Tag: Stress

Simplify Your Life To Reduce Your Stress And Improve Your Health!

How can you decrease your stress?

Simplify your life and de-clutter your life and mind and you can significantly improve your health.

Now that we are past the Holiday Season of hustle and bustle, it’s time to simplify.

Discover the value of living a more balanced, less stressful, deliberate and thoughtful life.

Here’s what to do:

  • Clear the clutter. Pick one area of your home and take a hard look. Clear out the items you are not using and either donate, sell, store or throw away.
  • Switch off the media. Turn off the TV’s, radios, smart phones, laptops and video games. This is audio-visual clutter.
  • Clear your calendar. Only say yes to activities you really care about and learn to say no. Too many activities is often the cause of great stress.
  • Stop the multi-tasking. This is a form of mind clutter. This happens when our attention gets spread too thin and we are unable to get into the “zone”.

Clutter not only causes us to be irritated by not being able to find something but also sends a visual message that our life is out of control.

Disorder brings about procrastination which only perpetuates more chaos.

To make matters worse, when you’re under stress, cortisol, our main stress hormone, short-circuits your brain leading to forgetfulness, irritation and meltdowns.

It’s not just the home that gets cluttered but your mind as well can be overcrowded with junk.

So simplify, simplify, simplify! The road to better health is as simple as that!

RELAX! It Could Improve Your Health!

There are tremendous health benefits to be had when relaxation techniques are used to reduce the stress of responsibilities and tasks or the demands an illness can have on the body and mind.

Relaxation reduces stress by:

  • the heart rate.
  • Lowering blood pressure.
  • Slowing your breathing rate.
  • Increasing blood flow to major muscles.
  • Reducing muscle tension and chronic pain.
  • Improving concentration.
  • Reducing anger and frustration.
  • Boosting confidence to handle problems.

Relaxation techniques involve refocusing your attention on something calming and increasing awareness of your body.

Types of relaxation techniques:

  • Autogenic relaxation comes from within you and uses both visual imagery and body awareness. You repeat words or suggestions in your mind to relax and reduce muscle tension.
  • Progressive muscle relaxation focuses on slowly tensing and then relaxing each muscle group. This helps you focus on the difference between muscle tension and relaxation.
  • Visualization is when you form mental images to take a visual journey to a peaceful, calming place or situation. Try to use as many senses as you can, including smell, sight, sound and touch.
  • Hypnosis
  • Massage
  • Meditation
  • Tai Chi
  • Yoga

Relaxation takes practice and as you perform these techniques you will become more aware of muscle tension and other physical sensations of stress.

Make a conscious effort to practice a relaxation technique the moment you start to feel stress symptoms.

AIM EXTRA
How to be happy: Tips for cultivating contentment

  • Devote time to family and friends.
  • Appreciate what you have.
  • Maintain an optimistic outlook.
  • Feel a sense of purpose.
  • Live in the moment.
  • Surround yourself with happy people.

STRESS: Constant stress can put your health at serious risk

Our bodies stress reaction was meant to protect us.

When this system is constantly on alert, our health can pay the price.

Our stress response system produces chemicals in our bodies that have effects to help us deal with the stress.

The long-term activation of this system (caused by chronic stressors) can disrupt almost all of our bodies normal functions leading to health problems.

Common effects of stress:

On our bodies:

  • Heart disease: chest pain.
  • Sleep problems: insomnia.
  • Digestive problems: stomach upset, ulcers.
  • Obesity.
  • Headache.
  • Fatigue.
  • Muscle tension or pain.
  • Change in sex drive.
  • Worsening of skin conditions, eczema.

On our mood:

  • Depression or sadness.
  • Anxiety and restlessness.
  • Memory impairment and lack of motivation or focus.
  • Irritability or anger.

On our behavior:

  • Overeating or under eating.
  • Angry outbursts.
  • Drug or alcohol abuse.
  • Tobacco use.
  • Social withdrawal.

Your reaction to stress is likely different than anyone else.
Factors that can determine your response include genetics as your genes are unique to you, and life experiences like environmental factors and early stressful events.
Evaluate how you react to stress by determining what reactions/actions you have to stress.

Here are some unhealthy reactions to stressors:

  • Pain from muscle tension, stomach upset, shortness of breath, back pain, headaches, insomnia.
  • Overeating, even when you are not hungry and even under eating.
  • Anger or a ‘short fuse’.
  • Crying spells or jags.
  • Depression, feelings of hopelessness and anxiety.
  • Negativity and expecting the worse in a negative situation.
  • Smoking, drinking alcohol or drugs thinking this to be a way to relax.

These are some healthy reactions to stressors you should learn to develop:

  • Eating a healthy diet.
  • Get regular exercise.
  • Get plenty of sleep.
  • Practice relaxation techniques.
  • Foster healthy friendships.
  • Having a sense of humor.
  • Seek professional counseling when needed.

Next week we will outline the numerous benefits and types of relaxation techniques.