Stress Relief 101

Click on any news source on the web, or pick up a newspaper and within minutes of scanning the headlines you can find new reasons to stress. Skyrocketing gas prices, food prices, foreclosures, layoffs, and even extreme weather all can induce a feeling of stress in our life.

In today's hectic busy world, we take on more then we could and we do so for several reasons. We want something somebody else has, we want to do something somebody else has done, or we just want something better. As a country, we have poor money and weight management skills, and little to no way to relieve stress. When encountering stress, different people behave in different manners. Some eat, some spend money, some sleep, drink, smoke, or just even cry. In reality these are short term fixes to long term problems. Having unresolved stress in our lives can lead to not only mental weariness, but physical symptoms. And that's just the stress, that doesn't include how some people cope with stress.

The first means of dealing with stress is to identify exactly what is causing you the stress. Get a handy notebook, sit down, turn off the phone, the computer, the TV, all outside noises and just think about what is stressing you. Write it down and sit back and look at it analytically. Is it relationship stress? Financial? Living environment? Work? Once you identify your stress inducing factors, create a separate sheet and label each sheet with why that causes you stress. For example, lets use finances. Most people will not ever have enough money to make them happy, so you have to learn to live within your means. Identify your income, and your bills first. See how much you have left over after this happens. If you are in the negative, identify places that can be cut out. Do you really need 500 channels on the TV? Do you really need the super nice brand new phone that has $100 in data features and extras? Do you run your heat or air all day with nobody home? Do you drive excessively?

Once you get your finances to where you have money left over, take 20% of that off the top and that is your "me" money. Put the rest in savings and save for a vacation. Once you have this all written down, tear the page out and post it on your fridge and stick to it. Don't deviate. Like all things it takes a couple weeks to build a new habit, so motivate yourself with what you will do with your spare money.

Now that you have all your stress points down, and identified, and you have a plan to deal with them, its time to release the stress you have in you. Don't binge eat, or drink or smoke as a means to reduce stress. Find some very soft classical music, or Celtic, or new age, or anything that is very mellow. Or if you prefer a sound machine that has birds and water and nature sounds. Whatever it is that makes you comfortable. Turn out the lights, disconnect yourself from all distractions. You have your stress written down, there is nothing you can do at this moment to fix them, so just relax. Start with your shoulders and neck, and breathe deeply in and out until you feel the muscles unclench and relax. Do this for 15 minutes or so every day, when you wake up, if you can at work, when you get home, and before you go to bed. Your problems have been written down, you have solutions, follow them but don't let it get to you. It will take days or weeks to get in the habit of this, but the benefits of being stress free will become apparent almost immediately.