How to reduce stress in your life

Let's face it...if you aren't stressed you know someone who is, right?  Stress is as common as drinking water.  Stress is unavoidable so what do you do to reduce your stress?  Earlier blog I talked about "good" stress vs. "bad" stress.  Today we will focus on how to reduce the stress in your life so the good doesn't turn into the bad and the bad doesn't affect your health.

I love the Mayo Clinic so I went there first to find out what they say:

• Decide to make the change on how stress affects you and how you react to stress:  Simple enough....not gonna let things bother me anymore.  Okay, maybe not THAT simple but making the decision to change is always the FIRST step in change.
• Identify your stress "triggers."  Now this one is going to be fun....I suggest grabbing a piece of paper because life is crazy today.  For me, driving into town (I live in a suburb outside of a city) and just thinking about driving into the city gets me stressed (and it's not a big city).  Your job (this may pose a problem if it's "your job" and not aspects of your job). Your spouse (oops another problem.....maybe put on your list when my spouse does.....), your children (okay, if you have teenagers, just put teenage children we will all understand) but if it's babysitter issues i.e. getting them to and from, etc. than be specific. You cannot fix what you do not acknowledge so BE SPECIFIC.
• Don't forget on your list to put down the "positive" things that happen in your life that cause stress; marriage, birth of a child, VACATION (I know this seems crazy because vacations are supposed to reduce stress.....just plan one one time within a strict budget)

Now comes the attack plan:  How do you reduce or eliminate what is on your list?  Let's take "commute to work" as a stressor you need to reduce or eliminate.  What exactly is it that causes stress for the commute?  Is it traffic?  Cost of gas?  Running late?  Time it takes to get there?  Plan your work, work your plan.  If it's traffic can you leave a little earlier or later to avoid it?  If it's the cost of gas can you car pool or maybe work from home a few days (this would help with the traffic stress also).  Do you run late?  I have learned that people fall into three categories: laters, earliers or on-timers....and occasionally will do something different.  I, personally, am an "earlier" person...if I am not 15 minutes early somewhere I AM LATE.  Those of you who always run late cause stress on me and I have A LOT of people like that in my life.  I don't have much advice for those of you who run late all the time as I don't understand how you can always be 5 minutes late.  If you can be "on-time" 5 minutes late...than just be on-time.  If you are stressed about the amount of time it takes you to commute talk to your boss about moving to 4-10 hour days, work from home a few days, or...yes, look for a job closer to your home.

Attack each stressor on your list and come up with several solutions to tackle that stress.  If one doesn't work...move to the next way to attack it.  Keep trying and keep thinking of ways to eliminate or reduce your stress.

Find a way to relax whether it be exercise, reading, resting, mini-vacations, walking your dog, etc.  Do what you enjoy.  Take time every day for YOU!  Even if it is just five minutes to start out with...it will get easier and better with practice!!

Please tell me how you relieve stress.

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Stress: Is it good for you?

Stress kills.  We here that all the time; stress can lead to heart attacks, strokes and some say stress can "cause" cancer.

Stress does cause a physiological reaction with the body, whether it is good stress or bad:

The Body’s Stress Response (Taken from the HelpGuide.org website) "When you perceive a threat, your nervous system responds by releasing a flood of stress hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol. These hormones rouse the body for emergency action.
Your heart pounds faster, muscles tighten, blood pressure rises, breath quickens, and your senses become sharper. These physical changes increase your strength and stamina, speed your reaction time, and enhance your focus – preparing you to either fight or flee from the danger at hand."

Too much stress can cause your body to react in a "not so positive way."  This type of stress can lead to many heath conditions that will far out-weigh the stress.  

So, how can stress be good for you?  Good stress comes from your reaction to whatever is happening.  As the Help Guide states:  when you perceive a threat you body releases hormones as a natural reaction.  What you do with it will determine if it will be bad for you or good for you.  We all need that adrenaline rush or life would be boring but "hanging on" to something that you cannot change can lead to unwanted consequences.

Let's look at a few major stressors that lead to bad stress: 

Loss of job:  

• Will I find another job?  
• How am I going to pay the bills?  
• How will my family/friends "view" me now?
• How am I going to pay for my family's doctor visits?
• Will I find another job that pays me what I need to survive?

The list of reasons to stress goes on and on and unfortunately the best way to relieve this stress is to get another job.  This type of stress can lead to depression which brings on a more medical problems.  

Divorce:  

• What did I do wrong?
• How will I support my family?
• What will my ex-spouse say to my children?
• Will I ever find someone else?
• How will I take care of my children?

This is another type of stress that can lead to depression and cause medical issues.

So what is good stress?  Here are a couple of examples.  

• An almost car crash:  You slide on the ice and are heading towards an object that you are going to hit.  The adrenaline starts pumping.  Your body goes into fight or flight mode.  You are stressed in those few seconds.  You are able to avoid the car crash.  How is this stress good for you?  You learned from it and carry it with you.
• Deadline:  Your boss places a file on your desk at 1:30 PM and it needs to be completed, proofed and approved  by 4:30 PM.  Stress right?  Again, your body reacts to this stress and the adrenaline starts pumping. This adrenaline can actually help you focus and complete the task at hand.  When you have the task completed there is a sense of relief and the "stress" is no longer there.

Life is hard.  Life today may be harder than it was a few years ago.  There is no doubt that we all experience stress.  What we do with it is up to us.  How we handle the stress will determine if it is good or bad.  One of my favorite quotes is by Maya Angelou:

“If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude.”

I realize that this quote does not work for all situations as there are some stessors out there that just can't be helped.  Use this for the stress that happens in your life that you can change either the stress or your attitude towards it.

Please tell me how you relieve stress.

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