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Home / Personal Development / Stress Management
Stop Stress Now: Ten Proven Techniques
By:Art Turner
There's no such thing as a stress-free life. We face challenges every day, and our bodies are designed to react automatically, equipping us to achieve more than we thought possible. But we were also designed to deal with stressful events quickly and then recuperate during a period of rest before facing the next threat. Many of the things that cause us stress today are not easily handled by fighting or fleeing. As a result, our bodies are trapped in a constant state of alert, and it's killing us.
Stress management tips can be found everywhere, but which ones really do the trick? After compiling and comparing the favorite techniques of experts from around the world, a tally of the votes revealed the list that appears below: ten proven techniques guaranteed to stop stress.
10. Improve your diet.
Eat more fruits and vegetables. By increasing your antioxidant intake, you'll also be fueling your immune system. Choose high-fiber carbohydrates like whole grains or sweet potatoes. The slower acting carbohydrates will help you relax without the sugar "crash." Cut down on caffeine and drink more water.
9. Get enough rest.
Our bodies are designed to repair, recharge, and refresh while we sleep. Without enough sleep, our bodies can't keep up with the daily damage of stress. In fact, researchers have discovered that the amount of sleep we get predicts how long we'll live.
8. Put events in perspective.
When you are being stressed by some event or situation, consider its true importance. Is it really a matter of life or death? How important will it be a month from now? Or even tomorrow?
7. Think positively.
Think in terms of solutions, not problems. Evaluate each day by reviewing progress and accomplishments instead of difficulties and setbacks. It probably wasn't really the worst day of your life.
6. Take a time out.
When you've been doing battle for a few hours, it's OK to call time out. Step away from whatever is getting to you. Give yourself a few minutes to take a deep breath, say a prayer, listen to music, or do nothing at all. The few minutes of work you give up will be more than compensated by the fresh perspective you get from your change of focus.
5. Exercise.
Exercise prepares us for the battle with stress. It helps us look and feel better, increases our energy levels, and improves our general mood. Exercise enhances our self-esteem and confidence, and helps us think more clearly. A health club or home gym is not required. Just do something that's fun and gets you moving.
4. Simplify your life.
Not everything in our life needs to be in our life. We all accumulate excess baggage. Simplify by clearing out the physical clutter. Give things you no longer need to people who could use them. Evaluate your everyday tasks and commitments, and delegate what you can. Keeping your life simple may mean saying no to some things so you can concentrate on what's valuable.
3. Do the stuff you hate first.
Try to tackle your most difficult or stressful tasks early in the day. We are most resilient to stress after a good night's sleep. Hitting these tasks early puts the source of our stress behind us. Don't procrastinate and let tasks accumulate. Learn how to break big projects up into manageable bits and get started.
2. Do something that you love.
Find something you love doing, something just for you, and do more of it. At least once a week spend some uninterrupted time doing something that makes you happy. Hike in the forest. Write a poem. Take up a hobby. Time spent doing something you love will refuel your sense of enjoyment and refresh your peace of mind.
1. And finally, the number one stress management technique: Laugh.
There's no other way to say it: laughter really is the best medicine. Studies have confirmed that laughter actually changes our brain chemistry. It reduces the levels of at least four stress hormones. A good belly laugh produces the same cleansing effect as deep breathing exercises. Laughter strengthens our immune system and alters our perception of pain. Develop your sense of humor. Look for the humorous side of every situation. Think of ways to inject more humor into your day. Laugh!
There are numerous ways to manage stress, but there's no one-size-fits-all solution. You need to discover what works best for you. These top ten techniques are a good place to start your quest for a happier, healthier and longer life.
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Article keywords: stress, stress management, stop stress, stress management techniques, reduce stress
Article Source: http://www.articles2k.com
Art Turner is a writer, musician, and creator of Relaxation Emporium, where you can learn more about stress, stress management, and relaxation techniques. Visit www.relaxationemporium.com
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| Top Stress Management Articles |
- 1). The Causes Of Stress By : blueboy
This article looks into the causes of stress and gives free tips to help you control and reduce your worries.
I have, as I am sure many people do, stressed for most of my life for many different reasons.
Even though I still worry about many things, I have now learned how to handle many of these situations and will write about how I go about doing this, in this article.
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- 2). How to Keep Stress Out of the Car By : Ken Snowie
We’ve all experienced it: it’s morning rush hour, you have five minutes to get to work, and you are stuck in traffic because of a major accident on the highway. The stress of being late for work makes your blood boil or it’s the evening rush hour, and you’re late to pick your child up from day care. You narrowly avoid an accident because of a careless driver.
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- 3). Stop Stress Now: Ten Proven Techniques By : Art Turner
There's no such thing as a stress-free life. We face challenges every day, and our bodies are designed to react automatically, equipping us to achieve more than we thought possible. But we were also designed to deal with stressful events quickly and then recuperate during a period of rest before facing the next threat. Many of the things that cause us stress today are not easily handled by fighting or fleeing.
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- 5). Coping With Stress in The Workplace By : Ken Snowie
Stress at most jobs is unavoidable. It could be caused by a boss who is very demanding, or a coworker who doesn’t pull his or her weight. Or maybe you have a typically stressful position, such as medicine or law. While some stress on the job can drive you to succeed and be healthy, too much can be very bad. It can cause many health problems and be detrimental.
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- 7). Combat Stress - 7 Practical Methods By : Rene Graeber
A stress-free lifestyle could very well do wonders in eliminating depression.
Here are 7 practical methods to combat stress:
1. Express Amusement And Be Happy.
Laugh hard and loud. If you don’t have a sense of humor, find someone else who has. Laughter releases endorphins (happy chemicals) from the body, and it helps boost your immune system.
2.
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- 9). Keeping a Safe Distance from Management Stress By : Hector Milla
You finally got your well-deserved promotion. After working years and years on proving your worth, having been recognized for your efforts and getting that sizeable increase is making all the hard work well worth it.
But then again you didn't count on all the pressure the new job comes with. You suddenly notice that you're always tired, irritable and hardly gets any sleep, in other words you're all stressed out.
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| New Stress Management Articles |
- 1). Overcoming Panic Attacks By : Mark Webb
Panic attacks are usually progressive in nature if they are not treated properly. Many people who suffer from panic attacks go for months and years before getting the correct diagnosis.
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- 3). Journaling To Reduce Stress By : Jason Johns
When you get stressed, journaling, i.e. writing things down, is an excellent method of releasing the stress and making sure you can deal with it better in the future.
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- 6). How Email Is One Of The Greatest Causes Of Stress By : Terence Young
When email first hit the scene many experts were touting the end of snail mail. After all they said email can be sent for free, it was instant and you were able to potentially receive a reply to your communication faster than it would take you to drop of your snail mail at your local post office. Decades on email has certainly far from replaced the use of snail mail.
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- 7). Quiz - Are You An Expert At Fighting Stress? By : CD Mohatta
Stress is becoming pervasive in modern life. We are now finding that stress causes many diseases that can affect our life style. Stress damages our mental peace and physical fitness. Quiz yourself and find out if you are an expert at fighting stress.
Stress will always be there - To hope that stress can be avoided in modern life is difficult. All of us face stress in our life.
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- 8). Quiz Your Anger By : CD Mohatta
Anger is one of the most common emotions. Most of us get angry . some of us get angry at the smallest provocation, while for some others it takes more. Some of us keep our anger with us and seethe with that while others may release it immediately.
Anger over what was done wrong with us is the most damaging emotion. It tires us very fast. Any betrayal can give rise to anger that can go out of control.
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- 9). Stress Management, The New Health Trend. By : Trenton Martkes
What is it about stress and stress management that everybody has their panties up in a bunch about now-a-days? I mean do we really think that our society today is more stressed out than back in the days when people were dying right and left, eaten by large animals, starving, being shot with arrows, etc.? I mean you've got to be kidding me right? Well yes and no.
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- 10). How To Cope With And Reduce Stress By : blueboy
I have always struggled to live a stress-free life. I worry about almost every aspect of life and living this way has caused me a lot of problems including various bouts of ill health from time to time. I needed to find a way of coping with and reducing the amount of stress in my life and in this article I write about how I have managed to achieve this.
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