In today's busy and competitive world, we all lead incredibly stressful lives. When stress becomes overwhelming, it can affect our mood and productivity. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} The good news is that it is manageable and can be reduced, or even relieved completely.

    Enter the world of books. Feeling stressed out? Pick up your favorite book and leave the reality and worries behind. It is the most effective way to relax and overcome stress. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Getting lost in a book before bedtime can calm your mind and prepare your body for a good night's sleep.

    Connect with people. Another way to successfully beat stress is meeting with friends. Friends and loved ones are important to any healthy lifestyle. If you're feeling a little overwhelmed and just can't seem to shake it off, call your best friend or a member of your family and talk to them. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Walk it off. You can also effectively relieve yourself of stress by simply taking a walk around your neighborhood. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} There's a whole new world up there that you never seem to notice while rushing to work or talking to someone. Take a moment to admire a new building or a balcony somewhere high up that reminds you of a castle from your favorite movie. Enjoy your time alone and seize every moment of it.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Nothing brings you back on track like a good laughter. It is the most powerful antidote(良方) to stress and it brings joy into your life. Laughing brings people together and drives away all stress-related problems as if they never existed. It is absolutely the best medicine there is, and it will keep you both physically and emotionally healthy.

    Sometimes people can have fights, but friendship is a valuable gift.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} But with a little effort to step outside of your comfort zone(舒适区), you can easily make friends. Here you can find some places to make new friends.

    Join an organization or a club. This is a great way to find other people who have common interests.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}In fact, some of the most valuable friendships are between two people who don't have much in common at all. However, if you like a specific topic, try finding a place where you can meet people who share that interest.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} A common mistake is that you have to be really good at playing a special sport in order to make friends with others on the team. In fact, as long as you enjoy the sport and support your teammates, joining a team with a relaxed attitude could be a great way to make new friends.

    Volunteer. Volunteering is also a good way for people of all ages to meet others. By working together, you'll build relationships with people.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Make yourself available. If you want to make friends, you first need to put yourself out there somehow to meet people.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}It doesn't have to be a crowded table, but one with at least two other people. Remember, friends seldom come knocking on your door while you sit alone at home.

A. Join a sports team.

B. Sometimes, good friends are hard to find.

C. Do well in sport in order to make new friends.

D. If you're still in school, sit somewhere with other people.

E. So you can devote your time to a local nursing home or a hospital.

F. It is not easy at all to get along with new friends when you study in a middle school.

G. You don't need to have lots of common interests with people to make friends with them.

    Listening to others requires entering actively and imaginatively into the situation and trying to understand a frame of reference different from your own, and yet so many of us don't listen properly as we should. Listening means more than just sitting silently while someone else talks{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Here are some ways to become a better listener.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Make sure you actually hear fully what your friend is saying, and you can't cut your friend off verbally carelessly. While you might intend to help move the conversation along, your friend might feel as if what he has said need to be continually talked over or sound anything but interesting.

    Nod to encourage the conversation along. A better option to let your friend know you're interested in what he says is just to nod along from time to time. Sometimes you nod along but then start thinking about something unrelated to what he could say{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Turn out background noise. If you're easily distracted by laughter, glasses clinking, children crying, you might need to work extra hard to focus only on your friend{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Don't hesitate to tell them that the background noises are getting in the way. If you can't focus, try moving to another area.

    Don't text or look at your phone!{#blank#}5{#/blank#} For you see, when you're sitting in front of someone, he is the most important person in your world at that moment.

A. Stop the speaker whenever you have a question.

B. Practice silence when someone else is talking.

C. If necessary, ask your friend to repeat himself.

D. Whoever is calling or texting can wait until you're done with your conversation.

E. It means trying to see the problem the way the speaker sees it.

F. In this case, try to push away your thoughts until you're absorbed in what your friend is saying.

G. Remembering ideas from previous conversations proves that your attention is kept and encourages your friend to continue.

    When home is far away, the sense of ease and belonging that so many people feel can transform into painful feelings of longing, commonly known as homesickness. Along with feelings of insecurity, loss of control and nervousness, physical effects, including sleep issues, tiredness and loss of appetite, are also caused by homesickness.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Check them out below:

    Realize that feeling homesick is 100 percent normal.

    Almost everyone experiences homesickness when moving to a new place—some people might just be better at hiding it.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Homesickness is a normal and evolutionarily healthy reaction.

    Make connections with new people in comfortable settings.

    Feeling homesick when separated from loved ones motivates people to be with those supportive people.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} When making new connections, it's best to stick to the style that works for you in order to ease homesickness.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    This point is vital and also one of the hardest to accomplish. Self-compassion is loving yourself just as you love the ones you care about. The most important step in practicing self-compassion is substituting negative, critical and, sometimes, automatic thoughts about yourself with thoughts that are more supportive and kind.

    Keep tabs on your negativity.

    It's also useful to ask yourself how much of your homesickness is due to an event, such as being separated from loved ones, and how much is from how you're understanding a situation.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}A positive outlook on a situation can do wonders for your mood, but it often can be hard to practice. You can silence negative thoughts in many ways, including reciting positive mantras（祷文）, keeping a journal or even taking a walk in a park.

    If you're dealing with feelings of homesickness, remember you're not alone. Even though there's no place like home, give yourself some time and care, and you might find yourself falling in love with a new place.

A. Learn to help others.

B. Practice self-compassion.

C. Being homesick is abnormal.

D. Being homesick is not a sign of personal shortcoming.

E. We gathered a few psychologist-backed tips to help ease homesickness.

F. Taking a step back is recommended, instead of falling into the trap of a negative outlook.

G. But keep in mind that everyone is different when it comes to forming those new relationships.

    Alcohol addiction is harmful. It may ruin your life, family and career. Here are some ideas to help people stop drinking.

    ⒈First Step

    The first step to stop drinking is to know why you want to stop drinking. Make a list of reasons to stop drinking alcohol.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}It would be better to display it in several places like on your fridge door and in your handbag to increase chances of seeing it.

    ⒉Reduce Drinking Alcohol Gradually

    If you're a heavy drinker for a long time, it may not be possible for you to put a full stop to drinking within one day.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}In addition, fix a date for a final complete stop.

    ⒊Talk To Your Doctor

    Alcohol addiction is a disease, and may have caused a few chemical changes in your body system. It might have affected your important organs such as liver, heart, kidney, and so on.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    ⒋Join Support Groups

    There are many support groups like Alcoholics Anonymous and AVERT.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} They provide practical tips and suggestions based on their own experience.

    ⒌Learn To Say a Firm NO

    Friends at drinking clubs may invite you to drink with reasons.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}You should learn to stay active by developing new hobbies and interests and spending that alcohol drinking time with your family and friends.

A. Turn down their invitations with polite yet firm Nos.

B. Alcohol can influence people's health and how they act.

C. You can also look for a friend's help to complete the list.

D. Usually, therefore, you need expert medical help for treatment.

E. The very best choice might be to drink less and then stop drinking gradually.

F. For example, people may drink to deal with problems like boredom, stress, or money troubles.

G. Their membership consists of previous alcohol addicts who have successfully given up their addiction.

    A conversation with a good listener is like a good meal—we walk away feeling satisfied and happy. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Here are 4 ways to make your conversation partner feel like you're fully tuned in to their personal radio station.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Making your conversation partner feel safe starts with two things: an open mind and keeping judgment to yourself. Just as immersing(沉浸)yourself in a novel requires suspension of disbelief, immersing yourself in listening requires suspension of opinions or advice. While judgments may appear into your head, set them to the side.

    Ask questions to follow your natural curiosity.

    When you're interested, ask questions. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Ask for examples. Ask for details. Following your natural curiosity by asking questions not only shows you are listening and interested, but almost always produces an interesting story.

    Listen with your whole body.

    In many a kindergarten classroom, teachers emphasize something called "whole body listening". It goes like this: use your eyes to watch nonverbal(非语言), your brain to think about what is being said, your heart to feel emotions» and keep the rest of your body quiet to show respect. But many of us lose it over time, especially as life gets busy. The result? We often try to multitask while listening. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Validate(使生效)with simple phrases.

    Keep in your back pocket some validating words and phrases to show you've heard someone.

    "Of course." "That makes sense." "Naturally." "Clearly." "For sure." {#blank#}5{#/blank#} In conversation, combining those little phrases: "Of course you feel that way." or "That makes total sense." doesn't necessarily convey agreement, but it does convey something even bigger: acceptance.

A. Create safety.

B. Devote yourself to listening.

C. It's appealing to talk about your own experience.

D. We half-listen while getting things done or staring at a screen.

E. Think like a journalist and ask what, when, where, why or how.

F. But being a good listener goes way beyond just not interrupting or nodding your head.

G. All of these statements confirm a person's experience or feelings as worthy and accepted.