Just Stress Relief

Looking for quick stress relief?

Here are some easy methods.

Writing, or keeping a journal, is a proven method of quick stress relief because it allows you to express yourself creatively while viewing your perceived problems in a different light. Just writing down your problems – even without a solution, makes your problems easier.

You’ll be amazed that solutions will appear, almost like magic. This is because you’ve objectified the problem.

Perhaps the oldest form of stress relief is yoga meditation. All you have to do is breathe deeply and count your inhalations and exhalations.

When thoughts appear – and they will – just focus on your breath again.

You may want to combine meditation with muscle relaxation techniques. To do this you tense and relax your muscles slowly. For example, starting with your toes, you tense the muscles, then slowly release as you breathe deeply. Move on to your calves, then your thighs, and so on until you have focused on all your muscle groups. Yoga is also an ancient stress reliever, but it requires some training to get started, so you may not wish to utilize this practice for quick stress relief, but rather for its long-term benefits.

Exercise offers quick stress relief that will provide you with benefits. And you may not think so, but it’s incredibly easy to get started. Just drop everything and try 5 or 10 or 20 push-ups or sit-ups; that’s all it takes to change your mind’s focus from the things that are causing you stress.

By the time you are straining to knock out that last rep your boss’s belly-aching will be miles away.

So there you have it – three ways to quick stress relief: writing, meditation and exercise.

[tags]stress relief, quick stress relief, meditation, journal, exercise[/tags]

In the fast-paced world nearly everyone lives in today, stress is an ever-present possibility. Just-in-time manufacturing, instant news from around the world, computers and a host of other modern technologies are a great benefit. But along with them comes quicker deadlines, instant notification of bad news and more communication to deal with.

But no one is going to slow down the world, nor would many of us want to. At the same time, it’s helpful to realize that with more technology comes more options. Some of those options allow us to find new ways to deal with the internal and external factors that can form the basis of stress.

You may be unlucky enough to have a boss who imposes unreasonable deadlines to meet pointless work milestones. But many have the option now to telecommute, work flexible hours and take extended leave for pregnancy and other family situations.

There may be myriad challenges in the modern world, but there are a variety of new tools to deal with them. Computers can pile up work faster, but they also allow us to get more done with less labor. They also enable us to find those with similar interests who may live thousands of miles away. In decades past, that would have been nearly impossible, except for the occasional convention in a distant city.

Psychology, though still in its infancy as a science, is starting to compile a set of good data on neurobiology, nutrition and a host of other factors relevant to stress. Figuring out useful treatments from this bewildering array of studies will take time, but progress is being made.

Sports and diet have become much more scientific than they were a generation or two ago. As tools to fight stress, exercise and a proper diet are now recognized as twins in one of the most effective strategies for combating stress.

While millions still work hard, basics like housing and food, transportation and medical treatment constitute a smaller percentage of income for most than they did in generations past. It’s not uncommon for two-driver families to have more than two vehicles today.

Certainly there is no shortage of potential stressors. To listen to the nightly newscast is to see a picture of a world about to come apart at the seams. And, yet, we endure. It may be that there is more to the lives most people live than we see on the TV.

Dealing with difficult problems is, well, difficult. But that need not lead to stress. That results from a viewpoint that sees the dilemma between “I must” and “I can’t” as unsolvable. But there are many more methods available today to overcome “I can’t” and much more freedom to deny that “I must.” Toss the dilemma aside and declare your independence from stress.

[tags]stress, stress relief[/tags]

Stressed? It’s hard to avoid stress in daily life. However, you can find natural stress and anxiety relief.

A certain amount of stress is normal. It’s not your fault that events in life stress you out more so than other people. Don’t put yourself down for feeling stressed or anxious. You don’t know what goes on in other people’s heads – they may be having panic attacks and are just very good at covering them up. Choosing not to compare yourself with others can bring helpful and inexpensive natural stress and anxiety relief to you.

You might not be able to control the events that happen to you, but you can choose how you react to those events.

Ever wonder why people live in Tornado Alley? Yes, a tornado can come along at any moment and wipe their homes off the face of the planet, but they keep right on keeping on. Tornados always striking the same place rarely happen. If a tornado only happens in your town once every hundred years, do you spend the entire tornado-free days anxiously waiting for the tornado? No. You choose not to worry about getting hit by a tornado until you’re hit. If nothing bad is immediately happening to you, keeping that fact in mind can also be powerful natural stress and anxiety relief.

Exercise to relieve stress

Of course, retraining your nervous thoughts takes time and practice. Don’t put yourself down if you relapse into old, self deprecating thoughts. Just move on.

And moving on is another powerful and inexpensive natural stress and anxiety relief medicine.

Take a walk, wash the dishes or dance up a sweat to your favorite song. Stretch your arms up to the ceiling and shake them out. Laugh, pet your dog or your cat – just do something. Don’t sit there dwelling on your problems. The motion can often lower your blood pressure, relax your body and distract your mind from your worries. And this way you might be able to get chores done, too. Natural stress and anxiety relief is not only inexpensive and takes practice, but is also practical.

[tags]stress, Stress, stress relief, stress management, stressed[/tags]