that classical music is at a much higher standard compared to most contemporary music. The melodies are known to have several beneficial effects on the human psyche, from soothing feelings of anxiety and tension to helping stimulate some areas of the brain. While there are some samples of more modern compositions that can achieve similar effects, most studies show that there is a lack of consistency to this. Popular myth holds that Mozart’s compositions tend to be the best stress relief music, with Bach and Vivaldi also having similar effects, albeit at lesser degrees.

Some combat veterans have found that violent video games can also serve as stress relief. Studies have shown that the games can help relieve not only the stress that compounds on a person daily, these games can also act as a front line treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. The reasons for this are still not yet fully understood, but the tests results are only confirming what hardcore gamers have been proclaiming for years. The games used for the tests vary, though the cited examples tend to revolve around the latest crop of violent first-person shooters, such as Unreal Championship and Halo 3.

Nature is also cited as being an excellent way to relieve stress. There are several scenes and facets of nature that are highly relaxing, with the babbling brook approaching the status of a stereotype from the sheer number of references to it. Other scenes from nature known to have a relaxant effect are the Grand Canyon, the Matterhorn, and pristine beaches. For some people, just pictures or the sound alone can help, but for others, the relief from stress comes from actually being there. Going to these places provide a well-deserved reprieve from the countless trials and tribulations one encounters when playing the game.

While entirely fictional, the enigmatic concept knowns as The Force is based on some very real principles. In the movie, Star Wars, the Force is often spoken of by members of a religious order called the Jedi. The warrior-priests of the Jedi Order served as the main proponents of what they believed to be the core concepts of The Force.

The concept and the order are fictional, but the principles by which the Jedi lived their lives are excellent guides to living one’s life, especially amidst all the chaos of the modern world. For as long as the Dark Side of The Force is equated not to evil but to negative influences in one’s life, the principles of the Jedi Code can easily be used to form a personal philosophy for living a good life, complete with a healthy mental attitude. Below you’ll find the core principles of the Jedi philosophy, and some ideas on how they can be adapted to the trials and tribulations of modern life.

There is no emotion; there is peace.

Being able to control one’s emotions was critical to a Jedi, as their tasks often required that they remain as objective as possible. Fear and anxiety can have negative effects on one’s decision-making, which in turn can wreak havoc on one’s life. By taking control of one’s stress and anxiety, separating it from the tasks that need to be done, you can effectively find better solutions to your problems than you would have if you let your anxiety affect your analysis of the situation. This concept does not advise denying one’s emotions, since doing so can result in more anxiety disorders and psychological issues than it solves. It merely says that people should let logic and analysis guide their decisions, not their feelings.

There is no ignorance; there is knowledge.

The Jedi Order espoused the determined pursuit of knowledge. To support the quest for enlightenment, they built a grand library that contained volumes of information on various topics and disciplines that were necessary to educate and train a Jedi. They also shared that knowledge, to better enlighten the same people they were attempting to protect. Many problems with anxiety and phobias can be alleviated if people just took the time to understand things. A little knowledge can help someone overcome the fear and anxiety that one encounters when exposed to a totally alien culture. In some cases, anxiety disorders can also be overcome simply by equipping one’s mind with sufficient knowledge about the source of the anxiety, thus allowing a person to better understand and face the problem.

There is no passion; there is serenity.

Similar to the first principle, the Jedi believed that being too passionate about something was dangerous, as it could cloud one’s judgment and objectivity. For people in their position, objectivity was critical in nearly all situations. The same can be said of pretty much anyone in the modern world. Emotions and passion can cloud our ability to make good decisions, as well as have an adverse effect on our ability to recognize our mistakes and correct them to avert further damage. Being calm amidst the face of an impossible bureaucracy can go a long way to keeping one’s state of mental health stable and far away from going postal. As long as you don’t let your stress and anxiety build up by dwelling on the negative,then your mind is serene and you can then make better decisions and take a clearer look at what is going on in one’s life.

There is no death, there is only The Force.

The Jedi believed that when someone dies, they become one with The Force. This allowed them to see death not as a negative event, but merely a transition that one was inevitably going to get past. Adapting this to modern life, negative events can be portrayed as the death the philosophy mentions, with The Force acting as a metaphor for life itself. In other words, it is basically stating that, regardless of all the negative events in one’s life, regardless of all the fear and anxiety, the nausea induced by corporate and familial duties, there is still life itself. To use one metaphor to explain another, if something bad comes your way, take some time out to stop and smell the roses. Your entire life will not be dictated by one car crash or an unfair termination. Life goes on and moves on, and so should you.

Taking all of the above principles into account, it is difficult to see how they could fail to lead to a better state of mind, even amidst the chaos of modern life. That is, if they are followed like a personal philosophy and not taken as mere guidelines. Besides, if one espouses the opposite of the above principles, one is liable to burn out rather quickly.