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Stress Relief For Health, Success, and Happiness
We have a tendency to accept stress
as an integral part of life. If we know we’ll soon face a
big challenge, if we’re anticipating a major life change,
or even if we know parking will be hard to find at the market, we
practically forecast the degree of accompanying stress. This condition
becomes so natural that we lose sight of the fact that we actually
can reduce stress and anxiety in our lives. Learn to relieve stress
with the proper techniques and perspective and truly take charge
of your own life.
Stress. It’s a far too
common term in our contemporary vocabulary. From phrases like "job
stress" and "holiday stress" to "teen stress" and "relationship stress",
examples turn up throughout our lives. If you reflect on your day
so far, you can probably apply the word "stress" to more
than one experience. It may be stress in the workplace, home, or
during your commute. While a moderate dose of the stuff is often
just the thing to trigger improved performance, concentration, or
effort, we easily let the effects of stress get away from us so
that they become a predominantly negative presence. Symptoms of
the latter include fatigue, nervousness, anger, anxiety, difficulty
focusing, a stress disorder like changes in eating or sleeping patterns,
stress-related illness, and the so-called “nervous habits”
like nail biting. If you relate personally to one or more of these
conditions and you’re experiencing increased stress, any of
the following are examples of conditions (whether major or minor)
that may be a cause of stress:
- A significant life change like marriage
or a new job
- A challenging or grieving time concerning illness or loss of
a loved one
- Taking on too much responsibility
- Unwholesome food
- Erratic sleep
- Insufficient pure water and fresh air
- A routine of watching the news first thing in the morning and
last thing at night
- An unusually busy time of year such as the holiday season
Stress and anxiety are noticeably inconvenient
and unpleasant, but the long-term impact can lead to very real dangers.
To begin with, stress and health are immediately linked. Examples
include muscle tension, high blood pressure, and susceptibility
to illness as strain runs your body down. You are likely to become
less productive personally and professionally as anxiety dominates
your focus. You become less present in your own life—less
able to acknowledge and appreciate beauty and good fortune. Finally,
though you may feel like the lone victim of your stress, the reality
is that the impact on those close to you is boundless. The term
“stress contagion” refers to stress’s ability
to spread to others, particularly children. Even though kids may
not seem to understand your “adult” world, its pressures
reach them through your body language, voice, temper, and general
demeanor. Studies have shown that children from stressful environments
have higher rates of sickness, proving the grave toll your stress
may be taking on your sons and daughters.
Now that you’ve considered stress—how
common the causes are and how dire its effects may be—you’re
probably ready for a solution, for a stress management technique
that will strip stress of the control it may have on your life.
The good news is that you’ve already made the first step to
reduce stress since the foundation of stress control is awareness.
Stress will always exist, but once you recognize its presence,
you’re on your way to reducing its impact and relieving stress.
This awareness works in two ways: first, you target stress as the
likely culprit behind many life imbalances, and thus, gain more
control. Second, you increase your awareness of your own reaction
to stress (emotionally and physically) and make steps toward
regulating those responses. Remember that you (not your boss, the
bills, or an approaching holiday) are in charge of your own stress
level, and that you can even learn how to relieve stress by changing
your physical response to tension. Consider a stress reducer like
the practice of Biofeedback, a method that teaches conscious control
over such unconscious conditions like blood pressure. Consider the
simple practice of breathing when tensions rise—
take a breath to give yourself time to respond and contemplate before
your react. Furthermore, in your quest for awareness in coping with
stress, remember these five points:
- Be aware of your thoughts throughout the
day. Determine what you can control and what is beyond your influence.
- Change the thoughts that bring stress. Redirect them in a
more productive way.
- Are you resisting any of the ideas above? Beware of such a
defeatist attitude—maintain an open mind instead.
- Notice how your stress levels have shifted as your thoughts
have changed.
- Be constantly aware of your strength to transform your quality
of life.
Most important in the evaluation
of stress is the awareness that your heart is the area most affected
by stress (from emotions to serious health conditions like heart
attacks). So, consider stress levels and their relationship
to love. Do a few minutes of breathing while placing your
hands over your heart while you begin to visualize and feel the
love and gratitude you have for people or animals in your life.
Allow the power of your thoughts and feelings to shift you from worry
and stress into a more neutral place, initially, that will close
the floodgates to those stress hormones. Then choose to allow
the energy of appreciation and joy to first of all fill your heart
then feel it flowing into every cell of your being. Prevent
emotional and physical problems by taking control of your mind.
As you commit to decrease stress in your life think of it as a double
bonus: less stress, more love!
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