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Posts Tagged ‘stress’

Confronting Stress with Martial Arts

April 4th, 2010

Many of the skills and techniques used in martial arts training are the same skills and techniques you can use to rid your body of stress.

The portrayal of martial arts in the media as a fighting tool shows only a small facet of the art. The skills necessary for training martial arts can teach you how to balance your mind and body and give you the confidence you need to face the stressful events in your life.

One of the techniques used to create this balance is using breathing and meditation techniques to help you connect and control your mind and body.

1. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.

2. Breathe deeply. If your stomach isn’t pushing out as you breath in, you’re not breathing deeply enough. This keeps helps minimize your saliva and swallowing.

In the Chinese way of thinking, breathing like this is completing a path: The mouth is a gate and the tongue on the roof of the mouth allows your vital energy (“Chi”) to circulate throughout your body. Chi is what helps your mind and body connect.

After you’ve gotten the physical aspects of breathing down, you can start counting your breaths – this is a form of meditation that many experts teach during stress management courses. Start short and work your way up.

Begin with a count of 4 as you breathe in and a count of 6 as you breathe out. How does it work? The connection of mind and body through breathing works because stress is a mental state that manifests itself as a physical symptom in your body. Once you notice your trigger, you can stop and do something about it such as practicing a breathing technique.

The overall benefits of training martial arts for the mind and body (including self-awareness, self confidence, focus, concentration and physical conditioning) all lead to reducing that stress. You owe it to yourself to start relieving the stress in your life with the skills taught through martial arts. The best place to find these skills is at a fine martial arts school, which you can find in your local directory.

To relieve stress quickly, I have found Holothink’s audio has really worked for me. They offer a free demo relaxation audio to put your mind at rest within minutes, you can check it out at www.stress-relief-audio.info

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Reduce Stress By Practicing Meditation or Watching Sunset

April 4th, 2010

1. Practicing Meditation

Do you feel that you are constantly under stress? Are you looking into ways to reduce your stress levels? The world is seemingly becoming faster, more demanding and more pressurized. Meditation can help you to relax and become a happier person.

Stress affects people in different ways. I personally feel very tired and lethargic during these periods and start to worry about things, like a future event. Other people suffer from panic attacks, become very shaky and nervous, feel sick in the stomach or become depressed.

There are many types of meditation. You can meditate by walking, praying, sitting or visualizing. There are also more ritualized forms of meditation, such as yoga and Mandala.

Meditation helps us to control our emotions, to think in a more relaxed and positive way and certainly helps us to think more clearly. Meditating also reduces an accelerated heart rate and lowers blood pressure, both of which will help in reducing feelings of stress.

2. Watching Sunset

Every day starts with sun shedding its light upon us. Planets rotate around the sun. The sun is the reason why trees and plants are able to produce. While we rush through our things, we seldom think about the benefits of being out in the sun. In fact, many of us try to avoid the sun due to media attention on the hazards of over-exposure to the sun.

Get some sunshine into your life. Watching sunsets and sunrises can become inspirational. Artists paint these scenes on canvas. Poets write beautiful verses about them. These scenes are powerful enough to inspire you to forget about your problems and motivate you to stay positive. The best thing about a sunset is that you can enjoy watching one wherever it’s convenient for you – a park, the beach, or even your car when you’re stuck in traffic. Steal every possible opportunity, because watching sunset calms your mind and relieves you of some stress on your head.

The sun is the main source of life. Without sun there would be continuous darkness, the word “day” won’t have existed in our vocabulary, we won’t know what a tree is.

So, the next time if you feel like making the sun your enemy, think again. Be thankful and get out there to get some sun on your face. Let the sun burn up your stress.

To relieve stress quickly & naturally, check out G. Gaynor McTigue’s 400 Stress-Relief Strategies. G. Gaynor McTigue is an author of bestselling “Life’s Little Frustration” book. You can find out more at www.stress-relief-strategies.info

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Stress Reduction through Biofeedback

April 4th, 2010

Biofeedback is another technology that evolves to help detect stress and facilitate in stress reduction. Biofeedback is a powerful stress treatment based on scientific observation that humans have natural abilities to control some of their body functions. People are trained on how to control their blood pressure and heart rate (blood pressure and heart rate will increase when we are stressed).

Examples of biofeedback therapy being used to help during stress reduction are:

* the ability to change hand temperatures by several degrees * altering and modulating your brain waves * reducing the frequency of asthmatic attacks * alleviating allergic reactions * managing pain * preventing migraine * reducing irritable bowel syndrome, tension headaches, and strokes

The biofeedback process actually makes use of a special tool that has sensors, which are used to get a reading on skin temperature, muscle contraction, and brain waves. The training begins by using a trial-and-error method, where eventually the person under treatment should be able to learn to control his/her responses to stress.

There are actually several types of biofeedback machines used to provide information regarding areas in your body affected by stress:

* Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) measures skin’s electrical conductivity as relative to its sweat gland activity. A lie detector is a type of GSR machine. When you lie, your palm produces sweat caused by anxiety, stress and nervousness.

* Electromyogram (EMG) is used to measure the tension in the muscles. Two sensors in the form of electrodes are taped onto the skin over the intended muscles for measure (for example, facial muscles). If there is any tension detected in the muscles, the device would beep, buzz, or flash a colored light. EMGs are also used to treat muscle pain, body aches, ulcers and asthma.

* Electroencephalogram (EEG) monitors the activity of the brain waves. It is also used to regulate the activity of the brain waves and relieve anxiety, stress, and insomnia.

To relieve stress quickly & naturally, check out G. Gaynor McTigue’s 400 Stress-Relief Strategies. G. Gaynor McTigue is an author of bestselling “Life’s Little Frustration” book. You can find out more at www.stress-relief-strategies.info

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7 Easy Stress Management Techniques for Newbie

April 3rd, 2010

Stress is just as true as life itself. Stress has been documented in infants as well as adults, though of course the levels of stress would vary for these two different age groups.

If you are constantly on the run, couldn’t remember where you park your car, hardly any time for leisure, breathe out heavily, distance yourself from social life, look much older than your actual age, think about work even before your bedtime, lead a life full of schedules… chances are you are stressed.

Here are a few easy steps to manage stress:

1. View Stress Positively Sometimes a small dose of stress can motivate us to work harder to bring about more fruitful results. While it is true that all work and no play makes for dull living, all play and no work isn’t very effective either.

2. Learn From the Best Look for someone you know who never forgets to smile at everybody, wave and be friendly despite the hustle-bustles of life. This is the person you should learn from on how to manage stress.

3. Remember to Exercise Take a 20 minutes walk outside the office building whenever tension really gets out of hand, or just bring your gym clothes and go to a park after work for a jog. Exercising regulates blood flow and pumps oxygen from the heart to the brain, making you energized and more alert.

4. Identify Causes of Stress For example, if reading this article makes you dizzy, perhaps you should begin to navigate to other segments of this website or get some hot chocolate drink and watch TV instead.

5. Live One Day At a Time Utilize your life daily by focusing on chores that should be done for the day. Worrying too much about tomorrow won’t help that much. God willing, if you’re honest, sincere, did your duty accordingly, hear no evil and see no evil; you are more blessed than 250 billion people on this planet.

6. Eat, Drink, Sleep, and Be Merry! Given that you get plenty exercises each day, eating and drinking should be something to enjoy and look forward to. Phrases like calorie counts, organic foods, and dietary supplements are the things written inside beauty magazines to encourage people to live up to other people’s expectations. Buy a new dress and change your perfume. Learn to love and respect yourself as you are. Get at least 8 hours of sleep. You rule your life so nobody can tell you how to live. For singles, a Friday night at some club with a cute companion sounds fine, too!

7. Have Time For Yourself Indulge in a hobby and take time out to do it. You can sing in the shower, listen to music, get involved in sports that you enjoy.

Hopefully you can adjust or adapt these stress management techniques to suit your lifestyles and be able to successfully manage stress.

To relieve stress quickly & naturally, check out G. Gaynor McTigue’s 400 Stress-Relief Strategies. G. Gaynor McTigue is an author of bestselling “Life’s Little Frustration” book. You can find out more at www.stress-relief-strategies.info

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4 Tips on Managing Stress During Pregnancy

April 3rd, 2010

Stress management is very important to a mother during pregnancy. Your body, emotion and health will determine the wellbeing of your unborn child. You are feeding him what you eat. He’s thinking what you think. He feels what you feel. If you are relaxed, so is he. This is because your emotion produces corresponding hormones and sends the signals to your baby. Always be sure that the baby receives positive signals by applying the 4 Tips on Managing Stress in Pregnancy:

1. Physical Exercise During pregnancy, it is recommended that you get a partner to join you, for example your spouse, a relative or a friend. This person will serve as your activity partner, and someone who watches over you. You can have someone to count on when needed.

2. Dietary Supplements Always seek advice from your doctor on recommended dietary supplements, particularly during pregnancy. You can find a lot of these supplements in the pharmacy and on the Internet, but remember that not all are safe. Avoid stress during pregnancy by being careful in taking these supplements, as you want to avoid complications to your pregnancy later on. Take note on the precautionary label at the sides of the bottles. Get plenty of B-Complex, Vitamin C and folic acid.

3. Herb Some herbs are known to have stress-relieving properties. Some herbs that are not suitable for pregnant women are those with steroidal effects (like ginseng), that can cause uterine contraction (like ginger), and laxative attributes (like laxative tea). These are all highly dangerous to the unborn child, so be careful. Choose something mild like tea with flavors like apple, chamomile, peppermint and orange, which are just nice and soothing.

4. Roomy Scheduling Always have plenty of free time for you and your baby. Avoid doing too much at the office and home because the more you do, the higher your stress level will be. Think of the newcomer that’s about to enter your life. You’re carrying him inside of you, and you want the best in the world for him, so take it easy.

To relieve stress quickly, I have found Holothink’s audio has really worked for me. They offer a free demo relaxation audio to put your mind at rest within minutes, you can check it out at www.stress-relief-audio.info

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Get Stress Relief from Pleasing Other People

April 3rd, 2010

What do you think about trying to get stress relief by helping and pleasing other people? Are you happy when you see them happy?

The effects of helping others on yourself depends on how hard you work on making other people happy, the purpose of doing that, and the satisfaction that you get from your effort. Let’s take a look at two types of people. The first is a person trying hard to win the acceptance of a certain group by making them happy and meeting their expectations. The second type is doing what he/she could, without actively seeking for acceptance in a group that has fewer expectations in the first place. Let’s name the first person Jack, and the second person Jill.

Jack, who is an entrepreneur, is trying to mix with a group of socialites in order to win their hearts so that he has better chances of getting business deals. He needs to ensure that he dresses like them, talks like them, thinks like them, eats like them, and plays by their rules to earn their credit. Maybe Jack is almost there after all. Is Jack enjoying it? Probably he thinks he is, because he thinks of his objectives. But do you think he’s always happy being there? He’s not even himself. He comes home feeling restless, running out of energy, and worrying about what to do next to please these people. And since Jack is not himself anymore, he may act differently toward his family too. Maybe he unintentionally neglects his wife and kids. He might forget about his promise to take his family on a vacation, or attend his son’s prize giving ceremony at school.

Jill, on the other hand, spends her weekends helping out as a volunteer in an animal shelter. She loves animals, and as she feeds them, bathes them and cleans their cages, she feels a certain amount of satisfaction in knowing that she helps to keep the animals happy and healthy. Sometimes when food and monetary donations come in from generous people, she feels so happy and thankful. Of course there are times when a cat or dog falls ill and needs monitoring, and at these times Jill feels sad and a little bit stressed despite having a vet in the center. She feels this way because of the love that she have for these animals. She goes home each day knowing that she has done her best at something she loves to do.

Now, where is Jack’s stress relief? Does he have any? Jill’s stress relief clearly comes from the satisfaction of doing the things that she love, and doing it in her own way.

Think of which person you are.

Are you Jack? Wake up! Run your life in your own way, be yourself, enjoy whatever that you do, and do it for yourself. Let no one tell you how to run your life. If someone is not happy with whom you are, that’s their problem. If they are really your friends, they should accept you as you are. If they couldn’t, leave with no hard feelings.

Meanwhile, if you are Jill, keep it up! Pleasing other people while making yourself happy is a great stress relief, so lend a helping hand to those in need.

To relieve stress quickly, I have found Holothink’s audio has really worked for me. They offer a free demo relaxation audio to put your mind at rest within minutes, you can check it out at www.stress-relief-audio.info

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Stress Relief with Herbal Medicine

April 2nd, 2010

Our forefathers as far back as 2994 B.C have used herbal medicine to cure anything from minor illnesses to open wounds. These days, many of us might never have even considered using herbal methods for stress relief. We are so used to prescription pills for stress relief and modern medical jargon that we belittle these wonders of nature.

Herbs are usually ideal for all ages. People who are underweight/overweight, people with weak immune system, pre-aging or general weakness, insomnia, before and after surgery, constipation and so on, are encouraged to turn to herbal medicine for answer. Celery, kelp, ginger, parsley, spices, spirulina, etc. are the common ingredients of an organic drink. Celery can alleviate suffocation, increase appetite, improves digestion, and metabolism. Ginger can help ease gastrointestinal digestive problems and cold symptoms, besides relieving skin inflammation. Spirulina is rich in protein, vitamin, beta carotene, chlorophyll, and other minerals required for daily consumption. Spices are rich with fibre and trace minerals, useful in colon cleansing and detoxification.

Herbal medicine is available in the form of pills, powders, and also in its original form, depending on personal preferences. Some people prefer easy pop-in so they buy pills. Some like to have it as a drink so they buy the powder. The original form can be used in cooking, particularly for medicinal soups.

Before you decide to use herbs for health, seek advice from your doctor. That’s very important, especially if you’re currently using prescription medication. These herbs might counteract against the hospital medicine, producing undesirable and even possibly dangerous results. When visiting the doctor, bring the sample of the herb that you intend to use for doctor’s verification. He will tell you whether it’s okay for you to proceed taking the herb. If it’s not okay for you to take the herb, ask for his advice on herbs that you can take.

Next, make sure that when you buy the herbs, they are of well-known brand, or sold by a reputable store. Don’t go for it as a stress relief just because it’s cheap because you might risk your health and end up paying more for medication. Some of the stores offer money-back guarantee on some labels of medicine, so ask before you buy.

To relieve stress quickly & naturally, check out G. Gaynor McTigue’s 400 Stress-Relief Strategies. G. Gaynor McTigue is an author of bestselling “Life’s Little Frustration” book. You can find out more at www.stress-relief-strategies.info

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How To Reduce Stress In The Workplace

April 2nd, 2010

Stress in the workplace is raised by job concerns, high responsibilities, work-related accidents, absenteeism, miscommunications, working attitudes among employees, employers’ expectations, rumors of retrenchment, change of company policy, lack of training, high demand for output and long hours, to name a few.

All of these factors are also the reasons why the employers may lose money due to the increment of the medical claim, compensation claim, having to recruit and train new staff to replace those that are leaving, and also adding more resources. Prolonged stress in the workplace promotes stress-related illnesses such as chronic headaches, fatigue, backache, cramps, infertility, high blood pressure and menstrual irregularities in women.

What can be done on the employers’ side? There are various measures to consider. Employers should create awareness among employees about stress in the workplace. Encourage two-way communications between employers and employees. Welcome the participations of employees to play roles in the decision making, especially the decisions that would affect their work. Ensure ample resources and facilities for employees to improve on their jobs by providing in-house resource centers and reference facilities like Internet. Encourage employees to get together in socializing, like organizing family days, staff outings, competitions and corporate dinners. Last but not least, get to know your employees: how are his/her family, responsibilities, how is he/she doing at work for the moment, should you raise his/her salary, provide company education fund to the employees’ children and so on.

In the meantime, what can employees do? Employees can play an active part in reducing stress in the workplace. Exercise regularly – play a round of bowling with your supervisor and colleagues during lunchtime. Eat healthily, drink plenty of water and quit smoking. Have a few social drinks with your colleagues, but don’t get drunk. Get a management diary to keep organized. Get plenty of rest – staying up late will only leave you feeling tired and listless in the morning. Delegate work whenever possible – if you’re already busy with a current task, say no to the incoming tasks by carefully explaining your situation to your superior. Joke around with your colleagues and share a laugh – it’s okay to be silly for a while. Take time out whenever you feel sleepy. Go get something nice to drink and some cookies to munch. But most importantly, in order to reduce stress in the workplace, you have to create an inspiring work area. Put up your family photo. Hang a painting. Get a goldfish and a small glass tank. Put a flower pot on your desk.

Whatever measure to install to reduce stress in the workplace, it is necessary to make sure that we gradually implement them, and not to rush it. Rushing will create another stress factor in the workplace, and that would render any effort in reducing stress meaningless.

To relieve stress quickly & naturally, check out G. Gaynor McTigue’s 400 Stress-Relief Strategies. G. Gaynor McTigue is an author of bestselling “Life’s Little Frustration” book. You can find out more at www.stress-relief-strategies.info Grab a totally unique version of this article from the Uber Article Directory

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Teen Stress – What Parents Can Do To Help

April 2nd, 2010

The teenage years are a very stressful time. Teenagers are stressed about many things, such as school, peer pressure, winning acceptance to certain peer groups, and physical appearance. Teens also go through physical and mental changes as well as possibly experiencing identity conflicts.

Some parents are wise enough to know that this is the time when their teenagers need more and more privacy to cope up with the stress that the physical and mental changes brought to them. There are several tips for parents on how to deal with teen stress:

1. Make sure that your home is a place where the teenagers can return to replenish their energy, feel safe and protected. Many teenagers have limited resources and have nowhere to escape but to their own homes. Make sure that they eat right and get adequate rest, not only so that they grow accordingly, but also to help them handle teen stress more effectively.

2. Give guidance on how to solve problems. Talk to your teenagers to find out and understand more about their needs and fears. Go through each one with them, and then listen to their suggestions on how to solve the problem. Give suggestions of your own when necessary. This will help them to develop their problem solving and decision making skills as they solve their own problems. Also, you help to create self-awareness in your teenagers by developing useful strategies in problem solving, which will guide them for the rest of their life.

3. Apart from you and your spouse, who else is there that serves as a reference when your teenagers have issues to discuss? Find out about that person, and get to know how much this person can be trusted with keeping your family values. Also find out whether he/she is able to provide sound advice and support for your child. Teenagers sometimes refer to other adults, such as a relative or a counseling teacher, for teen stress solutions.

Finally, as parents, be open to your teenagers. Listen to what they have to say. Be sensitive to their feelings. Provide the necessary support. Be there when they need you. Always provide a shoulder to cry on because teen stress can be frustrating. Be your teenagers’ best friend. Be the ones that your child can trust and count on. Your good actions help your teenagers to prepare as the walk the steps to adulthood.

To relieve stress quickly, I have found Holothink’s audio has really worked for me. They offer a free demo relaxation audio to put your mind at rest within minutes, you can check it out at www.stress-relief-audio.info

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Managing Stress with Hypnosis

April 2nd, 2010

With the amount of stress we’re facing everyday, various techniques are being developed in managing stress. Techniques like time management, exercising, meditation, relaxation, and so forth are the more common methods of managing stress. Another technique is hypnotherapy.

Hypnotherapy is a form of curing or managing the stress of a person in the subconscious state of the person’s mind. Hypnosis begins with a process of bringing a person to a state between being awake and asleep, while the therapist would conduct the therapy session by asking questions to find out the person’s stress factors. At the same time, the therapist will induce positive thoughts into the person’s mind and assist him/her in managing stress.

Hypnotherapy can help to develop our thoughts in overcoming fear, panic, and anxiety, thus increasing our self-confidence. We become more optimistic because our subconscious tells us that we are ready for challenges. Our subconscious would also tell us that if we fail, we must look on the bright side of the situation and learn from it. Then take the failure as a challenge for us to do better.

Apart from that, hypnotherapy also helps us to understand about stress – the reason behind it, ways to handle it, and knowing that the difference between low and high stress levels. During hypnosis, the therapists would also teach various relaxation techniques and exercise on how to relax naturally when stress attacks us. The relaxation techniques result in giving a response of calming down rather than a response of stress.

Hypnosis is a comprehensive ways of managing stress. Depending on the kind of job we are working and the kind of climate that we live in, sometimes it is less convenient for us to exercise regularly. Nor do we tend to remember the simple deep breathing exercise. Hypnotherapy works straight to the brain and all the nerve systems. It begins by dealing with the root of the evil, thus the positive outcomes spread throughout ourselves.

If your stress is beyond your ability to handle and you are beginning to feel helpless, you may want to try attending a hypnotherapy session. You would feel much more relaxed and calmer, because all you would basically do is sit on the chair and listen to your therapist. It doesn’t involve physical movements, so you won’t feel tired at all after the session. If you have tried all possible methods of managing stress and they don’t work for you, try hypnotherapy.

To stop stress & end anxiety, you can download the 15 hours interview’s contents with 14 world greatest industry experts, which compiled & offered by Dave McDonough for free. You can check it out at www.stress-relief-secrets-revealed.info

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