Stress Reducing Tips
“Breathing from your diaphragm oxygenates your blood, which helps you relax almost instantly,” Shallow chest breathing, by contrast, can cause your heart to beat faster and your muscles to tense up, exacerbating feelings of stress. To breathe deeply, begin by putting your hand on your abdomen just below the navel. Inhale slowly through your nose and watch your hand move out as your belly expands. Hold the breath for a few seconds, then exhale slowly. Repeat several times.
2. Visualize Calm It sound
has found that it’s highly effective in reducing stress. Imagining you’re in a hot shower and a wave of relaxation is washing your stress down the drain.Close your eyes, take three long, slow breaths, and spend a few seconds picturing a relaxing scene, such as walking in a meadow, kneeling by a brook, or lying on the beach. Focus on the details — the sights, the sounds, the smells.
Massaging the palm of one hand by making a circular motion with the thumb of the other. Or use a massage gadget.
4. Say Cheese Smiling is a two-way mechanism.
We do it when we’re relaxed and happy, but doing it can also make us feel relaxed and happy. “Smiling transmits nerve impulses from the facial muscles to the limbic system, a key emotional center in the brain, tilting the neurochemical balance toward calm.
5. Do Some Math Using a scale of one to 10,
with one being the equivalent of a minor hassle and 10 being a true catastrophe, assign a number to whatever it is that’s making you feel anxious.You’ll find that most problems we encounter rate somewhere in the two to five range — in other words, they’re really not such a big deal,
tends to settle in certain parts of our bodies, the jaw being one of them. When things get hectic, Place your index fingertips on your jaw joints, just in front of your ears; clench your teeth and inhale deeply. Hold the breath for a moment, and as you exhale say, “Ah-h-h-h,” then unclench your teeth. Repeat a few times.
8. Compose a Mantra Devise an affirmation
— a short, clear, positive statement that focuses on your coping abilities. “Affirmations are a good way to silence the self-critical voice we all carry with us that only adds to our stress, The next time you feel as if your life is one disaster after another, repeat 10 times, “I feel calm. I can handle this.”
At the first sign of stress, you often hear people complain, ‘What did I do to deserve this? The trouble is, feeling like a victim only increases feelings of stress and helplessness. Instead, focus on being proactive. If your flight gets canceled, don’t wallow in self-pity. Find another one. If your office is too hot or too cold, don’t suffer in silence. Call the building manager and ask what can be done to make things more comfortable.
10. Put It on Paper Writing provides perspective
paper into two parts. On the left side, list the stressors you may be able to change, and on the right, list the ones you can’t. “Change what you can and stop fretting over what you can’t.”
