Top 10 Free Stress Relieving Mini Vacations You Can Take at Home

When many people think about relieving stress or being happy they think it has to be achieved. For example, when I get that house, or move to this city, or take that vacation in the Cayman Islands I can be happy. However, happiness and relaxation is merely a state of mind. It doesn't matter what your physical surroundings are, it must come from within. To achieve a state of happiness and relaxation, you don't need to go anywhere to take a mini vacation that costs nothing.

My top 10 list of stress relieving mini-vacations are listed below:

Books. Escape to a different time or any place in the world. Your subconscious mind doesn't know the difference between whether you're actually in Waikiki or if you're imagining your there from reading a book about it. I especially love spending time at Borders or Barnes and Noble where I can get lost in fantasyland and time flies by.

Spend time with your significant other. Pretend that you two are teenagers again and you have your room all to yourself to just enjoy each other's company and you'll feel the rest of the world melt away.

Move and Stretch. Walk around the house and just get moving. If your mind is too hot and busy, it means it's time to use your body more to quiet it down. Just walk around your house and stretch. Stretching should be a workout in itself, not just something you do for a few minutes before a workout. Stretch all your muscles slowly, especially your neck and back, and you will feel much more relaxed.

Walking. If you feel yourself angry about people or life in general, take a walk, preferably around nature. It is nearly impossible to be angry when you walk amongst the trees and birds. Let them tell you that you're fine as you are, that you're a part of nature, not a part of the artificial constructs of society that detach us from nature and cause us stress. I recommend reading Henry David Thoreau's essay on the Art of Walking to understand how to enjoy a walk further.

Exercise. I know, the mere thought of it brings up stress. However, if you can just do it, or at least start with walking, it will purge you of stress. A lot of stress is rooted in the fight or flight response that is an anthropological genetic instinct that was created from a time when we lived in caves and found it common to face a saber-toothed tiger during our day to day existence. At least back then, the stress got burned up fighting the saber toothed tiger. Now it just burns up your insides, exerts a lot of pressure on your inner organs and immune system and can kill you over time. That's why exercise is important as a tool to purge stress- you're fooling your body into thinking it's fighting that saber-toothed tiger as you're on the elliptical machine and the stress will get spent. Once you get over the initial discomfort zone of working out you will feel great and you will look forward to your workouts.

Music. Blast your favorite music and dance. Dancing is a natural high that you've probably forgotten about since you decided you were too old for that. I remember whenever I felt stressed, angry, or frustrated as a teenager I would blast my stereo and listen to my favorite Ozzy Ozbourne, Motley Crue or Guns N' Roses tunes for hours of therapy. I lost track of time, and time is the mental prison warden that is our dictator. However, it doesn't really exist, as Einstein stated. If it's not anger that you're feeling, and you just need to relax, pick some softer tunes, like Fleetwood Mac or Pink Floyd, or whatever suits you.

Call a Friend for some laughs - preferably an old buddy from school. I used to have a best friend who I could always BS with and laugh with about goofy stuff and use gallows humor to vent and laugh at the world. Laughter is good for the soul and the best natural high I can think of. Why do you think so many comedians turned to comedy after suffering from depression because they never fit into mainstream society? No matter how dire the situation, humor negates all guilt and negative thought.

Hot Baths. Although I don't prefer this, since sitting in my own soup is not appealing to me, I know of a lot of people, including Bill Gates who never uses the shower, and a lot of females who say it works wonders - especially with certain lotions and oils that you can add to the bath water to make it more soothing.

Take an adventure in your mind. Daydream, like when you were a kid and you thought that you were whatever you thought you were. Well, that's what Henry Ford said and that's one of the reasons he was so positive minded and became so successful. Take some deep cleansing breaths and let your mind imagine you're on stage in front of 20,000 screaming girls or whatever you want. Your mind is a natural pleasure center; you might as well us it.

Simply Relax. Grab a cup of hot tea or hot chocolate. Turn off all the noise, wrap yourself in a warm blanket, and just lie down for awhile and just let your mind go. Imagine a flowing stream of water in the woods, and that your thoughts and worries are merely leaves floating in that stream and you just let them pass.

Just remember that reducing stress is the most important thing people need to do for their health. Stress is probably the cause of most health problems as it wreaks havoc on your immune system. After all, disease is Latin meaning lack of ease. A focus on ease will help you reduce stress, allow you to think clearer, and allow you to function better. Too many of us believe that if we aren't stressed we're lazy, when in fact a stress free mind is necessary for clear thinking in order to achieve success.