STRESS: HOW TO REDUCE AND IMPROVE WELL-BEING

HANDLING STRESS: IT'S A PART OF LIFE

(SCROLL DOWN  FOR:) 

PSYCHOLOGICAL TIPS: ACCEPTANCE MINDFULNESS 

PHYSICAL TIPS: EXERCISE MASSAGE 

Note: the blogger has an honours degree in Health Sciences                   involving pre-med courses and treating patients in clinical           conditions.

We can't avoid Stress.  In some cases stress can be good for us, spurring us on to make changes and to engage more deeply with life.  Some people thrive on stress.

But, whether benign or unsettling, sustained stress can cause damage: muscle tension, deep-rooted anxiety, sleeplessness and appetite disorders. All of which cause more stress.   

We all react differently to stress but there are psychological and physical techniques which can minimise stress.  

Generally, there are three types of stress:

• Stress which you have chosen to fulfil a particular goal.  For example, working all the hours that God sends so you can buy a house/have a high-level career with all that comes with it/retire early

• Life Stress (supporting your family, dealing with work colleagues) which can be magnified by exhaustion and over-thinking.  This type of stress can cause "circling thoughts", eg I am never going to get out from under/resolve this situation without personal damage; I am never going to fall in love/be capable of love; I am going to end my days as a bag lady/tramp pushing a rusting supermarket trolley stuffed with my meagre belongings.  (Even:  no one is ever going to read this blog ever again.)  

• Stress caused by factors over which you have no control: accidents, illness (your own or your family), environmental disasters, traumatic past events

The remedies that are effective in dealing with stress are psychological and physical.  

PSYCHOLOGICAL

It is important to embrace, in the noblest sense, whatever is causing stress.  If you fully accept what is happening/has happened you are in a better position to improve the situation.  

Whinging, wailing, moaning are all acceptable at first but then you must take a breath, buck up, and deal with it.  Don't bottle it up;  that will only create more stress.  Think of a car with a potato shoved up the exhaust -- eventually it will explode. Share.  Don't carry the burden alone.  

Try to work out the best way of making things better.  Is it possible to remove the potato without damaging the car, or to cut the potato down to size?  Even small changes can improve your situation.   

Be realistic.  If things don't change a great deal, at least you know you have done everything possible.  You can relax and move forward, remaining open to other potential solutions.

• Can you achieve your goals on a different timetable that allows you to (metaphysically) breathe? 
• Can you take a brief break from other commitments to focus on what's immediately important, knowing you will be able to devote yourself 100% later?
• Have you sought help from your family, colleagues or employer, the medical profession, a therapist, books, the net?
• When you feel at your weakest, can you take a break?  Go for a coffee, a brief walk, get away for half a day or a week. 
• Are you taking physical measures to reduce stress? (see below)

One of the simplest and quickest methods of reducing stress involves a "Mindfulness" exercise from the Indian Vedantic philosophy.  It has the effect of instantly taking you out of yourself.  

This is what's involved:

1. Sit in a chair, feet flat on the floor, spine and head erect but relaxed, as if someone is pulling your body upward on a string.
2. Close your eyes.
3. Listen to the sounds in the room.  Take a moment to identify the separate sounds -- a clock/watch ticking, people in another room.
4. Extend the listening to other sounds in the house.
5. Extend the listening to sounds outside -- traffic, people talking.
6. Extend the listening beyond that to what is known as the "hum of the universe".
7. You should feel calm and relaxed, if only for a time.  
8. Open your eyes.

Once you have reached a calm state through the exercise, you can do it standing or sitting and need not close your eyes.  Just remember to plant your feet firmly on the ground and stand tall but relaxed.  

PHYSICAL

The biggest and most important stress relievers I've discovered have been exercise and, in later years, shoulder and neck massages. Exercise and therapeutic massage gets rid of muscle tension, clears the mind, improves focus and reduces anxiety.

Exercise

I used to jog and recall with great clarity the wonderful feeling of circling thoughts just peeling away as I pounded around the running track.  Any exercise requires concentration, especially when you are focusing on the finish line.  When you are concentrating on something else you aren't thinking about whatever is causing your stress. (Exercising Wisely and Safely )

Therapeutic Massage

I have tried many types of massage, Swedish, Thai, and they are all good, if sometimes expensive.  The one that works best for me is Tuina, massage based on manual manipulation of acupuncture points.  It is excellent for the  budget conscious. 

Stress causes tightness in the neck and shoulders which you may not be conscious of but affects the way you feel and sleep. It can darken your view of the world causing irritability and bad-temper.  Tuina massage releases the tightness in the muscles. The difference in your sense of well-being is remarkable. Everything seems possible and you are lighter and happier.    

A ten minute session of Tuina on shoulders and neck costs as little as £10; a half hour on neck, shoulders and back is £30. When I was seriously struggling with stress, I had a weekly ten minute session and a monthly half-hour session, reducing my spending in other areas.   

Wherever you are, there is likely to be somewhere you can find a tuina masseuse.  They tend to operate from acupuncture or Chinese Medicine clinics.  The staff have trained and practiced in China before coming to the UK and are personable and kind.  

Two things to remember:  if the massage hurts, say so.  And you can resist entreaties to try acupuncture or Chinese herbs with a smile and no one will be upset.  In London, I recommend the Everwell Group of Chinese Medicine clinics in and around Chinatown. 






Today's recipes : Free From:  Butter Skinny Garlic Bread

                                               Icing Sugar - Icing

                                               Sugar - Oriental Marinade

DISCLAIMER: The author accepts no liability for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided.  Any information not sourced to a second party is the copyright of the blogger.