.
Emphasize
On
STRESS MANAGEMENT
What is Stress?
Stress is the "wear and tear" our bodies experience as we adjust
to our continually changing environment; it has physical and emotional
effects on us and can create positive or negative feelings.
How Can I Eliminate Stress
from My Life?
As we have seen, positive stress adds anticipation and excitement to life,
and we all thrive under a certain amount of stress. Deadlines, competitions,
confrontations, and even our frustrations and sorrows add depth and enrichment
to our lives. Our goal is not to eliminate stress but to learn how to manage
it and how to use it to help us. Insufficient stress acts as a depressant
and may leave us feeling bored or dejected; on the other hand, excessive
stress may leave us feeling "tied up in knots." What we need
to do is find the optimal level of stress, which will individually motivate
but not overwhelm each of us.
How Can I Tell What is
Optimal Stress for Me?
There is no single level of stress that is optimal for all people. We are
all individual creatures with unique requirements. As such, what is distressing
to one may be a joy to another. And even when we agree that a particular
event is distressing, we are likely to differ in our physiological and
psychological responses to it.
How Can I Manage Stress
Better?
Identifying unrelieved stress and being aware of its effect on our lives
is not sufficient for reducing its harmful effects. Just as there are many
sources of stress, there are many possibilities for its management. However,
all require work toward change: changing the source of stress and/or changing
your reaction to it. How do you proceed?
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The Nine Stress Management
Tips
:
1.Know what stresses you most.
Not your co-worker, friend, husband, or wife. YOU!! Get your feelings out.
Write them out and describe each situation. Share all bad feelings with
a friend or in a journal. Before you can conquer your stresses you must
know what is stressing you.
2.Say no.
Focus on you own
goals, not your spouse's or parents'. You must know yourself, your dreams,
and your passions. If asked to chair another group or take on another responsibility,
look at your mission statement or goals for the day. If it is does not
fit it there say thank you but I just cannot. Saying no is one of the hardest
things in life, but will help make you a success in your chosen field.
3.Learn to relax
.
Work hard
but know when to take time off to be with the family, go to the beach,
or read a book. Work all day if you must but when you get home play, watch
cartoons, or tell your child a story. This allows stress tension to go
away and helps you calm the heart's pace and digest food normally, and
protect your immune system. Learn to meditate and take deep breaths to
calm down.
4. Eat healthy
. Eat less junk
food and more fruit and vegetables for an amazing overall lowering of stress
levels. We can actually lower the amount of the bad stress hormone, Cortisol,
by taking vitamins. Take those vitamin pills daily.
5. Keep laughing
.
Keep a sense of humor. Studies show a good attitude helps lower cancer
rates, makes surgery more effective, and keeps a relationship together
through hard times.
6. Ask yourself WHY
.
Why are
you doing this? Write down your wants, needs, goals, hopes, and dreams.
Does what you are doing now help you get fulfill any of these things? What
is your motivation? The more you understand why you doing what you are
doing the less stress you will have. If you cannot come up with a good
reason, then stop doing it.
7. Stay active
.
Exercise is
a great way to relive tension and gives you a great break from exams. A
healthy body makes a happy body. Even a three minute jog is helpful at
taking your mind off your pressures. You'll come back with an acute focus
and renewed energy.
8. Follow your bliss.
Try to
know which subjects and type of people you enjoy. Structure your life around
activities that you love. Joseph Campbell, a wise philosopher, advises
you to follow your bliss. The more you do in life that goes with your own
flow, the more passion you'll have for what you do.
9. Organize and Prioritize.
Do the worst and hardest tasks first. Keep a to-do list and calendar with
you at all times. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.
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