Everybody feels stressed at some point in their life, and there are all kinds of stressors facing us every day: deadline pressures at work, financial concerns when a 401 (k) loses value, increased workload after co-workers have been laid off, a sick child, aging parents, and money woes – just to name a few. It’s very easy to get stressed out over stress, but there are two important things to keep in mind. First, some stress is actually good for you and helps motivate you to achieve your goals, as CIGNA wellness coach Megan Thorp explains. Second, there are resources available to help you manage stress that won’t cost you a lot of money. In fact, if your employer has an employee assistance program (EAP), you can usually get several free, confidential counseling sessions over the telephone. Employee assistance programs are vastly underused because many people aren’t aware that they have access to one, so check with your human resources department to see if your company offers one. Remember, the services are free and confidential. In addition to helping you manage stress, an employee assistance program can help you manage what might be causing stress in the first place. For example, help finding child care or elder care for aging parents, financial planning services, legal services, mental health and substance abuse referrals, and much more. Research shows that when people use CIGNA’s employee assistance program for help finding services, it saves them more than six hours …
Posts Tagged ‘Some’
Don’t Stress Out Over Stress, Some of it is Good for You!
Friday, November 26th, 2010Some Quick and Simple Stress Relievers
Saturday, May 8th, 2010Who can not use some today quick and easy stress relievers? Everyone faces stress and anxiety that their personal problems at work and at home are often compounded by a dubious economy, threats of violence, and concerns like these. Although often there are things that cause tension and anxiety that are impossible to change, sometimes simple techniques and reducing stress can do the most good. For example, regular exercise can go a long way to alleviate a lot of tension and anxiety. When you are physically active, you strengthen your heart and lungs and increase your blood circulation as well. These things happen to relieve stress as they loosen your muscles and joints. Blood and oxygen are treating the body and that means for the brain, so you can think more clearly and find yourself calmer too. Other analgesics include physical stress a good massage. Massage helps the muscles to relax and increase blood circulation. When your body relaxes your mind and your heart are relaxed as well. A good massage and regular exercise can also help you sleep better, which can help you be more calm and clear during the day. Have you ever thought about your friends and family to relieve the stress of being? Sometimes you just need a human contact with people who say you can tell a lot when it comes to reducing tension and anxiety. Of course, if you just sit and mope with your friends, it does not help! Leave the house and do things that are enjoyable, engaging in some sport you enjoy, or even playing cards together can be stress relievers for everyone. Tell your friends to get together more often, or schedule a regular weekly card game. Form a bowling league or join another. Whatever you and your friends do, make sure it’s nice and does not discourage or damage. It is too common for people who are stressed and anxious to get a drink or engage in other risky behaviors, but these types of painkillers are against stress and often create more problems than they n ‘solve. Pets are sometimes regarded as analgesics stress. Usually this is because people feel better when they take care of someone or something else, so consider getting a pet, albeit a small one. You can have your own opinion about stress relievers that work for you, often, the problem is taking the time to work these practices into your daily routine. considered as important as any other obligation you may have, you do not “if” you can get to work or can not pick up children from school but just do it without thinking. Do the same with your favorite stress analgesia, rather than “attempting” to use them in your schedule and become as important as any other obligation or liability that you may have.
Yoga for Stress Relief: Learn Some Simple Techniques
Wednesday, April 7th, 2010Doing yoga for stress relief doesn’t have to be an involved routine. If you don’t have time to do a full yoga routine, use the separate parts of yoga to relax and rejuvenate.
Deep breathing, meditation and poses can go a long way toward conquering stress. Simple yoga techniques take minutes to do and can be incorporated into your exercise routine. You can also do them whenever stress takes its toll to regain your balance.
Try doing yoga for stress relief by doing parts of a full routine. If you are pressed for time, these techniques will fit into your life well.
· Deep Breathing – If you want to instantly unwind and revive, do deep breathing. Most people most of the time breathe through the chest. This shallow breathing is caused by tension and stress. Breathing deeply through the belly oxygenates the muscles thereby relieving tension. Fill up your lower abdomen by breathing in. Contract the same area by breathing out. Do the breathing through your nose. This is the easiest part of doing yoga for stress relief.
· Meditation – Spend a few minutes a day quieting your mind. It sounds difficult with a hectic schedule. Take a few minutes to sit in a quiet place. You can close your office door at work or go in your bathroom at home and lock the door. Sit comfortably and close your eyes. Breathe deeply and focus on the area between and just above the bridge of your nose. This is the third eye (eye of the soul). When a thought comes to your mind, envision it with wings and let it fly away. Do this until you are relaxed and centered.
· Poses – Yoga poses are a sort of meditation since focus on the movements is key. Try these two simple poses to relax your body and mind.
1) Baby Pose – Sit on the floor with your knees bent. Make sure you are sitting on your heels. Hang your arms at your sides. Slowly lean forward at the waist until your forehead touches the floor. Rest your arms at your sides on the floor. Keep your neck relaxed and straight and breathe normally. Hold the pose for however long it feels comfortable – a few minutes, perhaps.
2) Butterfly Pose – Sit on the floor with your knees out and soles of the feet touching – like a butterfly. Keeping your back straight and holding your feet, slowly raise and lower your knees several times. Then, lean forward from your hips. Hold this pose for a few minutes while breathing normally.
If you don’t have time for a full routine of yoga for stress relief, try deep breathing, meditation or poses instead. They are ideal for quick relaxation and regaining balance.
Some Symptoms of Stress
Saturday, March 27th, 2010There are many symptoms related to stress. It is only when our mind and body does not overcome the amount of stress that we have many symptoms of stress.
Symptoms of stress can be a death sentence. Stress symptoms can include gastrointestinal problems and this is why it is very difficult for the person to return to health.
Are symptoms bad?
Symptoms are important — if we listen and learn from them. Stress symptoms speak volumes about a state of well-being. The symptoms of stress are symptoms related to one of the main causes of stress: physical, electromagnetic/geopathic, thermal, allergies/sensitivities, toxins/poisons, nutrition, and emotions.
Emotional stress is what people consider when they think about stress. Emotional health is paramount to your health and well-being. To get a grasp on your stress you have to take time to understand your emotional state. When you do you can change it to reduce the stress in your life.
Name one symptom and it is related to stress. We all have stress symptoms. This is a part of life. How we each deal with stress in our lives leaves clues to our quality of life. Symptoms speak volumes to how we deal with life.
You want to be more specific? Your heart beat is related to stress. At rest it beats to pump blood through your body. The more you work, the harder it beats and when you really over-do it, it can’t keep up with your demands.
Physical stress, emotional stress, and nutritional stress all exhibit symptoms of stress in different parts of the body and mind.
But the question isn’t all the symptoms of stress that society keeps chasing. It is in finding the cause of stress related to your symptoms. Remove the cause of your stress and you remove the affect of your stress.
How to remove the cause of your stress takes work and dedication. There are some tools that work and some things you can do that will increase your stress. Find what works for you and make a stress management plan for a lifetime.
Stress is a normal response of your body to situations that you perceive as ‘dangerous’. We all have amounts of stress every day that we each have to deal with.
Burn this into your brain: Any symptom you have is related to stress to some degree or another!
A great practice to get into is to correlate the symptom you have to a particular stress. Is your symptom related to lack of sleep, bad food, insufficient exercise, or emotional stress?
Can you even identify your stress? Is your stress buried deep?
When you ask pointed questions about your symptom and your stress you might find an answer you need to move beyond your current level of health.
Physical symptoms of stress are virtually any symptoms that show up. Physical symptoms are a mirror from the body to the stress the person is going through. Chronic stress brings with it many of the physical symptoms you are probably dealing with today.
Symptoms caused by stress go through many physiological changes.
The first effect on the body is that blood is diverted from less vital to more vital organs. Over time and amount chronic stress, less blood in a certain area causes that area to become malnourished. Then this body part may give physiological symptoms.
All due to a stress response and reaction by the body. The cure? Remove the stress–THEN attend to the physical symptom.
After a period of time, your body will nourish the non-vital area once again and the body will heal. Can you see why addressing the physical symptom of stress without finding the cause of stress is foolish?
The first hallmark sign of the body’s reaction to stress is dysfunction of the adrenal glands; an adrenal enlargement. These are the stress glands of choice in the body. These glands literally become fatigued and “stressed”. Caffeine, sugar, inactivity, emotional stress, physical stress all have a profound effect on the adrenal system and lowers any chance of dealing with stress.
The second effect in reaction to stress is the activity of the lymphatic system; an intense shrinkage or atrophy of the thymus, the spleen, the lymph nodes and lymphatic structures throughout the body. They cannot keep immune surveillance. Do you know people who are always sick? Check out their stress and you’ll find a correlation.
The third effect of stress on the body is bleeding or deep irritation to the lining of the stomach and intestines. They literally ulcerate. Stomach ulcers. Intestinal ulcers.
It is when the mind and body does not overcome the amount of stress that we have effects of stress show up on the body.
Are symptoms of stress bad? If we listen and learn from our symptoms we can lessen the effects of stress and become healthy.
Play Some Games to Escape the Game!
Tuesday, March 9th, 2010Life, in many ways, is just one big game full of challenges and pressures. Of course, as with any game, there are rules and guidelines that need to be followed to the letter. Naturally, as with any game, there are going to be those players who will need to find a little release every now and then from the pressure and grind. But it is not just the top-caliber athletes who need to unwind. Normal, everyday people also need to find some relief from the struggles of life. Indeed, stress relief is something that everyone has to delve into on a semi-regular basis, if only because it helps maintain our mental health.
There are already a number of ways by which to get some stress and anxiety relief. Some people have suggested that exercise is an effective form of stress relief. Others advocate green tea as an incredible stress relief drink. However, for those who are seeking alternative ways to lower their stress levels, they might want to take a lesson from professional video game testers, who, play video games for a living yet encounter the same kind if not a higher level stress at work.
Of course, there are certain things that need to be considered if this stress relief approach is what you plan on implementing. There are factors that you might want to consider in this scenario, which can also help you narrow down what sort of game you’d be better off playing. Some of the factors you might want to consider are as follows:
1. The free time you have.
2. The prospective costs of the game.
3. Availability in your home or place of work.
4. Whether or not said game can add to your stress and anxiety, rather than alleviate it.
With the above factors in mind, now comes the time for you to consider your many options. The world is full of games to be played, some of which might work for you and some might work better on others. This part really comes down to personal preference, but it is advisable for you to have at least some working knowledge of the options in front of you.
The first option would be sports. There are various sports out there that combine the benefits of stress relief and physical exercise. If you decide on playing a team sport, you might also develop new social contacts. However, sports can sometimes be time-consuming and are rarely a viable option for people who have jobs that demand they be on the move most of the time. The potential mental health consequences notwithstanding, playing sports is best reserved for those who have weekends off, or don’t need to be in location A Monday and in location C or D by Thursday.
Another option would be board games and card games. Games like gin rummy, monopoly, poker, and chess can be great ways to let off some steam. Some of these games even sharpen some of your mental skills at the same time, adding to their benefits. Just make sure not to overdo it, or to engage in competitions for those games, as doing so may cause stress rather than relieve it. There is a definite time requirement for this, though not nearly as consuming as what is required in most sports. If you’re going with card games, all you’ll need is a complete deck of cards, some cash for wagering, and a few friends who know how to play.
Finally, if you’ve got the cash and the inclination to do so, there are also video games. Now, some genres of video games are more effective stress relief than others. Role-playing games like the “Final Fantasy” series being both time-intensive and, thanks to their detailed plots and well-designed characters, bordering on being an emotional investment, so you’d best avoid them. Games that make for great stress relief for a person can often come down to individual preferences, with some preferring the ‘blood and gore’ approach of games like “Unreal Championship,” while others prefer the calmer stylings of “Super Mario Sunshine.”
Stress – Some Ways Not To Deal With It
Saturday, March 6th, 2010There are any number stress management techniques and for coping with stress in general and dealing with both the physical and emotional causes for stress. There are techniques for both short-term symptoms of stress and even long-term or chronic symptoms of stress are possible.
There are also a certain amount of self employed techniques that are actually or can be counter productive in the quest for a cure. The following are some of the more typical errors.
In an attempt to alleviate the tension and worry that accompany stress, some individuals can head down the wrong path will unwittingly engage in self-destructive behavior.
The type of stress that can lead to being short-tempered and cause the individual behave angrily toward a friend or family member can many times be heightened by excessive alcohol drinking or even coffee drinking that results in a high intake of caffeine. Many times these dots aren’t connected and the cycle continues causing more stress symptoms more often.
Lack of sleep or chronic lack of sleep (insomnia) is one of the most common causes of stress. Again, the theme here is the cycle of stress itself. When something is troubling you, and you are physically uncomfortable, it’s difficult to relax enough to sleep. And when you don’t get enough sleep and become fatigued your patience grows shorter and you ability to reason becomes inhibited and thus the stress continues. During this type of a stress cycle, when you do manage to fall asleep, it’s often interrupted during the night, or not the type of deep sleep that is genuinely restful.
A heightened focus on problem solving is natural and generally a sign of good mental health. But completely obsessing, even in the face of serious issues, is counter-productive. Try to step outside the problem as if you are consoling someone or a friend who is faced with the problem. You would be concerned, of course and this will give you a different perspective of the situation. We’re often much better at maintaining objectivity when the problem belongs to someone else.
Some people try to cope with stress by doing the right thing for the wrong reasons. One of the techniques used to combat stress is the ability to focus on something else that takes your mind away from a stressful situation. However, burying oneself into projects at work or school as way of shifting focus away from problems at home may at best provide a change of focus, but ultimately is not a productive way to deal with the stress at home in this situation. Avoidance can only be partially successful, and only temporarily at that.
Some problems do go away on their own and ignoring (or more accurately not over-reacting to them) can be a viable strategy. But a reality check is the key here… the circumstances combined with the internal evaluations that lead to chronic stress do not disappear simply because we’re not thinking about them.
A temporary break to gain perspective and get the emotions under control is healthy. Hiding one’s head in the sand is not.
Fundamentally, all these incorrect and unhelpful methods have a common root. Reality doesn’t go away when some aspects of it are inconvenient or unpleasant.
Life is filled with obstacles placed in your way. The existence of those hurdles and the need to overcome them – when combined with doubts about our ability to do so – leads to stress. Learning to correctly evaluate and deal with life’s obstacles leads to gaining confidence in one’s ability to do so and with each hurdle overcome one’s self confidence grows stronger… and stress stays on vacation.
Some Simple Stress Relief Exercises for Everyone!
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010Some Quick and Easy Stress Relief Techniques
Saturday, February 27th, 2010If you’re feeling stressed or tense, you’re certainly not alone. Chances are everyone, no matter who they are and what they do, feel tension and stress at one time or another if not constantly. But while tension is just going to be a natural part of life, there are some quick and easy stress relief techniques you can consider to help the situation as much as possible. First off, remember that stress relief techniques don’t always need to actually be labeled as such to be effective. For instance you might not think of such practices as yoga and tai chi as being effective stress relief techniques but they actually do work. Yoga and tai chi both stretch tense and cramped muscles in a very relaxing way and encourage deep breathing as well. This means that blood and oxygen are being introduced into the system more often and these act as healing and relaxing properties. Some assume that yoga and tai chi have a spiritual side to them but today’s routines are usually just gentle ways of stretching the same way a professional athlete would. Look for a class near you or do an online search for beginner routines. If you can’t find any or aren’t comfortable with either yoga or tai chi as stress relief techniques just do some simple stretching exercises before you go to bed – stretch your arms, touch your toes, roll your head around, shrug your shoulders, and so on. Don’t overdo it but do challenge yourself so that you are actually stretching your muscles.Other quick and easy stress relief techniques might involve just simple exercises to get you active and to increase your blood flow. When you’re tense and anxious, go for a long walk or bike ride. Toss the ball around with the kids or the dog. Go dancing, even if you’re not necessarily in the mood – once you hit the dance floor you might change your mind! Exercising, no matter what the activity, is considered one of the best stress relief techniques for anyone and everyone. But remember that exercise doesn’t mean just in a gym or on a treadmill – you can play basketball with friends, go hiking, or set up a badminton net in the backyard. Taking care of yourself physically is also important when applying these stress relief techniques. Get a massage or trade one off with your partner. Take a hot bath or long shower. Use a heating pad on your back when it gets cramped and tense. Make sure you get a good night’s sleep every single night so that your body can rest and heal itself and your mind can shut itself off as well. If you’re not good to yourself physically then the tension in your body will just make you more stressed mentally and emotionally, and any stress relief techniques you try will be useless. So tell yourself to relax physically and you may find that you’re better able to relax mentally as well!
Discussing Some Stress Relief Techniques
Friday, February 19th, 2010There’s a definite link between body and brain, and when stress starts to put on the pressure, your whole being suffers. You may be mentally struggling with something stressful, but your body is going to react to that pressure, one of the reasons why stressed individuals often feel tired and worn out. Managing stress can focus on techniques that involve either the body or the brain, and sometimes the solution doesn’t have to be all in one.
Feeling worn out and tired is a big complaint from people dealing with continual stress. The tendency is to get more sleep, but that can actually leave individuals feeling more lethargic and less energetic. Physical activity, even just walking or doing exercises at home, boosts the brain and releases plenty of hormones that help us feel better and improve our mood. By getting some exercise instead of lying around the house, you’ll end up feeling more relaxed and refreshed.
Doing aerobic exercise is a popular choice when it comes to stress relief, because they are very low impact and do not require much upper body strength. This means that nearly anyone can do aerobics, regardless of their age or fitness level. Yoga and other stretching exercises are also excellent for stress relief. Stretching pulls your muscles in ways they are not used normally, forcing them to go through their full range of motion.
Doing this gets your blood flowing without breaking a sweat. It has been shown that stretching can wake you up and improves creativity among people who do it consistently. Pushups and sit-ups are always an option as well. Regardless of what physical activity you choose to manage your stress level, the important thing is that you give yourself an outlet for extra energy and get your body active so your mind can relax.
Stress also has a strong effect on your mind. It wears you down and keeps you from truly enjoying yourself. While you must put your mind to dealing with the source of your stress at some point, mental distractions can be a great relief, and are necessary for everyone, regardless of their stress level.
Your distractions need to be something that can help you relax and get your mind off of everything that is getting you down. Many people like to read, listen to music, play chess or other games, or just enjoy the company of family or friends. Hobbies can also be a great stress relief, just be careful not to partake in a hobby that has a tendency to frustrate you, or you may be feeling even more stressed than you were before.
Balancing your techniques to help both mind and body at once is the most effective. Applying stress management techniques to only one area of your being won’t do as good a job as giving yourself mental distractions combined with exercise. Finding what works for you to keep stress levels at a manageable level is important, so try a variety of combinations until you find the one that’s right for you.
