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Stress Reduction - 30 Easy Things That You Can Do
Ron Goodwsen
Stress affects the whole person - body, mind, feelings, and
behavior, and just as symptoms can take many forms, so there
are many simple actions that you can take to relieve these
symptoms.
Take Action on Stress.
Ask yourself "Am I stressed, or am I in denial?" Simply making
a conscious decision to act upon your situation will bring
to you, such a sense of relief that this unpleasant situation
is going to change, that you will immediately start to feel
some benefit.
Chunk Down.
Chunking down helps you to define what the problems actually
are. It helps you to divide the problems causing you stress
into smaller and therefore more manageable parts. You can
then look for solutions, options and ways forward. This is
a good problem solving technique.
Speak to Someone.
A problem shared is a problem halved, it's good to talk. Talking
it over with a friend or someone who is willing to listen,
who wont judge or offer advice, can often help to de-clutter
the mind and clarify your perspective and help you to take
appropriate action to relieve stress.
Write it down - Let it out.
Write a letter to yourself or to someone else, without posting
it, but find a means of getting your true thoughts and feelings
down on paper. You can then destroy it if you wish, it's a
form of release, which you can then follow up with a plan
to resolve your issues.
Ask for Professional Help.
Seek out a hypnotherapy DVD or find a hypnotherapist to help
you refocus on relaxation and stress relief.
Stop Procrastinating.
Procrastination is itself a cause of stress, Eliminate procrastination
from your life. Don't put things off until tomorrow. Do them
today. Create a "DO IT NOW" mentality.
Don't be afraid to say NO.
Change the Dynamic of your situation. If you can learn how
to be more assertive, this will enable you to say what you
think and act how you want to. Imagine how much less stressed
this will make you feel.
Give yourself choices.
Change the stress factors that you can and strengthen your
ability to cope with ones that you cannot change. Be creative,
find compromises, Reframe problems and look for solutions
that create win-win outcomes.
Take a step back from the situation.
Create some distance between yourself and the stressor. Walk
away and find a quiet place even if that's sitting in your
car or a bathroom. Take a couple of deeper breaths and imagine
yourself far, far away from it. See the stressor for what
it really is. See it small and manageable compared to the
bigger picture and see how much calmer you feel.
Manage your Time - Be Organized.
Time management allows you to plan and organize your life
to give yourself more space and opportunity. It involves planning,
delegating, setting an agenda and not wasting any time doing
unnecessary things or worrying about things over which you
have no control.
Start the day with confidence.
Prepare for the coming day, the night before. Then you're
not rushed in the morning and off to a bad start straight
away.
Don't rely on your memory. (It's the first thing to
go when you're stressed.)
Write down appointments, to-do lists, directions and shopping
lists. Create order out of chaos.
Don't be late.
Give yourself more time to do things so that you are not pressured.
Get up a little earlier, leave a little earlier for appointments.
Focus.
Do one thing at a time and do it well, focus on the job at
hand and forget everything else you have to do.
Take a moment.
Allow yourself some personal time, everyday, a private moment
for peace, quiet and contemplation.
Have an optimistic view of the world.
Expect things to go right, expect people to be nice. You may
find that's exactly what happens!
Learn to be Tolerant.
Remember that most people are doing the best that they can.
Find it within yourself to be tolerant and understanding.
People make mistakes. Accept the fact that we live in an imperfect
world.
Take Regular Exercise.
Exercise combats many of the physical and emotional symptoms
of stress and can make you feel better about yourself. Feeling
healthy can bring about improvements in self-esteem and self-image
and increase confidence. When our confidence and esteem are
lifted our perception of ourselves changes completely and
becomes much more positive.
Make exercise Fun.
Don't ignore the mental and emotional aspect of regular exercise.
Giving yourself time out to do something fun simply makes
you feel good, so if you're feeling stressed and unsure about
whether to exercise or not, simply remind yourself of how
you are going to feel afterwards.
Get Outside and Walk it off - Breathe in some Fresh Air.
If you work in an office with air conditioning, get outside
and clear your head. Walk about and Fill your lungs with Air.
Try some Deep Breathing Techniques, which re-energizes and
invigorates your mind and body. This simple exercise also
releases hormones that affect your mood, creating a more relaxed
and positive frame of mind and releasing physical stress from
the body.
Treat yourself - Have something to look forward to.
Get away from it all, even if it's just for one day. Better
still, have regular weekend breaks and don't ever take work
with you. Make sure that you book a proper holiday each year
to recharge your batteries, it doesn't matter where, just
do it.
Learn to use your body's Relaxation Response.
Imagine… having relief on tap - something you could experience
whenever you need it, something that would remove all the
stress from your body and return the sparkle to your mind.
You can use hypnosis to trigger this wonderful natural effect,
which will release hormones and neurotransmitters that flood
your body and mind with pure, cleansing relaxation. You owe
it to yourself to feel the relief you can have instantly,
so learn this technique.
Make Relaxation part of your daily routine.
The following practices will help you to relax and unwind.
- Guided relaxation and visualization techniques: obtain
a CD or DVD
- Meditation: Brings an abundance of calm into your life
- Progressive Muscle Relaxation: deeply, physically relaxing
- Massage/ Aromatherapy: Go on, pamper yourself
- Yoga; a mixture of meditation and gentle movement and
stretching
- Shiatsu; Energy balancing and deeply relaxing
Other methods and therapies include; Floatation tanks, Reiki,
Indian head massage, Thai Chi and Reflexology. Do your research
and try a few things and find the treatment most suitable
for you.
Eat Properly - Food is not just fuel.
Make the time in your schedule to eat properly and take time
to enjoy your meals when you do eat them. Don't just shovel
the food in and dash off for the next meeting, give your digestive
system a fighting chance by eating slowly and resting after
your meal.
(Remember, peptic ulcers aren't fun).
Eat Healthy.
Look after your health by eating a sensible balanced diet.
Eat breakfast to kick-start your day. If you need to, create
new good eating habits. Ensure that your lifestyle changes
to suit your real needs. Poor nutrition will further weaken
your resistance to illness and allow other symptoms of stress
to develop.
Lay off the coffee and tea. (The caffeine doesn't help
you to relax.)
Take a hot bath.
Have a good soak in the evening to relieve the tension in
your body before going to bed.
Ensure that you get enough sleep.
This is essential. You'll wake up feeling refreshed with more
energy and able to function better throughout the day.
Enjoy the moments.
Find something that makes you smile or laugh out loud. Laughter
is the answer to stress, because it's hard to be stressed
and anxious when you're having fun!
Remember to Enjoy Life.
Every day, take time to do something that you enjoy.
Learn to live one day at a time and take each day as you find
it. Life only comes round once, it's quite short and you have
to appreciate what's good in it.
Ron Goodswen, partner at Imagine Me Media - the Hypnotherapy
DVD Company. Roderick Piggott - Hypnotherapist with over 20
years of clinical experience. Imagine
Me Media - Stress Reduction & Relaxation
Article Source:
http://www.articlerich.com
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