Stress reduction is imperative in protecting our health. Stress can affect us on either a psychological or a physiological level. It can manifest in symptoms as diverse as gastrointestinal disorders and eye ticks. By addressing stress in a step by step approach, its cause can be identified and possibly even alleviated.
A journal can help reduce stress. All it takes is a pen and paper and a few minutes to write down whatever is bothering you. Often just getting it out on paper puts things in a better perspective. Writing about our problems releases emotions that may otherwise be pent up, thus increasing our stress levels. Furthermore, seeing our problems on paper can sometimes allow us to see possible solutions to our problems.
Watching a movie is a proven way to eliminate the stress in your life for a couple of hours. Sit down with friends, family or alone and watch a horror or action film that will stimulate your mind. This will help a lot in getting your thoughts off your troubles.
Make sure you’re not taking too much on. If you’re feeling stressed, particularly at work, it could be because you’re trying to take on too much work at once. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. If you’re not able to handle your work load, let your boss know. Often, your boss will be more than happy to help you out or help you to find someone who can.
Before you do or say anything you might regret, stop and count to 10. Take a moment away from the thing or person causing you stress and get yourself together. Take a few deep breaths, recite an affirmation, or stretch. Do whatever it takes to re-center yourself, and get rid of the stress.
In order to deal with stress, you may wish to consider completely cutting yourself off of whatever is causing your stress temporarily. This is important because sometimes we have problems with completely turning things off and often times this can be the best way. An example would be to turn off your work cell phone and computer for an entire weekend.
Some people turn to alcohol or other drugs when they are stressed out. When the way someone feels about their life turns entirely negative, substance abuse offers an escape from the pain. Alcohol and drugs are not viable solutions. They will most likely make your life even more complicated and should not be used as an answer to your stress problems.
Sometimes, with a hectic work schedule, it is important to take a 20 minute nap here and there to recharge your internal batteries. This will make you feel great when you wake up and will eliminate the haggard feeling that you carry around. Find time to take short rest breaks to limit tension.
A fantastic tip that can help you keep your stress levels down is to make sure you have good posture at all times. When people slouch, they aren’t getting as much oxygen to the brain and that can make them stressed. Having and maintaining good posture can help you keep your stress levels down.
You should never feel as though your stress is a victimless crime. It is sure to be affecting those people nearest and dearest to you. Even if it doesn’t cause your children to be scared of you or your coworkers to avoid you, there is always one other victim – you.
If you are a religious person than you should be in constant prayer as studies show this reduces stress. If you are not religious than you can try out non-religious meditation. This is the concept of meditating or clearing your mind but without doing it for any specific purposes. The results are clear!
A good tip that can help you keep your stress levels down is to simply look into getting an answering machine for your phone. By having an answering machine, you won’t have to worry about answering calls right away. You’ll always know who called and what they want.
An excellent method of calming down when you have a stressful day is to do a special act for another person. Try picking up flowers for your partner, or fixing your child a special treat. When you are preoccupied with helping someone else you can take your mind off of stressful situations by seeing them happy. This can help you be in a better mood when you’re having a terrible day.
By reducing or, better yet, even eliminating stress from our lives, we can do wonders in improving our health. This isn’t an impossible task. The first step is figuring out the problem. The second step, or series of steps actually, involves addressing the problem at its root and working to eliminate it in its entirety.