Managing Stress - It Can Be Learned

By Michael Russell

Stress seems to be such a part of our lives today. Our personal lives are more complex and we seem to work harder than ever before. Support systems are often not readily available either. The result being that a major factor in a lot of people's lives is stress. A certain amount of stress may be beneficial, as it motivates some people to perform at their best, but excessive and unmanageable levels of stress with no resolutions in sight, is unhealthy and is when problems begin to arise.

Fortunately it is possible to recognize when stress levels are unmanageably high, as it tends to manifest in either psychological or physical symptoms and sometimes both.
Psychological signs and symptoms of stress:

• Fluctuating mood swings
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Difficulty sleeping
• Difficulty concentrating and poor memory
• Problems in your relationships

Physical symptoms of stress:

• Stomach acidity
• Alternating bouts of diarrhoea and constipation
• Breathing problems
• Asthma
• Heart palpitations
• Migraines

As soon as you begin to feel that you are no longer coping, things are getting on top of you and physically your health is starting to suffer, try some or all of the following approaches. This will help to identify and deal with the stress in your life.

1) Try to identify the source of your stress and consider whether any changes can be made that will leave you in greater control.

2) Learn to manage your time better. Make your work more manageable by writing a list of goals for the day in order of priority. Once these tasks are complete, tick them off. This will leave you with a sense of achievement.

3) Focus on your breathing and learn to make your breaths progressively deeper.

4) Avoid taking any illicit drugs such as crack, cocaine or ecstasy. They will worsen your feelings of anxiety and add to your stress.

5) Become more health conscious and eat healthily. Drink alcohol and caffeine in moderation. By remaining in good health you reduce the tendency to illness and increase your ability to cope.

6) Avoid substances that might increase anxiety, such as strong cups of coffee.

7) Exercise more frequently and make it a habit. Exercise helps to calm you down by utilizing excessive amounts of adrenaline caused by the stress.

8) Include some positive relaxation techniques into your daily routine. There are various therapies available such as yoga, massage, shiatsu, aromatherapy, reflexology and acupuncture.
The following stress 'ratings' are linked to various events in our lives. This will also help you focus on the factors causing stress in your life.

• Very high stress - Death of a spouse; divorce; marital separation; job loss; house move; personal injury or illness

• High stress - Retirement; pregnancy; change of job; death of a close friend and serious family illness

• Moderate stress - Large mortgage debts; parent-in-law problems; spouse starting or stopping work; problems with your boss and legal proceedings because of debt

• Low stress - Change in work conditions; new schools; change in diet and eating habits; small mortgage or debts; Christmas or other family holidays

Get a good night's sleep is very important. Our body and our mind need adequate period of rest to function properly. The number of hours required for complete rest is different from one person to the next.

Studies have shown that long-term sleep deprivation will eventually lead a person to a range of physical and psychological problems. If you are having difficulty sleeping then discuss this with your doctor.

A mild hypnotic drug may be prescribed to help re-establish a sleep pattern. Overtiredness causes reduced productivity at work, as well as a major cause of road accidents. Insomnia may also be a manifestation of anxiety or depression, in which both require specific treatment.

Avoid eating heavy meals, and avoid too much alcohol and caffeine late at night. Exercise during the day, which will leave you with a calming effect on your mind and body. Never exercise too late in the evening, as it will keep you awake rather than help you sleep.

Practice meditation, yoga or relaxation exercises in the evening to help relax your mood leading up to bedtime.

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Stress

Have you ever thought about practicing Yoga to reduce stress?

--------------------------------------------
FREE Yoga Report. FREE Yoga Newsletter.
Bonus: Free Yoga e-Book, "Yoga in Practice."
http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/docs/Yoga-in-Practice-eBook.pdf
Visit: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/
Affiliates: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/signup.html
Sister Blog: http://yoga-teacher-training.blogspot.com/
--------------------------------------------

Stress Management

By Rashmi Priya

Stress is something which impairs your brain to think or act on something. There are some stress tough people. Stress tough people usually thrive on stress and cope with pressure that would put the average person into tailspin.

Stress toughness is caused by “commitment”, control and challenge.

Accept stress as a challenge and you will cope better with it.

Types of stress -

There are two types of stress Eustress and Distress.

All stress is not negative. The word Eustress has been coined to describe positive stress.

Eustress results from exhilarating experiences such as winning and achieving.

Distress is negative stress.

Under stress certain hormones are secreted which charge the body on full alert for a fight or flight response. Its why we often feel tense and highly strung when under a lot of stress. Stress weakens immune system and makes us vulnerable to infection.

Time Management -
The inappropriate use of time often creates new stressors. Learning to say “no” has been successful for many people. There is an inordinate amount of stress that comes with saying yes and then they bring worry.

According to “LUBERT”stress in the work environment isn’t caused by things people can control,its caused mostly by the things they cannot control.

“JOB INSECURITY” IS A MAJOR SOURCE OF STRESS. Be free with your employees so that they get every piece of information to avoid rumor.

FEAR UNCERTAINTY AND DOUBT CAUSES STRESS. It is not the occupation but the personal environment fit that is important.

“STRESS LEVELS DEPENDS ON HOW WE PERCEIVE THINGS”.

“FOR EVERY MEETING THERE IS A SEASON”

Spring is a good time for meetings that encourage team building because there is a lot of enthusiasm at the beginning of the year. Cold dark northern winters spawn lightlessness and depression. These conditions reverse themselves in spring. Researchers say a trip even one as short as 4 days to warmer weather can give sufferers a much needed lift.

If you must have a meeting in the winter, a southern site can boost not only attendees morale but their effectiveness as well.

Seasonal affective syndrome (SAD)is caused during winters which causes laziness and restlessness. It can be cured by spending long hours in natural light. It can also be cured to some extent by sitting under a bright lamp. The closer the light is in color and temperature to natural sunlight, the better.

Keeping above things in mind, try to organize a meeting where people find it near to their destination.

“You don’t get anything unless you ask for it”.

To avoid stress work smarter not harder. Delegate or eliminate bureaucratic task that are time consuming but not that crucial. Concentrate instead on activities that the company values and that make use of your greatest strengths. Focus on what is most important to you.
Unemployed idle person suffers from stress as much as those who are overworked.

YOUR VICTORY OVER STRESS

“ACCORDING TO ME YOU CAN CONTROL STRESS BY UNDERSTANDING THE ROOT CAUSE OF IT”.

Solve the problem rather than worrying over the problem. You have to manage your 24 hrs. The inappropriate use of time often create new stressors. Learning to say “no “has been successful for many people. There is an inordinate amount of stress that comes with saying “yes” and then began worry.

If you are working in a firm then you can schedule a stress management seminar for your next sales meetings.

“Learn to use your time by concentrating on areas where you can reasonably expect to get results."

A famous saying goes as “stress can be the spice of life or the kiss of death, often that choice may be yours. You can learn how to make stress work for you, so that you will become productive rather than self destructive.” Communication relieves stress.

TO REDUCE STRESS

* Know what you need.
* Create a comfortable work environment for yourself.
* Set limits on your time.
* Negotiate with your family for time to just relax.
* Practice a relaxation technique.
* Make time to exercise and do it.
* Call your friends and family for support.
* Simplify your life.
* Give yourself positive feed back.
* “LAUGH”

Humor can make a sharp point without pain.

Emotional intelligence can help you reduce stress as well as move forward in life.

Have farsightedness to understand the coming problem,have a system thinking to work in a team and not separately,communicating well, motivating people to get your job done,developing friendship.
Some emotional intelligence, particularly self knowledge and self control makes any leader stronger.

I have made this project for all those who get stressed from work or daily life problems. I want to tell them that stress is a good servant but a bad master, let it not control you, you can use stress for your benefit, let it not harm you.

“People rarely succeed at any thing unless they have fun doing it”.
“Action is a cure for melancholy”.

I did Graduation in Zoology Hons. I did MBA in HR and Marketing. Now pursuing my career in advanced HR studies and holding the post of CEO in vinayRas Infotech.

http://www.vinayras.com/


Practice Yoga for Stress Reduction

--------------------------------------------
FREE Yoga Report. FREE Yoga Newsletter.
Bonus: Free Yoga e-Book, "Yoga in Practice."
http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/docs/Yoga-in-Practice-eBook.pdf
Visit: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org
Affiliates: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/signup.html
Sister Blog: http://yoga-teacher-training.blogspot.com/
--------------------------------------------

10 Real Ways to De-Stress

By Jo Ann Joy

Despite people telling us “To stop and smell the flowers,” we are still over-stressed. We deal with stress in unhealthy ways like overeating or being sleep deprived. Well, there are better ways to de-stress, and they are easier than you may think.

The first and most important thing to remember that reduces stress is finding ways to feel more in control of your circumstances. The following are some ways you can can more more control and, thereby, feel less stressed:

1. At the end of each day, prepare for the next day. Make a to-do list of all the things you must do the next day and clean your work area.

2. Prepare healthy snacks at least twice a week and always keep snacks with you. Do not “feed” your stress with cookies or ice cream, because they will not help.

3. Make good use of all spare minutes that come up each day. If you find you have 5-10 minutes to spare, put more staples in your stapler, shred paper, or some other simple activity.

4. Listen to music, especially smooth jazz. Listen to relaxing music in your car, at work, at home, and anywhere else that you can. Music can be very soothing.

5. Take good care of yourself. This means get plenty of restful sleep, go to the dentist regularly, workout at least 30 minutes on at least four days each week, drink plenty of water, and take weekend naps if you need them.

6. Make shopping and errand lists. If you keep a list of the groceries you need and the errands you have to run, you will save yourself the stress of forgetting something. You will also save yourself the stress of having to make several unnecessary trips and wasting time, because you did not plan ahead.

7. Keep a simple budget so that you will always know where you are financially, and money shortages will not sneak up on you.

8. Do not spend all evening and all weekend on the cell phone or reading and writing emails that relate to your job. If you need to do extra work, schedule one hour each evening and a few hours each weekend to do work-related activities. Realize that your “downtime” is just as important as your work.

9. Be sure that you have one or two good friends that you can confide in who understand and are supportive.

10. When things do not work out well, try to imagine what is the worst thing that can happen. If you do that, you will realize that there are solutions to even the worst problem.

Jo Ann Joy, Esq., MBA, CEO

Copyright 2006 Indigo Business Solutions. All rights reserved.

You may contact Jo Ann by phone at (602) 663-7007, by fax at (602) 324-7582, by email at joannjoy@Indigo Business Solutions.net, and by mail at 2313 East Ocotillo Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85016

For more information about these and other important business topics and for legal consultation, please visit our website at http://www.indigobusinesssolutions.net/ The future of your business starts here.

About the author

Jo Ann Joy is the CEO and owner of Indigo Business Solutions, a legal and business consulting firm. Indigo Business Solutions is a “one stop shop” for small businesses. We differ from other business consulting firms, because we offer comprehensive legal and business counseling.

We can offer most of the professional services that a business requires. We work with our clients to develop strategies that create value and competitive advantage.

Jo Ann has a law degree, an MBA, and a degree in Economics, but she is not a traditional attorney. Rather, she is a strategic business attorney who works closely with clients to create and implement strategies that will greatly improve their performance and chance of success.

Her background includes commercial and real estate law, accounting, financial planning, mortgages, marketing, product development, banking, and business strategies. She ran a successful business for 10 years, and she has written and given presentations on many different legal and business subjects.


Get a Free Yoga Book and learn how to reduce Stress with Yoga.