Stress Relief Techniques

Modern life is stressful for everyone. Life itself is stressful. Few individuals nowadays avoid some kind of stress in their daily lives.

Good stress management can dramatically improve quality of life. Effective stress management can make a life that may be filled with illness much more vibrant and full of health.

The following stress management techniques have helped several individuals keep stress to a minimum in their daily lives:

• Clarify your priorities. Write your personal priorities down. Rank your priorities in descending order, as an example, 1) Family, 2) Time for inventive work, and three) Job responsibilities. Once you see what really matters to you, it’s easier to make good decisions.

• Say no more often. Lots of people can’t say no. Apologies are not necessary because it is your time and your life. No one has a right to your time. Simply say no. Nothing else is necessary.

• Learn thought stopping. Negative thoughts produce a lot of stress. Learn to monitor your internal dialogue. Replace negative thoughts with positive thoughts as they happen.

• Learn to practice deep breathing. Deep breathing is incompatible with anxiety. Calm feelings and deep breathing go together. Puff your belly out on the in breath and suck it in on the out breath. Anxiety is triggered by shallow breathing.

• Exercise every day. Thirty minutes of brisk walking every day can lower stress and help you stay calm. Regular exercise promotes healthy weight and overall good health. Natural tranquilizers referred to as endorphins are released each time you exercise. Endorphins boost mood and calmness naturally.

• Strengthen your support system. Rates of heart disease, addiction, and mental illness decrease with good social support. A formal support group may be a good resource too.

• Ask for help as needed. Ask for help when you need help. Try reaching out to mental health professionals, your pastor, a friend, or a family physician. Getting an outside perspective will make all the difference.

All individuals struggle with stress. Reaching out isn't a sign of weakness. Sometime you may be ready to assist someone else.. Learning to reach out can relieve stress all by itself. Isolation is toxic, so make reaching out a habit.

Stress management is an ongoing responsibility. No single solution will work in every situation. Good stress management requires a combination of flexibility and determination.