Natural Stress Relievers -
How to Cope in This Crazy World
By Sherry L Harris
Today's world practically invites stress into our lives. Some of us have loved ones in Iraq, some are struggling with the economy, and if you've managed to avoid that there's always the 50 hour work week to get you down. Rather than simply giving up and succumbing to this stress, find ways to overcome it and enjoy life. This has to be a careful balance, however. Too much leisure can lead to laziness and procrastination, which only adds to the stress later on. Find a night or weekend when there isn't anything you really need to be doing, and relax. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done.
Everyone has a different way of unwinding, but here are a few ideas to get your imagination running.
1) The Hot Bath- Some people may find this relaxation technique cliche, but the truth is it almost always works if done right. First, fill up your tub with nice hot water, and perhaps a nice smelling additive to calm you even more. If you have a good book to read, you may want to bring that with you. It can also be good to just sit alone with your thoughts though. Create a calm atmosphere by adding candles, and locking the door to ensure you won't be interrupted. Finally, bring your favorite drink in with you. This can be a glass of wine, beer, hot chocolate, tea, or just water.
2) The Nice Drive- Driving to work isn't exactly relaxing, but driving just for the fun of it can be. Sometime at night, make a CD of all your favorite songs to sing out loud to. Get in the car, and just drive. This is great, because it can get out almost any emotion you've been holding inside. You can be angry, sad, happy, jealous, like I said, almost anything. By the time you get back you'll feel much better, and the money you spent on gas will be well worth it.
3) The Comedy Night- Nothing makes you feel better faster than laughter, so have a little comedy night for yourself. Make yourself a bowl of popcorn and pop in a DVD of your favorite funny movie or comedian. Laugh with abandon and let the endorphins get the better of you. It doesn't have to stop with one movie either. Share the night with a good friend to make it even happier.
Relieving your stress will have many benefits to your life. You will be healthier in the long run, sleep easier and more soundly, and be an overall happier person.
Want to knock-out insomnia? Sherry Harris offers FREE information packed ebook, "101 Amazingly Simple Ways to Beat Insomnia." Get the solution to your sleeping problems right now at http://www.scenttosleep.com/ Get all the help you need to fall asleep fast, free sleep tips (that work!). Hope you enjoyed the article topic Natural Stress Relievers. Interested? Visit us now - we're expecting you.
Stress Management is an Important Part of a Healthy Lifestyle
By Paul Rodgers
Stress is your response to any physical, emotional or intellectual demands. Stress is a major contributing factor either directly or indirectly, to coronary artery disease, cancer, respiratory disorders, accidental injuries, cirrhosis of the liver and suicide; the six leading causes of death in the United States. Although we can't eliminate stress, we can all do a better job in managing it. Stress management includes following a healthy diet, getting regular exercise, and making time for uninterrupted relaxation.
Symptoms Of Stress
Symptoms of stress can be either behavioral or physical. They are different for everyone, but some common signs that you've had too much excitement and need to slow down include:
Impatience or Edginess - Lack of Enjoyment - Sleep Problems - Exhaustion.
Common physical symptoms of stress include:
muscle tension, headaches, low back pain, insomnia and high blood pressure.
These symptoms may manifest themselves psychologically as irritability, anxiety, impaired concentration, mental confusion, poor judgment, frustration and anger. And some people who have a chronic illness may find that the symptoms of their illness flare up under an overload of stress.
Healthy Lifestyle
Stress management should be a major concern for a healthy lifestyle. Effective stress management is a lifestyle and we must learn to incorporate into our daily lives. A commitment to live a healthier lifestyle should never take a back seat, especially not to stress. Stress management is not only an urgent need in today's fast-paced lifestyle, but an important factor in both physical and mental health. In the alternative, if stress is more the result of one's lifestyle, eliminating the stress causing factors and/or gaining healthful insight on how to alleviate stress the right way might just be the best thing for an individual to do for themselves.
Stress Nutrition
Nutrition is one area where stress can be reduced most effectively, because we eat every day at least 3 times a day, so even the smallest of changes could bring about significant benefits. Stress can and does also result from unbalanced and inappropriate nutrition; excessive use of socially acceptable intoxicants; suppressive drugs and vaccinations; environmental toxins; negative emotions; lack of physical exercise; genetic factors; and improper body alignment. Stress nutrition is a program specifically designed to combat stress dysfunction and attempts to meet individual biochemical requirements by providing the right amount of each nutrient in proportion to every other nutrient.
Fitness
For decades, fitness professionals have had various degrees of success motivating clients and making them accountable for a healthy lifestyle. There is evidence that you can reduce stress, prevent chronic diseases including depression and improve happiness through ongoing mental fitness training. A complete nutritional approach, combined with proper fitness maintenance and stress management is most important. Exercise and physical fitness act as a buffer against stress, so that stressful events have a less negative impact on psychological and physical health.
Exercises And Sports
You can help trigger the relaxation response by learning simple breathing exercises and then using them when you're caught up in stressful situations. Other people rely on exercise and participating in their favorite sports and games to spend pent up energy. Not all stress is bad and an example would be in sports. Joining a sports team, even with your co-workers can increase the work fun level, and reduce the tension. Exercises such as golf, tennis, handball, biking, and other sports have shown to help people relax.
Conclusion
Stress management is the application of methods to either reduce stress or increase tolerance to stress. The tricky part of managing stress is that, when dealing with stressful events that are enjoyable « the good stress », you may not always notice how stressed you feel until you experience the more serious stress symptoms, or until you feel overwhelmed. Positive stress is desirable for your own good, and also for the good of your family and also for the society as a whole.
Exercise and physical fitness act as a buffer against stress, so that stressful events have a less negative impact on psychological and physical health. Find out more about Stress Management
Paul Rodgers specializes in marketing natural health and beauty products
Stay Calm When Everyone is Freaking Out
By Heather Jassy
Most places I go, people are talking about the economy, and they're freaking out. They're speculating on what will happen and how it will affect their lives. It can all feel pretty scary, and the fear feels contagious. Here are some tips to help you stay calm:
What's Worked for You in the Past? Think about a time in the past when you faced difficulty. If you're here, you survived. Think of what helped you then. How did you approach the difficulty and what strategies were helpful? How did you shift the situation? What calmed you? What helped you feel better? Was there any lesson there that you could use now?
Venting vs. Rehearsing Many people think that "venting" helps them feel better-and sometimes it does. Venting is when you have something that's been weighing you down, and you feel better when you share it with someone else who can sympathize or give you support or simply listen. But when do you cross the line into "rehearsing"? Rehearsing is when you tell the same story, over and over again, and each time, you experience the same anxiety or fear. Here's a rule of thumb: When it makes you feel relieved to talk about it, talk about it. When you notice that you feel worse, stop.
Consider a media ban I was having a great morning a few days ago, and then I opened yahoo and the headline was about the stock market average plummeting-and suddenly I felt anxious, even though nothing had actually changed. What we read and watch changes our perceptions and affects our emotions. If watching the economic predictions on TV or the internet is affecting you emotionally, stop watching. Spend that time playing with your dog or taking a walk or listening to a song you like.
Awareness Pay attention to how your body feels when people are talking about the economy. If you notice tension or tightness, walk away from the conversation. Do something pleasant, or simply sit and listen to your breath.
Be a Tree Here's a tip I give to clients constantly: if you start to feel anxious, imagine you're a tree. It sounds silly, but it works. Imagine you're a tree, and you're rooted to the ground, solid and strong. Trees are strong and when they're flexible and soft, they sway in the wind and still stay rooted. Be a flexible tree.
Gratitude Make a list, every day, of two or three things you are thankful for. Focus on what you have, instead of what you don't have, or what might happen in the future. Read this list if you start to panic.
You have this moment. If all else fails, you have this moment. Sit quietly and think to yourself: "right now, in this moment, I am OK." Take a deep breath. Listen to your breath.
It IS all going to be ok. Trust yourself. You are more creative and resourceful than you know. No matter what, you're going to be OK.
Heather Jassy, MA CCC, is a personal coach, therapist, and founder of Empty Space Coaching.
Learn to Relax, If You Want to Be Successful in Life
By Mercedes Oestermann Van Essen
The subject of relaxation is a big topic and a very important part of the Happy Venn Diagram. What's more, true relaxation not only makes you feel good, increases self esteem, but it also puts your manifestation powers on after burners.
This may sound like a paradox, almost a contradiction in terms. Have you not been told that you need to be pro-active in order to achieve? Action is the thing that gets you what you desire. Sure, I cannot and will not argue this essential part of making dreams reality.
However, if you know the Bhagavad Gita, you will know that action and non-action are valued equally by Krishna in his conversation with Arjuna.
Knowing when to take action and when to stay away is one of life's secrets. It requires a balance of mind, body and environment to facilitate optimum timing free from interference.
Most of us have a somewhat flawed idea about relaxation. Relaxation is not about sleeping excessively, going on holiday, or seeking out so called relaxing entertainment, like sitting in front of the box and be brainwashed, or some other form of mental or physical intoxication. These activities only distract you from a problem you may have and delude you into thinking that you are relaxing. Alcohol and television slow down your mind, which means you enter a less frenzied state for a while, however, true relaxation is very different.
With practice you can enter a state of true relaxation at will. Actually, in seconds. However, if you are experiencing feelings of guilt, anger and fear, as many of us do, you will find it hard to truly relax. You will need to do a little mental house cleaning first. Because, true relaxation requires a mind free from guilt and fear. Both guilt and fear are the biggest enemies of progress and success. They stop you from being in touch with yourself and your life. This artifical feeling of separation is painful and induces more stress, quite the opposite from what you need to achieve your goals.
If you are out of touch with yourself, how can you possibly connect to others? Let alone, create the habits and thoughts of a successful person.
Relaxation is about entering a mild alpha state and maintaining it. Breathing exercises are a great way to practice cognitive relaxation, particularly, if you have not practiced any cognitive relaxation techniques before.
Relaxation is also about becoming aware of your body and your mind and consciously doing those things that bring about balance. When you learn to become truly relaxed, you will conserve energy.
You will tire less easily and increase your productivity in due course. With energy techniques, like EFT and Micro EFT you can release tension very quickly. Use Micro EFT as a quick relaxation technique several times throughout the day to induce moments of relaxation. Practice meditation. The guided problem solving meditations are a great way to experience relaxation and solve problems at the same time.
In closing, let me just say this. Learn to relax, it will increase your conscious awareness. You need to expand conscious awareness of yourself and your world in order to grow and manifest your goals easier and faster. Relaxation is expansive, in the true meaning of the word. Tension contracts. This is true for your body, as well as your brain.
Mercedes Oestermann van Essen is a human development coach, energy therapist and author. She has created the Happy Venn Diagram for environment, body and mind, a unique approach for happiness and success. Get your free report, 5 Little Known Keys To Happiness.
