Defend Yourself from Stress - First Steps to Being Happy

We all know how it is to feel joy or affliction from time to time. It's a normal reaction of our organisms to events occurring in our lives. And so much is happening every day! Moments of pleasure bring us health; they say five minutes of laughter prolong our life for 1 day. Isn't it great when our life is filled with moments which allow us to laugh and feel great joy and happiness? But positive emotions cannot last infinitely, sometimes we encounter troubles or difficulties which upset us and distress. They destroy us; therefore it is important to be able to repulse them. Are you ready to fight all that stress? Here are some tips to help you.

Let's defend ourselves from stress

It is a pity that you can't fight your bad emotions and all that stress with your fists. Wouldn't it be great to just knock «the negative environment» on the forehead, and make it run away immediately? And no stress whatsoever! Still, our real life is a bit more complicated, with all that problems around us, cares, people who discuss us behind our backs, and other knaves, trying to drive us mad. That's how we collect this stress and it only brings negative consequences, such as migraines, nervous tics, or even worse. Therefore, everyone has to learn how to defend against stress.

I suggest the battle against stress and its consequences be approached from two points of view: moral and physiological. Not many of us are diplomaed experts in the field of psychology, but we still ought to have some ideas and ways to estimate all events happening in our lives every day.

Let's fight against stress morally

Emotions, be it negative ones, such as insults, irritations, afflictions, or positive ones, describe our attitude or perception of a situation. It's very difficult for everybody to be involved in a moral struggle, yet everybody is. We constantly search for approval of our actions, deeds, statements. It doesn't seem important, whence we shall receive it, from ourselves or from people around us; we need it just as much as we need air, and that's quite stressing. I'm sure there will be at least one reader who will say "it's nonsense, I don't need anyone's approval". Well, you can be envied: you are able to approve yourself. I believe that this capability is the basis of the moral battle against stress.
Yes, it's just that simple. The most effective way to get rid of afflictions and offences, to exclude negative stress from your life is to change yourattitude towards things or situations that upset and distress you. How? Learn to approve yourself.

Listen to yourself to avoid stress

No one, except for ourselves, can tell what we need and what is correct for us. Wishing to receive advice on how to act, remember that the final decision and the responsibility for an act are still yours. Of course, you can always endlessly rely on the advice you get, and then get stressed and complain, every time you miss, about the ineptitude and unwisdom of the adviser. Keep in mind that you can always listen to your friend's opinion and decide for yourself, whether it suits you or not, in your situation.

Be not afraid to make decisions in your life. It is your life.

Does your friend distress you?

Your friend once again said that you put on some weight. You're stressed. Should you keep silent? Or better yet to answer with causticity? All alternatives of this type will upset and stress you in the end. Try telling her the positive moments of this phenomenon. For example, that your guy became more passionate ... When friends often make afflicting remarks, maybe you should reconsider calling them your friends. Friendship shouldn't be stressing. You should decide what is best for you: get rid of unworthy friends, or get rid of your addiction to their opinions.

Oh, this job again

Troubles on work? The boss is annoying, work is a constant all hands' job, lazy colleagues, you always need to check everything or re-do it all, you're under a constant stress. You may wonder: « That will happen, if I ...? ». Nothing will happen, be sure that nothing bad for you will happen if you cease to pay attention to all this. Stop taking it all into your heart and stop being upset, those are first steps for avoiding stress. Just be sure that you do all that depends on you, and let the others be responsible for themselves.

Be not afflicted or distressed. Find an empty room, if you work in an office let it be the rest-room. Lower your head to your chest, close your eyes and make 10 deep breaths: count to five on each breath-in and each breath-out. Then throw back your head, lift your hands upwards and try to reach the ceiling, rising on your toes. In such a position you will smile for sure, and everything will be easier.

The key to fighting stress is inside you

You may ask yourself this question in any situation: « Why does it stress me so much? ». A truthful answer will give you the key to the solution. Only our attitude influences the reaction of our organism. In fact, many of our offenders don't suspect at all that they do something irritating for us. It's a normal behavior for them; they simply don't know that things might be done in another way.

Physiological battle against stress

There are situations when it seems impossible to change your attitude, and you fell under stress. You may consider removing it by having received some pleasant sensations. Look at small children, they don't get stressed: when they fall, hit themselves, they are sick, or begin to cry, all they need is mum's compassion and a candy to forget all about it and be happy again. This works with adults, as well, but it's not as easy as it might look at first sight. You have to train yourself and work on your character in order to defend yourself from stress: when something didn't went the way you planned it, indulge yourself with something pleasant to compensate the stressful situation, be it a cup of hot chocolate, a fresh fruits salad, or a get-together with your friends. You may consider going to the gym, or to the swimming pool, you may want to visit a fair or a picture-show.

Cheerful company helps fighting stress

Like to have fun? Go with your friends to the cinema, bowling, cafe, dancing club. Choose something that suits best your interests and get distracted from bad ideas and stressful situations. Relax and give yourself to the rest. Ask your friends about their lives, affairs, news, and leave your own behind. It's very likely that after several hours your experiences will become less significant for you and the decision will come to you unexpectedly, along with another perception of the situation.

Indulge yourself

You can easily get rid of your stress by taking a bath, but not just an ordinary bath. Setting up a relaxing environment for a bath is very important. To achieve maximal relaxation, dim the lights, burn scentless candles to provide low lighting levels and not interfere with scents coming from the bath itself, play a music CD that you like best. The stress will start do disappear. You may consider adding some sea salts and Epsom salts, which are known for the muscle relaxing qualities and are not expensive. Also, essential oils can be added to a bath for aromatherapy and therapeutic benefits.

Five minutes to drive away all your stress

Try not to accumulate negative emotions that distress you. You don't need them. The more of it you have in your luggage, the more difficult it will be to get rid of it. Take momentary measures. Drink a cup of sweet tea or coffee. Eat something tasty. It doesn't have to be a piece of pie of something sweet, for those who watch their figures, it's enough to buy some fruits or berries. Let it be something you wanted for a long time, leave all excuses and buy it! You deserve it, and you need it to fight stress!
Take a walk along the street, visit your favourite places. Or you may choose to go some place you never visited. Open something new for yourself. Try to notice a beautiful tree, a flower, a bird. Everything. Contemplate this beauty, and the stress will start to fade away. Give the world a present: your sincere smile of gratitude and joy, and it will repay you with new energy.

Remember that stress is a part of our life. Every person is stressed in one way or the other and to various degrees. How can you avoid it? The best way to help reduce stress and relax is to weed out negative thinking and stay happy and positive all the time. Keep in mind that no matter how stressed out you feel, there is always a way out!

Sources:Lynn Grieger, 6 ways to fight stress eating, R.D., C.D.E
Celia Vimont, What you Can Do to Protect Yourself, NIH Medline Plus
Cinzia Aversa, How to Fight Stress and Find Yourself, eHow