5 Surefire Ways to Relieve Stress in Seniors

With so many other issues to worry about, many seniors fail to realize the importance of stress relief. Seniors are vulnerable to stress because of retirement, loneliness, dealing with aging and possible loss of independence, just to name a few. Stress can wreck havoc on the body, causing a myriad of symptoms, including depression, anxiety, obesity and nervous disorders, and can even exacerbate existing illnesses like heart disease, high blood pressure and more. This is why it's so important for seniors to properly manage stress, and the following five practices can help you or your senior loved one to live as happy and as stress-free as possible.

Yoga - Not only is yoga a great way to reduce stress levels in seniors and people of all ages, but it's a great way to promote fitness if performed on a consistent basis. If you don't want to invest the money in buying a few quality DVDs or attending an instructional class, there are many free videos online, especially at the super popular site youtube.com.

Positive thinking - According to researchers at the Mayo Clinic, positive thinking is a great way to relieve stress. In order to benefit from positive thinking, an individual can start looking at unpleasant situations in positive manners, which is proven to relieve stress. For example, if a senior citizen is stuck in a long line at the grocery store, perhaps instead of focusing on the long, agonizing wait, they could think about the fact that once they leave the store, rush-hour traffic will be over, enabling a relaxing drive home. Small practices like this on a regular basis work wonders for relieving stress, although researchers aren't quite sure exactly how positive thinking works.

Meditation - Meditation helps the body to relax as a person clears their mind of anything that causes stress. During meditation, a person needs to sit in a quiet, relaxed area while taking the focus off the many stressful situations in their life. There are many books, DVDs and classes on meditation for those interested in learning this great stress management technique.

Laughter - Believe it or not, the simple act of laughing has great stress-relieving abilities. Seniors under great deals of stress may definitely want to watch some funny movies, hang around humorous people, read funny stories, etc, because according to researchers at Mayo Clinic, laughter leads to relaxation. The harder a person laughs, the better it can relieve stress by reducing blood pressure, relieving muscle tension and more.

Identifying the source - Seniors experiencing great deals of stress can often attain relief by identifying the source of their stress. For instance, if they're stressed about financial problems, perhaps they can identify what exactly is causing the financial problem and work on resolving it. If a mortgage is more than a senior can handle since retiring, perhaps the person might consider refinancing, reverse mortgage, or even finding a roommate to help ease the burden, and relieve the stress in the process.

References

Mayo Clinic - Stress Management - http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stress-management/MY00435/TAB=indepth