Stress: Self-Help Tips

  Being able to manage stress is important to living a healthy, happy and productive life.
  Here are some techniques and strategies to help you deal with stress.

• Maintain a regular program of healthy eating, good health habits and adequate sleep.
• Exercise regularly — This promotes physical fitness as well as emotional well-being.
• Balance work and play — All work and no play can make you feel stressed.
• Help others — We concentrate on ourselves when we're distressed. Sometimes helping others is the perfect remedy for what's troubling us.
• Take a shower or bath with warm water — This will soothe and calm your nerves and relax your muscles.
• Have a good cry — Tears of sadness, joy or grief can help cleanse the body of substances that accumulate under stress and also release a natural pain-relieving substance from the brain.
• Laugh a lot — When events seem too overwhelming, keep a sense of humor. Laughter makes our muscles go limp and releases tension.
• Find ways to learn acceptance — Sometimes a difficult problem is out of control. When this happens, accept it until changes can be made... This is better than worrying and getting nowhere.
• Talk out troubles — It sometimes helps to talk with a friend, relative or member of the clergy. Another person can help you see a problem from a different point of view.
• Escape for a little while — Temporarily leaving a difficult situation can help you develop new attitudes. When you feel you are getting nowhere with a problem, a temporary diversion can help. Going to a movie, reading a book, visiting a museum or taking a drive can help you get out of a rut.
• Reward yourself — Starting today, reward yourself with little things that make you feel good.
• Do relaxation exercises daily — Good ones include visualization (imagining a soothing, restful scene), deep muscle relaxation (tensing and relaxing muscle fibers), meditation and deep-breathing.
• Budget your time — Make a 'to-do' list. Rank -- in priority -- your daily tasks. Avoid committing yourself to doing too much.
• View changes as positive challenges, opportunities or blessings.
• Rehearse for stressful events — Imagine yourself feeling calm and confident in an anticipated stressful situation. You will be able to relax more easily when the situation arises.
• Modify your environment to get rid of or manage your exposure to things that cause stress.