The Keys to Effective Stress Management
We all experience stress at one time or another. Sometimes stress is the result of a major life change or event, such as a birth, death, marriage or move. Other times stress is more chronic in nature, meaning that the effects of stress can be long lasting and damaging to your physical as well as your emotional health. It is at this point that stress management becomes a significant part of your life coping skills. And the good news is that there are plenty of approaches to stress management, meaning that you will find a good chance of discovering at least one or two methods that will work for you.
Gaining Control of your Stress
There are four basic steps to stress management that most folks that are suffering from this chronic condition can try. The first is deep breathing techniques that can be highly effective in helping your mind and body to relax. Deep breathing exercises are something that you can do anytime and anywhere, whenever you feel the need to stop, focus and re-center. Along with your deep breathing techniques, you can practice methods of muscle relaxation. It is no secret that with stress comes muscle tension - and plenty of it. By using this effective stress management tool, you will reduce the amount of stress you are feeling, and help relieve that uncomfortable muscle tension at the same time.
Another good method of stress management is positive visualization. This means that you stop whatever you are doing to close your eyes and focus on an image that brings positive feelings and a relaxed state. It might be a sandy beach, a shady forest or a peaceful meadow. Imagine yourself walking through that scene, and try to incorporate your other senses, like smells and sounds as well. Finally, effective stress management will probably include laughter. Not only does laughter make us feel good emotionally, but the physical act of a chuckle can physically release tension in the body as well. Pop in your favorite comedy or a CD of your favorite comedian. The world is guaranteed to look brighter in no time.
Stress is an unfortunate byproduct of life today. The good news is that there are plenty of effective methods of stress management that will put that tension and anxiety back where it belongs - in the far reaches of your mind where it can't hurt anyone. Give one or more of these stress management techniques a try today, and enjoy the release from tension. Stress happens, but you don't have to suffer any longer.
Coping with Stress through Stress Management
One should identify unrelieved stress and become more aware of the effect that stress has on our life and it should not reduce our capacity to live life fully. There are many possibilities open to a person in stress management and they may require working towards change which includes changing the source of stress and managing to keep one’s reactions to stress under control.
Step One: The first thing to do in stress management is to be aware of what are the stressors as well as know one’s emotional as well as physical reactions to stress. One should not ignore the stress one is under and take notice of it and not gloss over problems but determine the events that have caused distress.
Step Two: The second step to take in stress management is to recognize the things that one may be able to change such as stressors or intense feelings. One may need to understand how to shorten the exposure to stress and devote more time and energy to making a change such as setting goals, devising time management techniques as well as delay gratification so that one feels less stress.
Step Three: Another important stress management step is to reduce the intensity of one’s emotional reaction to stress. Often, stress reaction is a result of perceiving danger as being physical or emotional. One should understand not to exaggerate the stressors in their mind and not expect to please everyone all the time. In addition, one may also learn how to moderate one’s physical reactions to stress and also build up physical reserves and finally, maintain emotional reserves at adequate levels.
