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Coping Skills to Help You Deal With Stress

December 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

stressBy Janie Behr -

Whether a challenging event or circumstance has a stressful effect depends on your coping skills. Your reaction to a stressful event is related to:

  •  Whether you perceive the situation as threatening or undesirable
  •  Whether you feel you have some control over the situation
  •  Whether you respond to the challenge in ways that interfere with your taking care of yourself

When faced with a stressful situation that you cannot control, it is important for you to know that there are other elements of your life that you can control.

Control what you can——–this helps break the stress cycle by counteracting the negative effects of feelings of helplessness and hopelessness. In times of stress, it is crucial that you take care of yourself. Only then can you deal with a demanding situation or help others. Among the things that you can control are your posture and body language, muscular tension, breathing, exercise and diet. Other useful techniques are:

  • Learn pacing
  •  Learn to say no
  •  Learn to assert yourself
  •  Get enough sleep
  •  Allow enough time for relaxation techniques
  •  Don’t think you have to do it all
  •  Allow sufficient exercise time for gentle muscle stretching
  •  Make sure you are getting proper nourishment (THAT INCLUDES WATER)
  •  Decrease or eliminate your intake of stress-inducing substances, including cocaine, marijuana, caffeine, tobacco, alcohol, and prescription drugs, especially analgesics, tranquilizers, sleeping pills, diet pills and muscle relaxants. ASK YOUR DOCTOR BEFORE REDUCING OR ELIMINATING ANY PRESCRIPTION MEDICATION.

In making all of these changes, you are exercising control over important aspects of your life.

Janie Behr is a qualified life coach specializing in helping people find their purpose, achieve their goals, and explore all the possibilities that life has to offer. She is available for private individual coaching, group coaching and public speaking engagements. She runs frequent teleseminars dedicated to helping people find and live their most positive lives! For more information please visit http://www.jblifecoach.com.

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Tips For Coping With Holiday Stress – Be Merry Not Stressed!

December 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment

By Patricia L. McCallum -

Tips for Coping With Holiday Stress

During the holidays, it is easy to get stressed out. Knowing how to cope with holiday stress is important so that you do not feel beat when the holiday season is over. You are less pleasant to be around when you look and sound defeated by the holidays. Here are some holiday stress management tips and tricks that will help anyone get over those seasonal blues.

Get holiday shopping done early

When comes to coping with holiday stress, getting your holiday shopping out of the way early is a good way to lessen your burden. Most people already know what they want to eat for the holidays. They also know how they want to decorate and what gifts they want to give. If you already know all of those things before they holiday season actually starts, it is fairly easy to get some if not all of the actual shopping out of the way early on.

Ask for help

This may seem silly, but asking for help can really help with coping with holiday stress. There are many people who would rather get hit by a train, then ask for help. However, many times people are willing to help their friends, relatives, and neighbors get things done if it will make everyone happy. So do not be afraid to go and ask for help, especially from the people you may be having over the holidays.

Listen to holiday music

One of the best cures for the holiday blues is listening to music associated with that holiday. Music is very soothing to the mind and body, and will help you feel less stressed out. Choose songs that are fun and happy to listen to over those that have a more mellow tone, because the cheerful songs will help you get into the right mood. This is the best way to manage your stress levels without actually doing the other two ideas. Do not let the holidays get you down. Instead put on a happy face and do what you can to help alleviate the pressure. Coping with holiday stress will ultimately make you a happier person to be around. It will make the holiday season be a wonderful time for everyone to be together. Each year, holidays will get easier and easier, and you will find that holiday stress management is the best thing that you could have done for yourself. Happy Holidays!

Click here for more Tips for Coping With Holiday Stress: http://www.stress-affects-health.com/holiday-stress-tips.html

Patricia McCallum is a certified yoga instructor, former Buddhist nun and creator of the Tibetan Life web site containing information about the fascinating Tibetan people; their customs, habits and traditions in Tibet and in the exile communities around the world.

She has created a series of Stretch Chair Yoga Instructional DVDs for people who need gentle easy exercise but who have trouble getting up and down from the mat. http://www.stretch-chairyoga.com

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“Me” Time

November 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

By Danae Matthews -

The U.S. Census calculated that Americans now spend on average about 30 minutes getting back and forth to work. Couple that with an average 9-hour work day and depending on what time you get to bed you’re left with maybe 4 or 5 hours of free time before you do it all over it again. Talk about the daily grind. But those are averages. For many of us they don’t represent the reality of living in a metropolis with public transport, rush hour traffic and suburban to city commutes. In all that time, when is there any time for you?

It is critical to carve out time within your day to center yourself and remember why it is you are working so hard. My Dad says all the time how life has flown by and I’ve never appreciated that sentiment more since I’ve started working 40-hours a week. Your life isn’t going to pause until you hit the button. Some great ways how:

Cook

My last two roommates’ cooking routine would start around 6 p.m. every day when they got off work. It included wine, music and good conversation with friends all piled into our kitchen. There was so much joy in their cooking; it never felt like a week night. I adopted this ritual once I moved out and still force myself to pick out a new recipe to try every week.Dance

I don’t mean at a night club, although that could work too…There are plenty of dance studios in every city, so take advantage of a beginners class. Partnered classes like ballroom or line dancing are great for those with a significant other. It doesn’t have to be about fitness just about having fun and picking up a hobby outside of your comfort zone.

Join a gym or studio

True, personal fitness can be accomplished anywhere without the use of fancy equipment or an expensive gym membership. However, if you’ve never had the experience and if money allows check out a gym or yoga/Pilates studio near you. The amenities, customer service and space are worth the price of admission. Especially if you are someone that loses motivation to stay fit easily, there is incentive in being a member. The possibility of a sauna/steam room access doesn’t hurt either.

Do a devotional/meditation/daily reading

Regardless of your spiritual journey it is always good to have some time to reflect on the day and gather your thoughts. Take out time to read a daily devotional or scripture. Sit with yourself in silence and focus on your breathing and pace of your heart. Pick out a great book and dedicate yourself to reading a certain number of pages a night. Buy a new newspaper or magazine and read it cover to cover.

Get a pedicure/manicure

Men I mean this for you too. Even if you are the one doing the manicuring. Soak your feet, trim your nails, polish up your toes, or bathe your body in Epsom salt. Doing these things mid-week will keep you reinvigorated and ready for the rest of the week.

Write

Even if you aren’t particularly good at it. Buy yourself a notebook and start journaling. It can be long lists or sporadic thoughts, but whatever comes up should come out. Making your thoughts permanent will help you be in tune with your moods and goals. This may be an asset to you when you are working through a much bigger problem later down the line.

Carpool

If your work is mostly autonomous you may want to give some thought to commuting with a work friend who lives nearby. Conversation can spark your brain activity early in the morning and get you ready for the day. Not to mention it is a great way to conserve gas and energy.

Save…for shopping

Treat yourself to something that you’ve been craving. Wait until the new trends come out for winter, spring, fall or summer and indulge in a piece that is really going to add something to your wardrobe. Don’t think shopping spree, think shopping for me.

Rent a movie

In lieu of zoning out to the TV all night long pick a movie every week to watch and curl up in bed. This is a great way to see those Oscar buzz flicks you missed in the theatre because you were too busy.

Remember

Habit makes ritual. Make sure that whatever you are doing you are doing with consistency. Doing it over it over will make it a ritual that you will won’t want to skip!

NOTE! Don’t feel guilty about your “me time.” Even if you have children. I know that life can get crazy and we all have responsibilities, but the idea isn’t to shirk those responsibilities to do whatever you want all day long. If you never recharge your batteries than you aren’t presenting the best you and that isn’t fair to your kids, spouse, career and most importantly yourself.

 

Danae Matthews writes for an on-line women’s health resource Women’s Health Base. She enjoys cooking, staying healthy and creating as much “me time” as possible.

Filed Under: Stress Management

Top Ten Teen Stress Management Strategies

November 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment

By Ann Gatty -

Stay aware of your teen stress signals. If you are feeling stressed, try some of these strategies to avoid becoming overwhelmed. Since stress will be with you the rest of your life, sorry there is no way to completely eliminate stress from your lives – it is important to be comfortable with using some of these strategies. The most useful method of dealing with teen stress is learning how to use stress management strategies on a regular basis, so that you can avoid having a stress overload. Do not just try to manage stress when the pressure is already on. Knowing how to de-stress and doing it when things are relatively calm can help you get through challenging situations as they develop. Consider these ten tips:

1. Guard against over scheduling. If you are feeling your time is stretched too thin, consider cutting out an activity for a while and prioritize which activities are really important for you.

2. Take care of your physical health. Get regular exercise to release the build-up of teen stress. Eat nutritious meals so that you maintain the proper energy you need. Avoid caffeine. It is easy when you are stressed to eat junk food and skip meals. But your body needs vitamins and minerals more when it is under stress. Don’t substitute alcohol or drugs as a quick fix; your body will actually just break down sooner without its ability to cope well.

3. Get a good night’s rest. O.K. You have a term paper due and you haven’t finished your math homework. But you will not be able to concentrate well with little sleep. Yes, the biological clock shifts during adolescence, and many teens prefer to stay up later at night and sleep later into the morning. That is not working with the current school schedule, so you need to get to bed earlier than you may want so that you can be alert when you have to get up early in the morning. Looks like you are going to have to re-arrange the homework schedule and get it done earlier in the evening or tuck in some time right after school. If you need to spend some late nights for a dead line-build in time to catch up on rest soon after the assignments are due. Oh, and you might want to consider preparing for tests early-a little each day before the scheduled exam so that you don’t feel stressed cramming the night before.

4. Learn to relax. The body needs to recover from stressful situations through relaxation so that you can have a sense of calm. Learn simple breathing exercises and then use them when you are caught up in stressful situations. Take deep breaths, accompanied by thought of being in control (I can handle this). Learn progressive muscle relaxation (repeatedly tensing and relaxing large muscles of your body). Start relaxing the feet muscles, then legs, then arms, then shoulders. Also build in some other calming activities (reading a book or watching a movie, [spending time with a pet]) that allow you to relax and divert your attention from thinking about the situations that are causing you stress.

5. Be realistic. It might be wise to lower your expectations for yourself. Don’t try to be perfect since no one is. And don’t expect others to be perfect either since

that will put stress on them as well as you. If you need help on something like a school project, ask for it. If and when you make a mistake, learn from it-don’t dwell on your weaknesses or faults. Forgive yourself and others when things happen and may go wrong.

6. Focus on things that you can control. Let go of the things you can not control. It does you no good to worry about things that might happen, so try and concentrate on those things that you have direct influence over. Stop worrying about things that may never happen; a lot of useless energy is spent that way and when you are feeling stressed you need your energy for more productive uses.

7. Set goals that are manageable. Learn to solve everyday problems to give you a sense of control and accomplishment. If you break tasks into smaller manageable chunks then you can see the progress you are making as these tasks get completed. This helps with teen stress. Develop skills to calmly look at a problem and figure out how to create a solution so that you have a sense of control, not stress, in your life. Feeling confident in solving small problems first, builds inner confidence to tackle life’s more difficult problems and this will serve you well under times of stress.

8. Watch what you are thinking. Your attitude is very important to the way in which you approach life. Your outlook and thought influence the way in which you see things. Be positive. See the cup as half full rather than half empty. Optimism can help you make the best of a stressful situation. Try to learn to think more optimistically and you will find that things may not be a dire as you thought they were. The teen stress may not seem so bad.

9. Get involved with things that you enjoy doing. Schedule breaks and activities with friends or take some breaks for “alone and recharging” times. Enjoy music, arts, sports and socializing to balance the stress you find in other aspects of your life.

10.Talk about problems with others, including parents, older adults and friends. It is always great to get another point of view and talking with others, even a counselor, can provide a great sense of renewed perspective and stress relief. Pray or read something inspirational. Don’t go it alone. Humans are built to share and you will find a great deal of comfort in having support from others. Initially, the problems related to teen stress may seem difficult to discuss with others, but if you can overcome this feeling and talk about them, you will find that you will feel better.

For more information about teen stress, visit these pages.

Dr. Ann Gatty is an educator, author, organizational strategist and personal consultant. She has taught in classrooms, museums, boardrooms and employee seminars. She has mentored, coached and written curriculum in organizational leadership, museum studies, and teacher development. From her work and personal experiences, she finds a continuous need among women, of all walks of life, to find answers to questions about their life balance, goals, and health. Dr. Gatty hosts a website, http://www.stress-management-4-women.com. Visit to find answers to your concerns about handling the stresses of motherhood, professional work, teenlife, midlife and time management.

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10 Effective Stress Management Tips

October 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

By Alex Fir -

Stress is getting credit – or blame – for being the under-girding  cause of a number of serious illnesses. And the stresses in our lives are increasing rather than decreasing. Most people need to cope with stress at one point in their own lives. Here are ten effective tips for stress management.

1. Getting enough sleep every night is very important. When you are rested, you feel fresh, alerting, and ready to accept ever day’s challenges. When you’re tired, problems always seem bigger than they are. When you lack energy, you are not able to stay on top of matters you need to do. Go to bed and wake up at the same time every morning, including weekends. To have good night’s sleep, your room should be in dark, cool and quiet. Get some exercises a few hours before going to bed.

2. Next tip for stress management is administration. Make a schedule and prioritize. Now exactly what activities, projects, works and meetings you must do. When you handle your time effectively, it makes such a difference in the level of stress.

3. Learn to take a break when you begin to feel flooded by the work you’re dealing with. Spend 10 minutes walking, putting the feet up, drinking a coffee, consuming something that you love, or listening to a favorite song. All this will relieve stress and give you new energy.

4. Procrastinating is common practice among people. So the fourth tip for stress management is learning not to put things off. Spending time worrying about a deadline instead of working will only cause more stress. Organize the things in order of importance and deadline.

5. Laugh as much as you can. It will carry you through hard times and help you relieve stress. Every day try to read something funny, watch a program that makes you laugh, or share pranks with friends or colleagues.

6. Have a healthy lifestyle. Exercise, eat healthy, proportionate meals, and avoid alcohol.

7. Don’t think about mistakes of the past or about things which you can’t change.

8. Interact with pets. Studies have found that spending time with pets raises mood and relieves tension. It will also help you to get rid of your sedentary life and to start living a life with physical activity.

9. Have a holiday without your cell phone or laptop computer. Even a very short holiday like a weekend escape will relieve stress.

10. Have fun and do not take life too seriously.

Do you know these proven stress management methods that will erase your stress and help you enjoy a more relaxing life? Or do you know about these stress reducing foods?

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How Beating Stress Can Help You To Boost Your Metabolism

October 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

By Adrian Hargray -

If you want to boost your metabolism, then chill out. Experts in this field are saying that stress can actually work to slow down your metabolism. So if your under a lot of constant stress, you will want to find ways to cool down and relax more often. Try to pick out fun things to do that will relax your nerves and will allow you to chill out more often.

When you’re under stress, your body sends of stress hormones that go all throughout your body. These hormones cause your body to produce large fat cells in the stomach part of your body. Because of this, either two things can happen. You can either gain weight, or you can slow down your metabolism.

For some people gaining more weight is just totally out of the picture, so you will want to do everything that you can to prevent this from happening. One way to prevent these stress hormones from plaguing your body is with exercise. Even if it’s a simple walk outside, exercise can play a key role in the speeding up your metabolism.

Exercise is also good for stress. Some people resort to alcohol or smoking when they’re under stress, but all this can do is cause havoc on your system. You want to resort to healthier alternatives when you’re under stress that will benefit you physical, mentally, and even emotionally – and this is exactly what exercise can do for you.

If you want to lose weight, try your best to calm down during the course of your day. The last thing you want inside of you is bigger fat cells and a slower metabolism. But this is exactly what happens to people on a daily basis. If you want to relax, try picking up a good book to read or turn on the TV. Both of these activities will help you to calm down and feel more at easy when you’re feeling blue.

The advice is simple: relax and chill out. Science doesn’t lie and the experts who give this advice know what they are talking about. Try listening to music, going for a walk, taking a hot shower, meditating, doing yoga, eating healthy foods, or just laying down in bed to take your mind off things and to relax more often.

You will find that when you do these things, you are much better off when it comes to relaxing, so keep this in mind. This is actually a simple tip when it comes to boosting your metabolism, but it is one that is highly effective.

Good luck with using these tips to boost your metabolism.

FOR MORE INFO: Learn how to boost your metabolism and lose more weight starting now. To learn more, visit the following website for more details: http://www.instant-downloadz.com/boostmetabolism.html

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5 Quick Stress Busters – How to Easily Remove Stress From Your Life

October 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment

By Brett A Simpson -

Stress is such a problem that it is very quickly becoming one of the biggest health problems in modern society. This is because there are so many added pressures: work, family, financial, and emotional. There always seems to be too much to do and too little time to do it in. So, with that in mind, here are five really quick ways you can reduce the pressures bearing down on you and relieve your stress:

1. Sometimes when you are trying to handle a stressful situation you just end up with too much on your plate and it then becomes hard to find a solution. You may be stuck in a situation that is too hard to find a way out of. One good thing to do in this situation is to try to get some distance from the problem so you can get your true thoughts and feelings together. If it is at all possible, consider taking an entire day, or a weekend off completely. Go away from your normal environment and head to somewhere that you know is peaceful for you. When you get there relax. Be sure to take a journal along with you so that you can track any ideas that may come up. Sometimes all you need is a little distance away from your problems and you can get a whole new clarity on them. By taking the time to relax, you will be much better prepared, and more calm and the answers will come to you easier than when you have your pressures and problems around you everywhere.

2. Take time off to treat yourself to something special. Have a pamper day, where the whole day is all about you. Escape from the hustle/bustle of normal living so that you can enjoy stress-free time, alone. You will really feel great and best of all, your health and happiness will receive a boost too. Take the whole day to yourself; here are some things you might like to do: visit a sauna or steam room, take a dip in a jacuzzi, have an easy workout, and if you really feel like pampering yourself get a massage. If you live near a public bath (Turkish bath) consider having one of these, or visit a local full service spa for an incredible experience. Overall this excellent rejuvenating experience will prove to be a powerful stress-buster that you should try to follow at least once a month.

3. Try to take some time to find the positive feelings that are linked with any change in your life. Rather than being stressed over the change in your life, remember that change will always happen, and do your best to accept it and look for the good in that change. Do not resist it, as this can cause your stress to increase. Instead look at the change as an opportunity for growth. Change is not something that should cause stress, instead it is about how you react to that change that causes the stress. Do your best to avoid reacting in a negative way, because in the end you will only end up harming yourself by stressing (or worrying) yourself unnecessarily.

4. Take some time to kick back, relax and do whatever you want every day (for at least 1 hour). Relax, close yourself off from the rest of the world: turn off your cell phone and telephone and do whatever interests you most at the time. You might want to listen to some music, play a musical instrument of your own, read a good book, or relax with a hot bath, and a glass of good wine. Whatever you choose to do, do something that is so relaxing that it will unwind you completely from the stress and daily pressures that you are under. It’s bound to be a huge benefit for your mental health.

5. Because there is always going to be something that needs to be done, you need to find a way to have a checklist so that you can see that are getting things done and completed and you won’t feel like you are spinning your wheels. Make a daily list, or chore chart if you need to and pin it up, or tack it to the fridge. Make sure you check off each task as you finish them, that way all of the tasks that seem endless will get completed one by one, and best of all, you will have a good reference chart to see how far you’ve gotten. You could try scheduling one day to try to work through everything on your list and check it off, or you could split them up and try to accomplish all of them on the weekend. Whatever you choose to do, don’t put them off until the next week, when you’ll just end up adding to your tasks. Try to get them done without any breaks in between. Your stress will be reduced and all of those irritating tasks that bug you will stay where they belong – on your task list, until you tick them off; one by one. You’ll feel like you are getting more accomplished and you will be doing just that.

Brett has been a writer for nearly 20 years his latest interest is in appliances. Come visit his latest website that talks about products such as portable mini fridge and pink mini fridge which everyone needs.

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Stress Management Using Mindful Awareness

September 29, 2010 By 2 Comments

By Ruthan Brodsky -

Stress is a major health topic these days. It seems that constant contact with media your smart phone, tweeting or text messaging or answering your email, constant contact with family friends and strangers is causing more stress than a fax or TV commercial could ever have done. These communication devices plague us at home, at work, on the road, and for many they sleep right next to us. In fact, the more you read about stress the more you realize just how pervasive it really is.

Just about everyone in the medical area, whether it be a family physician or a podiatrist, is concerned with the unhealthy impact too much stress can have on their patients. It seems that stress is a major factor even for kids in elementary school who show concern about getting good grades or being in the good graces of a friend or getting on the baseball travel team.

I recently received a mailer that a local hospital was giving classes on Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction. The concept of Mindfulness has been around for some time. I remember reading about mindfulness-based stress reduction in the 80s and 90s. At that time it was considered a way of learning to relate directly to whatever is happening in your life so that you can take charge of your life. It was considered a way of doing something for yourself that no one else could do for you. It was a question of paying attention to what was causing the stress so that you could deal with it better whether it is dealing with your job loss, the fact that you have breast cancer or your marriage is falling apart. The concept is that being mindful you can consciously and systemically learning to respond to your own stress, pain, illness as well as the challenges and demands of every day life

Some call it a new area of interest where medicine and psychology meld but those of us who have been long aware of the mind body connection simply see the concept as another how to for making the connection. I have always thought that mindfulness would work well with adults who have an attention disorder because basically what it is training the mind through certain exercises to stay more focused on the present rather than letting the mind ruminate about the past and agonize over the future.

In other words being mindful, being in the present is another way of approaching reducing stress. If we learn to stay in the present we are likely to feel more at peace about where we are. Mindful stress reduction works for many especially those who must deal with serious illnesses. It also works for many people who are becoming ill because of their stress. There are many meditation techniques and practitioners tend to apply their own descriptions and emphasis when teaching. The terms don’t really matter because all of meditation involves arriving at a peaceful, a calm state of mind.

A hospital with an Integrative Medicine department, patients who want to decrease their stress level and their blood pressure often engage in mindfulness based stress reduction. So do cancer patients who are trying to keep a more positive attitude as well as boost their immune function. The hospital found that participants in this program were able to reduce their sleep disturbances. There were also significant reductions I stress, fatigue and negative mood.

Medical research repeatedly demonstrates that the power of the mind really does influence the body. When you think, for example, your brain is firing various neurotransmitters and other neural activity. This is the same neural network that is responsible for all your physical activities such as walking and breathing. By learning to actively calm your mind you figure out how to be your own best ally in the mind and thought response reaction you have to what is taking place around you and play a support role rather than staying oblivious to the role you’re playing.

For example, cancer patients need to learn positive self talk and practice meditation or yoga to help them feel grateful for all they do have instead of always being fearful and feeling lost. The point is most of our thinking is habitual and we have been conditioned to think this way or that whether we have been diagnosed with breast cancer or have not found a job in 10 months. Once we understand the trap our thinking has become, then we can focus on whatever energy it takes to focus on promoting our own health.The thought behind the mindfulness philosophy is that once we learn to stay in the present we develop the ability to experience life in richer ways.

Stress and anger are part of life. However, the way your body reacts to uncontrolled stress and anger is a risk factor for heart disease. In fact, some research reports that anger can be just as much of a risk factor for heart disease as smoking, obesity and lack of exercise.

Find out more about protecting your health by managing your stress at http://reducestressdepressionanxiety.com

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Fight Stress With Exercise

September 11, 2010 By 1 Comment

By Nalini Priyadarshni

There is enough stress around that all yoga and meditation studios of the world can make big bucks treating it and then some more to spare. Our lives are filled with all sort of problems from paying bill, work pressure, future of the kids, family chores and many more. While we cannot change the situations and wish all the problems away we can certainly learn to handle these problems by improving our attitude towards them.

Stress is all about distressing state of mind and body. It can be depression, high blood pressure, heart problems, tension in muscles, panic attacks, mental fatigue, and bad temper or for that matter anything which is having an adverse affect on your performance. Stress can be very devastating and can cause serious harm to your body.

A regular exercise regime can help you not only in getting out of stress but also keeping it at a bay for a long time. It pumps more oxygen in your body by increasing blood flow and help releasing endorphins which is a feel good chemical. Even if everything else does not come up to scratch at least you are sure of one good thing you have done in a day and that’s exercising.

Eating a balanced diet is as important as exercising. It happens that when you get stressed you tend to eat indiscriminately. A diet with poor nutritional value can make you feel lethargic, distracted and even listless at times. By eating healthy diet which fulfills all nutritional needs, you ensure a correct sugar level, proteins, vitamins and essential minerals. This shoots up your energy level, lift your stamina, removes toxins from body, strengthen your immune system and keep you in high spirits whole day.

Get yourself organized as disorganization multiplies your stress. It’s very important to take some time out for exercising as it gives you confidence and a confident mind is more likely to plump for better options in life. Realising that there are some aspects of your life that you can control significantly lowers your stress. Putting off exercising day after day adds to the stress and so does the unorganized lifestyle.

Nothing can be worse than lying in bed and pondering over everything that went wrong that day. This kills our sleep and compounds our stress. An exercise regime can help you in winding up a day on a positive note and help you sleep better. A well rested mind and a strong body is a fantastic way to face the next day on a more positive note.

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Stress Management – 5 Ways to De-Stress in Just 10 Minutes

April 7, 2010 By 5 Comments
BusinessmanBy Rachel Ford -

Sometimes when you’re upset, stressed or anxious you don’t have time for a yoga class or even a massage. But the truth is, you can relax and let go of stress in just a short amount of time if you put your mind to it. Here are 5 things that you can do to help you feel relaxed, renewed and refreshed in as little as 10 minutes.

Relaxed from your ears down. Turn on something relaxing, such as a nature CD where they’ve mixed in sounds of animals, ocean waves, thunder storms and what not. Relax your mind against the auditory backdrop of the natural world, and feel your muscles loosening up.

Scribble away. Write yourself a little note whenever you get particularly upset or stressed about any given thing. You don’t have to show this note to anyone – and in fact, it would probably be best if you never did show it off. Either write down or type out everything you want to get out about that situation that has happened, as well as why you feel so upset about it. Often, just writing down something helps you diffuse your emotional reaction and also cuts down the stress that it’s caused. When you are finished, you can either erase the note or throw it away.

Take a ten minute vacation. While that may sound like a candy commercial, what it really means is that you can visualize somewhere you’d love to be – instead of going through all the hassles of actually going there. You may want to visualize that you are standing on a beautiful mountain, looking out over the expanse of nature. Imagine walking down a path, and stopping to smell the pine cones. Feel and smell the fresh air, and see birds in the distance. You can also imagine that every step that you take down the path is making you more and more relaxed. If you visualize this for just 10 minutes, you’ll feel as re-energized as if you had actually been there.

Count your blessings. Actually write out a full list of everything you are grateful for. Doing that is an excellent way to put your troubles into perspective. If you think about all you love in your life, you will feel a sense of renewed joy about being here. It’s really not that bad, is it?

Look to the stars . If it’s night time, walk outside in the dark and look up at the night sky. See how many stars you can count. Or just gaze around, and see if you can find some constellations. You can actually see a lot of them with just your eyes. And if you can’t see any stars, just count street lights, and make up your own constellations.

If you want to start to get on top of your stress today, then pop over to http://www.movebeyondstress.com and claim your free stress survival kit.

From Rachel Ford – Clinical Hypnotherapist & Stress Management Consultant

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rachel_Ford

Filed Under: Health, Physical Health, Stress Management Tagged With: ,
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