“Don’t sweat the small stuff… and it’s all small stuff.”
Richard Carlson
“If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.”
Marcus Aurelius
Stress plays a part in many of our lives
Work, School, Family, Relationships, all can cause you to break into the medicine cabinet and take enough Advil to raise their stock price
While stress is an inevitable part of life, what few realize is that you can control your stress, instead of it controlling you
I have discovered 7 tips on how to combat stress from the moment it occurs and get you back to feeling like you’re relaxing on a white sand beach
Journaling
Anytime you write something down, you have the amazing ability to not only reflect on what you have written, but also use it as a source of expressing your emotion at any given moment. While very few people keep a personal journal, or have aspirations to write personal memoires about the various adventures in their lives, it is important to understand the very important and therapeutic effects of writing down what you think about.
By writing down what stresses you in life, you have the ability to vent out what you are feeling and get it down on paper. While you may not be trying to be the next Edgar Allan Poe or Robert Frost, by writing down your frustration and looking it over you will instantly feel your stress level drop. This is the same concept that artists use to create some of the most beautiful masterpieces the world has known, by channeling their emotions on to a canvas, or a piece of paper.
Meditation
You do not have to be a disciple of the Dali Llama in order to use meditation to feel at peace and combat your stress. Meditation is one of the oldest and most effective ways for you to combat stress in your life, and it is done by simply shifting your focus from the external forces that are influencing you (stress) to the calmness and peace that occurs inside of you. While this may sound like a David Copperfield side show, meditation is one of the most practiced and effective methods for changing your state to a feeling of absolute stillness
The simplest way to mediate is to focus on your breathing
Get yourself into a comfortable position and be sure to be wearing comfortable clothes (now is a good time to break out your Gandhi robes) and close your eyes
While you are sitting or lying there, you will find that your mind will begin to race about thinking about that various events that are occurring in your life. From when it’s time to pay the bills, to getting exciting about the season finale of American Idol, your mind will wander aimlessly
Begin to shift your focus to your breathing, feel each breathe as you take it in, and exhale it out. It may help to visualize each breathe as you take it in, and breathe it out, your body and mind will feel as if they are in a state of pure relaxation
As you are trying this, you will find your mind will begin to wander again and again to the various things occurring in your life
It is critical to shift your focus to your breathing as soon as you feel your mind wander
This will take some practice, but in a few short sessions you will find it easy to get yourself into a smooth and relaxed state whenever you want, and effectively combat stress at any moment
Ask Yourself Better Questions
Many of the stresses in our lives arise simply because we tend to over think many events, problems, to the point of mental exhaustion. The saying, “making mountains out of molehills” comes to mind when addressing this problem. We tend to take a situation that is has occurred in the past, present, or even the future and think about it until we find all the tiny possible nuances that could negatively effect us, and pine over those minuet details until we have hair loss. Many times even some of the most stressful situations that occur in our lives really aren’t as bad as we make them out to be.
I find it helpful to ask myself, “How does this really affect me?” by asking this question you effectively allow yourself to gain perspective on the situation
For example, maybe you got into a car accident and its going to be a huge headache for a long period of time
Then you ask yourself, “How does this really affect me?”
Well I was not hurt, nor was anyone else in the accident. My deductible is only 500$ so I’m really not going to be out that much money. Oh yea, I forgot that I get a free rental car with my insurance too.
I guess it’s not that big of a deal
Instantly your state of stress has downgraded to the point where you’re excited about the coming weekend’s festivities, instead of worrying and getting stressed about something that you can easily handle without much trouble at all
Smiling and Laughter
Getting yourself into a happy state through humor and smiling can transcend your feelings of stress in an instant
Watching a funny television program or thinking of a joke that made you laugh can cause you to rethink the stress you are experiencing and give your mind breathing room so it can better tackle the situation at hand
Even something as simple as a smile can shift your state from anger to joy, as described in 5 reasons smiling can change your life.
Exercise (see related Posts)
Not only does exercise help you develop your dream body and maximize your health but exercise releases chemicals in your brain that directly target stress.
When you are stressed your body releases the chemical ACTH into your bloodstream which adds to your fight or flight response in your body. Essentially you get a boost of energy and mental/physical preparation for pain when you are stressed.
When you exercise you effectively work out ACTH out of your system, and reduce the amount of high energy chemicals running through your body that cause tension, pain, and all the negative side effects associated with stress.
Some doctors even prescribe exercise in order for you to combat stress
Time Management
Stress can often occur when you run out of time
“I never have enough time in a day” syndrome seems to be afflicting much of the world population
In order to prevent time based stress, it is best for you to make the best use of what time you have during the day, and act productively and effectively without burning yourself out or getting so bored doing necessary tasks that watching the paint dry seems entertaining
By focusing your attention on tasks that are the most significant in your life and evading inevitable time wasters such as facebook, non urgent emails, and instant messaging, you can avoid nearly all stress caused by time
See how to get more done in less time for a detailed guide on how to maximize your time
Eat a Balanced Diet
The foundation of both good physical and mental health can be found in the things we put into our bodies
By choosing to eat the right types of foods and make smart decisions about what you should and should not eat on a daily basis you are actively supporting your mental health and reducing your chances for even generating stress in the first place
Does this mean you get the grilled chicken sandwich and a small fry at McDonalds instead of the Big Mac?
Not exactly J
Choose foods the nourish your mind and body, and this means stay away from processed and refined food products, especially things that involve high fructose corn syrup and trans fats
Eat foods like spinach, lean meats, and low fat dairy to give you ample energy and combat the effects of stress. Also, try to limit caffeine and alcohol intake as they act as stimulants and cause increased levels of cortisol and other neurochemicals that increase your stress levels.
For a great list of foods to eat to maintain mental and physical health see 5 nutritious foods that don’t taste like crap.
So there you have it, 7 tips that will help you better control and reduce stress in your life. If you have any great tips on how to live stress free, please drop me an email or leave a comment on this article
Back to my balanced life
Gabriel
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