How To Stress Less and Smile More-The Six Fundamental Steps To Improved Health
More than two-thirds of visits to doctors' surgeries are for stress-related illnesses. Stress has been linked to headaches, backaches, insomnia, anger, cramps, elevated blood pressure, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia and lowered resistance to infection. For women, stress is a key factor in hormonal imbalances resulting in menstrual irregularities, PMS, fibroids, endometriosis and fertility problems. Stress can also be a factor in the development of almost all disease states, including cancer and heart disease; the leading cause of death in Australian women. In most cases stress is a result of letting life get out of balance. This happens when we put all our energy into only one or two areas of our life (usually work) and ignore the rest. We take on too much, over-promise, don't delegate and push our own wants and needs into the background by always looking after others needs first. We overload ourselves to the point where we are forced to stop attending to what is important to us, such as time for our interests and time to spend with our families. If stress is a major issue for you there are steps you can take to restore balance to your life - so you can stress less and smile more. Step One: Develop extreme self-care Most people suffering stress have become good at practising extreme self-neglect! They don't eat well, rarely exercise or take time out and probably can't remember the last time they had a holiday. If you are one of these people you need to take your self-care to new heights, above and beyond your normal limit. When you take care of your own needs first you are building a reserve of energy and resources that will enable you to sustain extreme self-care with enough left over to care for others. Creating 10 delightful daily habits that give you enjoyment is a great place to start. Here are some suggestions. ? Stretch for 2 minutes.
? Laugh for 5 minutes
? Floss your teeth
? Read to a child
? Hug a loved one
? Go for a 10-minute walk in the park
? Listen to your favourite song
? Write in a journal
? Eat 3 fruit and 5 veg
? Read a chapter of your favourite book
? Drink 2 litres of water
? Go to bed early The key to gaining accumulated benefits from your daily habits and practising extreme self-care is to do them each day. Start with one habit and commit to practising it for seven days, then add another, practising both for another seven days. Continue adding your habits until you are practising all 10 items on your list daily. Step Two: Eliminate tolerations Tolerations are situations and conditions you put up with that drain you physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually. They include crossed boundaries, unfinished business or projects, others' bad behaviour, frustrations, unwanted commitments, clutter, messy surroundings, broken items, being over weight, weeds in the garden and debt. List five tolerations that drive you nuts about your job, life, and health and home and then devise a plan to get rid of the first 'intolerable' toleration on your list this week. Notice how this makes you feel, how it lifts a weight off your shoulders. Now think about how much better you will feel when you get rid of the other four tolerations on your list! When you've completed the elimination of the first five tolerations you've listed, start a new one and keep working until you have zero tolerations in your life. Step Three: Having your needs met! Unmet needs cause us to become upset, angry, stressed and depressed. The key to satisfying our personal needs is to identify them. Identify needs that feel authentic, not ones that may look good to others or are superficial. Be aware that what you consider to be a need (such as to be loved) may be covering a real need (self-esteem). Ideas of personal needs are: ? Calmness
? Freedom
? Being listened to
? Independence
? Feeling valued
? Stability
? Respect
? A life purpose
? Satisfying work
? Honesty
? Loyalty
? Being busy
? Security
? Being loved
? Balance
? Responsibility
? A career
? Children It may be necessary for you to tell others what your needs are and learn to ask for support. Step Four: Smile often and laugh more! Scientists have found that laughter stimulates the release of beneficial brain neurotransmitters and hormones, which can reduce stress, improve our immune system and give us a general sense of wellbeing. Some doctors are using laughter therapy to replace anti-depressants and to reduce the use of painkillers. According to researchers faking laughter will also produce the same health and wellbeing results as real laughter. Do you need to improve your ability to laugh more? Bronwen Williams from Laughter Works Australia recommends that upon waking we should to sit upright in bed or in a chair and smile vigorously and ridiculously. This muscular action induces the release of endorphins and within minutes we actually feel happy! Bronwen writes that: "Positive self-talk can be very empowering, so let's begin our days with loud statements such as I love laughing! People love hearing me laugh! Laughing makes me happy and healthy! I have a beautiful smile! Lets express not suppress, lets laugh and live longer!" Step Five: Set Goals Without goals we have no direction in life. We are lost! When we are lost we become stressed and overwhelmed. Goals help us navigate our lives with greater ease and reaching goals fulfils us, making us happier. One way to find out what your real goals are is to write a list of 100 things you'd like to accomplish before you die and then start working on your list today! When you set a goal it tells your subconscious mind what is important to you and to be on the lookout for things, people, opportunities or situations that will enable you to move towards your goal. Establishing goals is a tool we can use to have what we want and need in our personal and professional lives. Step Six: Create a supportive environment
Our surroundings can be supportive and give us energy or drag us down and leave us stressed and tired. An inspiring, enjoyable environment filled with positive things and people energises us and we feel happier. We all need good support structures to help our lives flow with less effort and to remain balanced. Five important life support structures are: ? People: family, friends, life coach, accountant, doctor, housekeeper
? Places: your office, desk, car, home
? Things: your phone, computer, home decor
? Processes: filing system, record keeping, time management program
? Inner Environment: your outlook on life, self-esteem level, thought processes Examine these five categories and look at who or what you use to support you in each area. Are you truly being supported? What do you need to change to feel more supported in all areas of your life? Start making the easiest changes first. Just as it can take time to end up stressed, overwhelmed and out of balance, it also takes time to make positive changes in your life. Sometimes trying to implement change (even for the better) can itself cause stress and prevent a person remaining motivated. Making changes in your life can be stressful, even if the changes are aimed at reducing stress. For this reason it is important to work on each of the steps one at a time, mastering each before moving on to the next. If you discover you can't make the changes on your own, get support from a counsellor, doctor, naturopath, friend, peer or life coach who specialises in stress issues. Above all, keep in mind the benefits you will enjoy when you've mastered the steps to stress less and smile more! Lisa Branigan specialises in coaching women who are stressed, tired and overwhelmed with their busy lives. For further information:
Phone: +61 8 9757 3750 or 0439 828 594
Website: http://www.quantumcoaching.com.au
Email: lisa@quantumcoaching.com.au
MORE RESOURCES:
The medicinal powers of yogaCBC.ca, Canada - 19 hours agoBut medical research that's been accumulating over the past 10 to 15 years is showing that yoga can provide health benefits that many people may not realize ... |
Higher education, with yogaGlobe and Mail, Canada - 9 hours ago... a gymnasium and a 1700-seat varsity centre that can host convocation ceremonies, as well as dozens of dance, fitness and yoga studios. ... |
Kundalini Yoga ‘Awakens’ Cancer PatientsCancerWise - 20 hours agoBy Darcy De Leon Kundalini yoga is a practice that uses a series of postures, movement, sound, breathing and meditation to free energy starting from the ... |
Princess Offers In-Room Fitness, Yoga for KidsCruise Critic, NJ - 19 hours agoPrincess Offers In-Room Fitness, Yoga for Kids Princess Cruises is expanding its onboard spa and fitness offerings. Among them: In an industry first-ever, ... |
Yoga teacher to hold outdoor workshopsThe Newark Advocate, OH - Sep 5, 2008Lisa McKivergin will take yoga out of her studio and into the open air this month by offering two workshops in scenic settings. ... |
Yoga - Google News
|
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
7 Unique Stress Relievers
Too much driving, too much shopping, too much rushing
around, running the kids around. Do family and work
demands have you stressed out?There are many ways to help you control stress.
The Sixty Second Stress Solution
It is an inescapable fact, we live in a stressful world. We are all exposed to stress every day, at home and at work, and not one of us can honestly say that we don't feel the effects.
Managing Your Every Day Stresses And Anxieties
Looking for all of the answers in how to manage your persistent anxieties and stresses? As an author of a managing fear book, I found it difficult to find all of the answers in managing my anxieties. Although I am a layman and not a professional, I have interviewed many psychologists and clergyman and I have over fifteen years of experience in dealing with fear.
Reduce Stress and Enjoy More Sleep
If you suffer from insomnia of any kind, the chances are you don't need to be told that there's a significant connection between sleep problems like insomnia and stress. In fact, as cases of insomnia and related sleep problems increase, more and more people find themselves caught between the pressures and responsibilities of daily life and their desire for a good night's sleep.
Stress Management:: 4 Critical Distinctions
Stress Vs PressureStress is something we all have, it's not going away, it's a sign we are alive. The question is in how you handle it.
Stress Management: 4 Steps to Massive Stress Relief by Having Fun
Over the years I've collected scores of comics and cartoons about marriage, families, stress and change. There is just something about a good comic strip that can many times explain something much better than I can.
Bite-Size Chunks! The Power Of Daily Actions
There may be so much you want to change in your life to make
it less stressful. You can do it all, just not all at once!
Feeling in control is an important part of saying Yes to
Less Stress.
Stress Management: Are You a Chooser or a Loser?
Author and speaker H. Stephen Glenn has said,"In terms of the entire world, if, when you wake up in the morning, you have a choice of what to eat, a choice of what to wear, a job to go to and a way to get there, you have abundance.
Are You Stressing Yourself by Thinking Too Much?
Why is it that some people become totally stressed when the smallest thing goes wrong while others can cope with extraordinary amounts of pressure with it batting an eye?There can be many factors at play here. We become more easily stressed when we are tired or unwell.
When Dreams Get Shattered: Picking Up the Pieces
"Smash!" It was a sunny autumn Saturday. My cousins and I were playing baseball in my aunt's back yard.
Stress Relief in Minutes
For those who are suffering from stress, just about the hardest thing to find is stress relief. Stress can often continue itself on its own energy and, as it mounts up upon itself, it builds itself into an absolute mental frenzy.
How to Cope With Stress and Anxiety
Among the hardest parts of living in the modern world is stress and anxiety. With worries about work, the environment, the economy, natural disasters, terrorism, and the general state of the world, it seems that there is no end to the number of things to worry about.
Stress Management: Are You a Worrier or a Warrior?
Do you attack problems and solve them or do you whine and moan about how it's just not fair?Do you anticipate and plan for the future or do you worry about what's around the next corner?When life hands you a lemon, do you make lemonade or do you complain about the size of the lemon?Do you see the glass as half empty, half full, or perhaps just not big enough?Let's look at a few ways to be a worrier, and see if you recognize any thing in your self. Then we'll look at how to be a warrior.
Stressed? Go on a Quick Getaway
Did you know that taking a short trip, such as over President's Day weekend, or anytime, can have the same stress-reducing effects as a longer one? According to a Stanford University psychiatrist, David Spiegel, our minds shift into a more relaxed state during the first few days of a trip. When we have been away from home for long trips we tend to slightly increase our stress, or dread, coming back to home or work.
Relieving Stress
Where does stress really come from? Is there any simple way to reduce it or to stop it?Yes!Stress comes from the thoughts you choose to think in each and every moment.The first thing is that you need to be aware of the thought that you are thinking.
Busy Fish: Tips for Changing Your Day from Chaos to Calm
Syndicated columnist Dale Dauten recently wrote, "One of life's great joys that we've lost is that of the empty day, a day given over to quiet, to reading and contemplation. Our planners and PDAs give the illusion of importance and of being in control.
8 Practical Methods to Remain Empowered During Stressful Times
1. Acknowledge that requesting support, guidance and partnership is not the same as being needy.
How Are You Achieving Rejuvenation for Peak Performance?
When was the last time that you truly took a mental break from work? Many of us in North America are now getting out our calendars to gear up for summer vacations, so it's timely to discuss how we use our "downtime" to enhance our ability to excel in our businesses and our workplaces.The book The Power of Full Engagement, by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz, 2003, uses an enlightening analogy from their studies of world-class athletes.
Stress Managment and Mastery: Progress vs. Perfection
David Bowie once sang, "Ch-ch-changes, tryin' to face the strain."And though working on changes in our lives can be difficult at times, it really doesn't have to be such a strain.
An ADD Case Study: When the Pace Picks Up, Learn to Slow Down
The fall season signals a shift in most people's minds. The summer is coming to a close, and it's back to school, work, and the other things that we haven't put as much effort into since Memorial Day.
|
