Health Tips Stress Relief Methods
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Aug
20
Health Tips Stress Relief Methods
Health Tips Stress Relief Methods
Stress is simply a fact of nature—forces from the outside world affecting the individual. The individual responds to stress in ways that affect the individual as well as their environment. Hence, all living creatures are in a constant interchange with their surroundings (the ecosystem), both physically and behaviorally. This interplay of forces, or energy, is of course present in the relationships between all matter in the universe, whether it is living (animate) or not living (inanimate). However, there are critical differences in how different living creatures relate to their environment. These differences have far-reaching consequences for survival. Because of the overabundance of stress in our modern lives, we usually think of stress as a negative experience, but from a biological point of view, stress can be a neutral, negative, or positive experience.
Who is most vulnerable to stress?
What are the signs and symptoms of poorly managed stress?
Excess stress can manifest itself in a variety of emotional, behavioral, and even physical symptoms, and the symptoms of stress vary enormously among different individuals. Common somatic (physical) symptoms often reported by those experiencing excess stress include sleep disturbances, muscle tension, headache, gastrointestinal disturbances, and fatigue. Emotional and behavioral symptoms that can accompany excess stress include nervousness, anxiety, changes in eating habits including overeating, loss of enthusiasm or energy, and mood changes. Of course, none of these signs or symptoms means for certain that there is an elevated stress level since all of these symptoms can be caused by other medical and/or psychological conditions.
It is also known that people under stress have a greater tendency to engage in unhealthy behaviors, such as excessive use or abuse of alcohol and drugs, cigarette smoking, and making poor nutritional choices, than their less-stressed counterparts. These unhealthy behaviors can further increase the severity of symptoms related to stress, often leading to a "vicious cycle" of symptoms and unhealthy behaviors.
The experience of stress is highly individualized. What constitutes overwhelming stress for one person may not be perceived as stress by another. Likewise, the symptoms and signs of poorly managed stress will be different for each person.
Stress comes in many forms and affects people of all ages and all walks of life. No external standards can be applied to predict stress levels in individuals—one need not have a traditionally stressful job to experience workplace stress, just as a parent of one child may experience more parental stress than a parent of several children. The degree of stress in our lives is highly dependent upon individual factors such as our physical health, the quality of our interpersonal relationships, the number of commitments and responsibilities we carry, the degree of others' dependence upon us, expectations of us, the amount of support we receive from others, and the number of changes or traumatic events that have recently occurred in our lives.
Some generalizations, however, can be made. People with adequate social support networks report less stress and overall improved mental health in comparison to those without adequate social contacts. People who are poorly nourished, who get inadequate sleep, or who are physically unwell also have a reduced capacity to handle pressures and stresses of everyday life and may report higher stress levels. Some stressors are particularly associated with certain age groups or life stages. Children, teens, working parents, and seniors are examples of the groups who often face common stressors related to life transitions.
3 Kinds of Stress
1. Stress has a negative connotation, but there are enough people who love it. They perform well under stress and it keeps them alert. Actually, stress is a way to make the body and the brain perform better. A bit of pressure is good for production.
2. In our society, so full of stressful situations, that same stress becomes a negative force: crowded city, busy job, noisy kids, social obligations, it takes a lot of effort to keep all that under control. Stress becomes a negative condition that affects physical health. The sufferer becomes more and more irritable and can barely handle the daily routines anymore.
3. In the next stage it has become a real disease. Working has become impossible, burnout and other diseases suddenly surface. I want to stress the fact that those diseases are predictable when the stress has been going on for too long a time. In our time, stress has become one of the most important causes of disease. That is easy to understand when you know that stress produces acid in your body. Many of the germs that cause diseases need an acid environment to flourish.
There is a number of ways to avoid that last stage.
1. If you are still enjoying stress, you should just know that no matter how young and healthy you are, even you have to plan for extra rest and vacation. Make sure that the stress you still enjoy now does not turn into an enormous burden!
2. If the stress already bothers you, it is important that you do not get into it deeper. Watch out: the strange thing about stress is that while you think more and more how busy you are, your performance actually decreases.
Acknowledging that is the first step. Check how much stress you feel and how much work you get done. Yes, you did enough work, but u used to do more in the same time. Realize that if you continue in the same way, the feelings of pressure and inadequacy will increase and eventually reduce your performance to zero.
3. If your stress has grown into a burnout, there are still some methods to tackle it. I'm talking about conscious relaxation, meditation and working with acupuncture points and chakra's. There is ample choice, it is very well possible to regain good health after a burnout.
Simple ways to relieve stress
Here are a few tips that can really help:
1. Make sure that every single day you allow yourself at least 20 minutes of quiet relaxation time. Whether you just sit down to catch your breath or kick your feet up and relax watch a favorite comedy on T.V., do not neglect this down time. We all need it and we need it on a daily basis.
2. Exercise. Not only do you release endorphins which make you feel good when you are stressed you are helping to make your body healthier and stronger. Severe stress can have physical effects on you as well. And those endorphins just give you a nice little natural high. So go ahead and give yourself a half an hour, three times per week.
3. Hobbies. Whether it is woodworking or crafts or writing, everyone feels a little better and a little more calm when they allow themselves to get lost in an activity that they love. We all need productive escapes once in a while and our hobbies really provide a perfect way of doing this.
4. Get together with friends and family. Love and laughter continue to be the best medicine for stress. Make sure you give yourself enough time to be around the people who love and support you. And if they make you laugh a lot , then all the better.
5. Laugh. I've already briefly mentioned it twice, but laughter can really just flat out make us feel good. The more we laugh, the better we feel. And many medical studies suggest that laughter can really help us with our health problems as well. Take the time to laugh everyday.
Exercises
1. Breathing Exercises
Deep breathing is an easy stress reliever that has numerous benefits for the body, including oxygenating the blood, which ‘wakes up’ the brain, relaxing muscles and quieting the mind. Breathing exercises are especially helpful because you can do them anywhere, and they work quickly so you can de-stress in a flash. The Karate Breathing Meditation is a great exercise to start with, and this basic breathing exercise can be done anywhere!
2. Meditation
Meditation builds on deep breathing, and takes it a step further. When you meditate, your brain enters an area of functioning that’s similar to sleep, but carries some added benefits you can’t achieve as well in any other state, including the release of certain hormones that promote health. Also, the mental focus on nothingness keeps your mind from working overtime and increasing your stress level. Here's an article on different types of meditation to help you get started.
3. Guided Imagery
It takes slightly more time to practice guided imagery, but this is a great way to leave your stress behind for a while and relax your body. Some find it easier to practice than meditation, as lots of us find it more doable to focus on ‘something’ than on ‘nothing’. You can play natural sounds in the background as you practice, to promote a more immersive experience.
4. Visualizations
Building on guided imagery, you can also imagine yourself achieving goals like becoming healthier and more relaxed, doing well at tasks, and handling conflict in better ways. Also, visualizing yourself doing well on tasks you’re trying to master actually functions like physical practice, so you can improve your performance through visualizations as well!
5. Self-hypnosis
Self-hypnosis incorporates some of the features of guided imagery and visualizations, with the added benefit of enabling you to communicate directly you’re your subconscious mind to enhance your abilities, more easily give up bad habits, feel less pain, more effectively develop healthier habits, and even find answers to questions that may not be clear to your waking mind! It takes some practice and training, but is well worth it. Learn more about using hypnosis to manage stress in your life.
6. Exercise
Many people exercise to control weight and get in better physical condition to become more healthy or physically attractive, but exercise and stress management are also closely linked. Exercise provides a distraction from stressful situations, as well as an outlet for frustrations, and gives you a lift via endorphins as well. This article can tell you more about the stress management benefits of exercise, and help you get more active in your daily life.
7. Progressive Muscle Relaxation
By tensing and relaxing all the muscle groups in your body, you can relieve tension and feel much more relaxed in minutes, with no special training or equipment. Start by tensing all the muscles in your face, holding a tight grimace ten seconds, then completely relaxing for ten seconds. Repeat this with your neck, followed by your shoulders, etc. You can do this anywhere, and as you practice, you will find you can relax more quickly and easily, reducing tension as quickly as it starts!
8. Music
Music therapy has shown numerous health benefits for people with conditions ranging from mild (like stress) to severe (like cancer). When dealing with stress, the right music can actually lower your blood pressure, relax your body and calm your mind. Here are some suggestions of different types of music to listen to, and how to use music in your daily life for effective stress management.
9. Yoga
Yoga is one of the oldest self-improvement practices around, dating back over 5 thousand years! It combines the practices of several other stress management techniques such as breathing, meditation, imagery and movement, giving you a lot of benefit for the amount of time and energy required. Learn more about how to manage stress with yoga.
Top 5 Changes for a Low-Stress Lifestyle
Maintain An Organized Living Space:
A cluttered environment can literally drain your energy and cause additional stress! Conversely, a beautifully decorated, soothing environment can be a haven where you can escape from the stressors in your life. Working on de-cluttering your home, getting organized about cleaning, or even practicing Feng Shui are all ways you can work toward the goal of having a beautiful and organized living space.
Learn to Organize Your Time:
By keeping a schedule, learning to say no to excessive demands on your time, and utilizing shortcuts in your life, you’ll be less frantic, and have more time to do the things that energize and de-stress you. You’ll also have more time to do things that you enjoy in life.
Cultivate A Supportive Social Circle:
Those with a supportive social circle, or even just one close friend or partner to talk to and lean on in times of crisis, enjoy healthier, less stressful lives. (And they have more fun!) If you make the commitment to meet more people, and better develop the relationships you have, you’ll find that the payoff is more than worth the effort.
Take Care of Your Body:
If your body is healthy and in good repair, you’re better able to handle stressors in your life. However, an unhealthy body can cause great amounts of additional stress. Eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, getting enough sleep, getting massages and pampering yourself are all good ways to take care of your body and make stress management easier.
Renew Your Spirit:
We carry stress in our bodies, and hold it in our minds, so a stressful experience can stay with and keep affecting us after the actual experience has ended. Managing stress in your daily life can be much easier on your mental, physical and emotional state if you take regular breaks from it. There are many great stress-relieving exercises that can help you release both the tension from your body, and the stressful thoughts from your mind, making you more at peace and able to handle the stress that comes in each new day.
As you develop these stress-relieving practices in your daily life, you should experience less stress, and be better able to handle the stress you do experience, leading to a happier, more healthy life.
