Stress Management Tips

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Good Morning!

 

Stress Management Tips

 

Chronic, long term stress can kill you. It is the underlying factor

which can undermined any one suffering from an illness, fear, or just

plain insecurity. The mind and body altercation brought on by our own

self affliction. Anxiety is a vague, uncomfortable feeling of fear,

dread or danger from an unknown source. For some it may be a one time

episode. Other become constantly anxious about everything. A certain

amount of anxiety is normal and helps improve our performance and

allows people to avoid dangerous situations. Stress related symptoms

also include a feeling that something undesirable is about to happen

dry mouth, swallowing difficulty, hoarseness, rapid breathing and

heart palpitations, twitching or trembling, muscle tension,

headaches, backaches sweating, difficulty in concentrating, dizziness

or faintness. Nausea, diarrhea, weight loss, sleeplessness,

irritability, fatigue, nightmares, memory problems, and sexual

impotence.

 

The single most important point you can make about stress is that in

most cases it's not what's out there that's the problem, it's how you

react to it. How you react is determined by how you perceive a

particular stress.

 

The Chinese word for crisis is " weiji " . Two characters that

separately mean danger and opportunity. Every problem we encounter in

life can be viewed that way. It is a chance to show that we can

handle it.

 

Changing the way you think, can change a life of stress and

discomfort to a life of challenge and excitement. Thinking about a

success or a past achievement is excellent when you're feeling

uncertain and stress. You are instantly reminded that you've achieved

before, and there's no reason you shouldn't achieve this time.

 

Positive affirmations. You should have a list of affirmations ready

that you can start repeating when you feel stressed. They don't have

to be complicated. Just saying aloud " I can handle this " to yourself

or " I know exactly what I am doing " will work. It pulls you away from

the animal reflex to stress—the quick breathing, the cold hands—and

toward the reasoned response, the intellect—the part of you that

really can handle it. It's necessary to think these thoughts

consciously because doing so automatically changes the mind-set

that's producing the stress. If you're reciting an affirmation,

you're not thinking about whatever bothers you.

 

Managing Your Stress

 

We can learn to manage stress. Start with these tips:

 

*Keep a positive attitude.

 

*Accept that there are events that you cannot control.

 

*Be assertive instead of aggressive. " Assert " your feelings,

opinions, or beliefs instead of becoming angry, defensive, or

passive.

 

*Learn and practice relaxation techniques..

 

*Exercise regularly. Your body can fight stress better when it is

fit.

 

*Eat healthy, well-balanced meals.

 

*Get enough rest and sleep. Your body needs time to recover from

stressful events.

 

*Don't rely on alcohol or drugs to reduce stress.

 

*Seek out social support.

 

*Learn to manage your time more effectively.

 

 

Tips for Better Living

 

Organize. Disorganization creates stress. Taking the " dis " out of

disorganization can produce a sense of control in knowing what will

happen, that in turn reduces stress.

 

Create environments that reduce stress. Create a calming, clutter

free home environment that will help reduce stress and create a sense

of well-being.

 

Use stress as a teacher. As a crisis occurs, stop and think of how to

use it to make things better. Make lemonade out of the lemons in

life.

 

Leave time for the unexpected. Look for the natural coping ability to

deal with the unexpected. Coping requires time. Time is needed to

perceive a crisis and to rally our internal and external resources.

 

Choose friends carefully. Your choice of friends can be the key to

stress reduction. Friends should be people who help us to increase

our strengths and create innovative solutions to stressful

situations. They support us and reaffirm that we are not alone.

 

Stop and look at yourself. Take time to recognize signs of stress

like anger, over extension in outside activities, work and sleep

habits. As you become aware of these signs, you are beginning to

identify how to make stress work. You are being proactive not

reactive to situations.

 

Accept what cannot be changed. We can accept what we cannot change by

changing what we can. Make choices that are realistic, not out of

reach.

 

Don't say yes to everything. Recognize what your strengths are and

focus on taking the time to do a project built on them. Taking on too

many projects results in loss of control and creates stress.

 

Make decisions. Indecision increases stress. Good leaders make

decisions and act on them. If a bad decision is made, reevaluate.

 

Maintain a sense of humor. Laughing at oneself can release potential

stress from the inside. And laughing creates less wrinkles than

worrying.

 

 

For more information on stress management with herbs, homeopathy,

exercise, nutrition and much more, please go to:

 

http://www.peacefulmind.com/stress.htm

 

 

Andrew Pacholyk, MS, L.Ac.

Peacefulmind.com

Therapies for healing

mind, body, spirit