Manage Stress In Five Minutes

When it comes to being overworked, we all use this familiar phrase, "stressed out." But when it comes down to it, I think that it is how we work or even relax, for that matter, that triggers stress. Ever been stressed even when you are well relaxed and bored? I know I have.

Stress is unavoidable in life; therefore, it is crucial to find ways to decrease and prevent stressful incidents and decrease the adverse reactions to stress. You can implement the following suggestions by adding them to your routine of things to follow, like brushing your teeth or eating breakfast. Of course, you can do a few of them in for more than the suggested period, but as they say-- every minute counts.

Managing Time

Time management skills can allow you more time with your family and friends and increase your performance and productivity. In addition, managing time will help you reduce your stress.

To improve your time management:

· Save time by focusing and concentrating, delegating, and scheduling time for yourself. · Keep a record of how you spend your time, including work, family, and leisure time. · Prioritize your time by rating tasks by importance and urgency. Then, redirect your time to those activities that are important and meaningful to you. ·

Manage your commitments by not over-or under committing. For example, do not commit to what is not essential to you. · Deal with procrastination by using a day planner, breaking large projects into smaller ones, and setting short-term deadlines. · Examine your beliefs to reduce conflict between what you believe and how you live your life.

Build healthy coping strategies 

You must identify your coping strategies. One way to do this is by recording the stressful event, your reaction, and how you cope in a stress journal. With this information, you can work to change unhealthy coping strategies into healthy ones-those that help you focus on the positive and what you can change or control in your life. 

Examine your lifestyle 

Some behaviors and lifestyle choices affect your stress level. They may not cause stress directly, but they can interfere with the ways your body seeks relief from anxiety. Try to:

Balance personal, work, and family needs and obligations.

· Have a sense of purpose in life.

· Get enough sleep since your body recovers from the stresses of the day when you sleep.

· Eat a balanced diet for a nutritional defense against stress.

· Get moderate exercise throughout the week.

· Limit your consumption of alcohol.

· If you smoke, seek help to quit. Click Here 

Seek social support 

Social support is a significant factor in how we experience stress. Social support is the positive support you receive from family, friends, and the community. It is the knowledge that you are cared for, loved, esteemed, and valued. More and more research suggests a strong relationship between social support and better mental and physical health. 

Change your thinking 

When an event triggers negative thoughts, you may experience fear, insecurity, anxiety, depression, rage, guilt, and a sense of worthlessness or powerlessness. These emotions trigger the body's stress, just as an actual threat does. Dealing with your negative thoughts and how you see things can help reduce stress.

Thought stopping helps you stop a negative thought which helps eliminate stress. 

· Disapproving irrational thoughts helps you avoid exaggerating negative thoughts, anticipating the worst, and misinterpreting an event. 

· Problem-solving helps you identify all aspects of a stressful event and find ways to deal with it. 

· Changing your communication style helps you communicate in a way that makes your views known without making others feel put down, hostile, or intimidated. Effective communication reduces the stress that comes from poor communication.

Use the Assertiveness Ladder to improve your communication style. 

We all get stressed regardless of what field of work we choose as a career. If you are retired, and others expect you always to be available, you get stressed. If you are a stay-at-home mom or wife, you get stressed. Whether you are the mail guy, the CEO, or probably the average working parent, stress is one unwanted visitor you would love to boot out of your home, especially your life. 

Implement the changes above and experience success and less stress on your journey of healthy aging. It is up to you to take care of yourself by practicing self-care to relieve stress. 

Pat Bracy

The Importance Of Self-Care