A good place to start in planning your own stress management would be finding the roots of your stress. It can come from physical exertion and mental strain as well. We all have these things in our everyday life. Its effects on our overall being can vary dramatically from others experiences. For that reason your needs in stress management may indeed differ from theirs as well.
Dealing with the sources of stress is best when possible. Often these are the things we dwell and over worry about. Among them are finances family planning balancing work home and often dealing with others over expectations. A good place to start in stress management is to focus on what your limitations are. While it may seem at times you can move mountains dont forget after the move you will need a lot of rest.
Dealing with your stress effectively can be hard at times but must be done regularly to prevent health problems. By not dealing with your stress you could be setting yourself up for major heart attack or stroke with that being said here are 5 ways that could help you deal with your stress.
Secret No 1Â Do Relaxation Checks
Stress causes us to lose energy through the unnecessary tensing of muscles. Unfortunately whenever we feel pressured or distressed over something this is the first thing we do. The most common ways to carry tension is to clench our jaws or tighten our shoulders. Do a physical check on unnecessary tension in the body throughout the day and purposely relax any tense muscles. This will take an extra effort to begin with but over time you will find that eventually habit will take over and you will no longer have to give any thought to staying relaxed
Secret No 2Â Limit Caffeine Intake
Over stimulating our nervous system with caffeine can make us unnecessarily nervous and tense. I recommend no more than three cups of coffee a day for the average person with a minimum of two hours between each cup. However I know some people who become agitated if they have even one cup of coffee a day. So regulating caffeine intake needs to be a personal judgment call. Just keep in mind that tea and colas can contribute to caffeine jitters as well.
Secret No 3Â Do Weekly Exercise
Exercise is a great mood lifter. It releases tension and fills the body with feel good chemicals. Aerobic exercise where the heart gets pumping is an especially effective in relieving stress. Three, 30-minute exercise sessions a week would be ideal. It would be enough to relieve stress without causing exhaustion and further stress trying to cope with a dwindling energy supply. However any exercise done even just once a week that is not too exhausting would be helpful.
Secret No 4Â Take Slow Deep Breaths
Taking slow deep breaths when particularly anxious about something is an effective way to calm down. When we are under extreme stress our breathing becomes shallow and rapid. By slowing down and deepening the breath we are forcing ourselves into a more relaxed state. Its not good for a car to run on high revolutions and nor is it for the human machine. Taking slow deep breaths during stressful situations forces our physical self to slow down and puts pressure on our mind and emotions to follow suit.
Secret No 5Â Deal with Stress Issues
Going through life with personal or relationship issues niggling at us will cause underlying tension. Sometimes we need to have a heart to heart with ourselves and look at what it is in our lives that is causing underlying tension. We may need to take some action to remedy a situation or we may just need to just change our attitude toward it. Either way we need to face anything that is bothering us and stop it from robbing our life and energy any further.
These five secrets to a stress free life take little effort and can be easily incorporated into your day. Remember you need not be at the mercy of a high pressured society because living a stress free life is your natural birthright
Archive for July 24th, 2010
How To Deal With Stress Effectively…
July 24th, 2010 
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Self Help Tips for Dealing With Panic Attacks
July 24th, 2010 admin If you are a chronic worrier, you have come to the right place as this article will share with you some practical tips you can use to help yourself take any anxious situation or even panic attacks in your stride. Practice the tips regularly and they will prove to be useful in helping you to remain calm and in control of your anxiety. Identify your symptoms; the self help techniques for panic attacks will be more effective if you could start by identifying the symptoms or triggers that cause your anxiety level to rise unexpectedly and lead to panic attacks. Try your best to record down the events and feelings that you were going through when panic attacks struck. The idea here is to identify the chain of events so that you could find ways to cope when they happen again. Self Talk to Curb Panic Attacks. Chronic worriers always have unnecessary negative thoughts or negative self talk that can trigger anxiety and panic attack. If you are the type of person who tends to put yourself down or never gives yourself the benefit of the doubt, you'll tend to trigger an unnecessary anxiety. It would then lead to extensive worry or even depression. And the next thing you know you're having a panic attack; can’t do anything right and feel hopeless. Instead of beating yourself up, why not try to talk yourself up? Tell yourself that things are going to be fine. In fact, most of the things we worry about would never happen. Learn to look on the bright side of life; learn to focus on the solutions instead of problems.Learn to Breathe Properly. Proper breathing can help calm your mind and body. And it's very easy to do; just put your left hand on your stomach and start to breathe in slowly and deeply through your nose, then out through your mouth. You will feel that your hand moves in and out as your stomach expands and contracts slowly. As you let your body takes in the oxygen it needs slowly and steadily, your mind and body start to calm down. When you become anxious, you'll notice that your breathing rate increases and you start to take short breathes. This will make you feel panic and more anxious. By slowing your breathing and concentrating on it, you will be able to control your mind better and keep panic attack at bay. Countdown from 100Counting down from 100 is another useful self help tips for panic attacks. The idea is similar to the breathing technique. By counting down, you will be able to focus on something other than those that make you feel fearful and worry. Learn to RelaxClosing your eyes and picturing yourself in a faraway place that is peaceful and relaxing can help calm your mind. Another relaxation technique is to focus on muscle relaxation; close your eyes and focus on your arms, repeatedly tell them to relax. Repeat the process by focusing on your legs and other parts of your body. If you practice these relaxation techniques often enough; they will become your second nature and you will be able to use them more naturally to calm your mind, slow your heart rate and stabilize your blood pressure. These are just some of the self help tips you can practice and use to combat panic attacks.The Internet or online guide such as Panic Attacks Guide is a great place for you to learn and pick up some self help tips to cope with anxiety and panic attacks.
Posted in Panic Attacks 
Tags: Attacks, Dealing, Help, Panic, Panic Attacks, Self, Tips 
No Comments »How Alcohol and Drug Affect Depression
July 24th, 2010 admin If you are depressed you don't feel good. You may tend to self medicate using drugs or alcohol or both. Alcohol can be a strong anti depressant at first but then when the use continues, alcohol becomes a depressant. Alcohol is like many other drugs that act on the brain. If you drink it regularly, you find that it has less effect on you. You need to drink more and more to get the effect you want. This is called 'tolerance' and is a powerful part of the problem you can develop using alcohol to deal with depression. It is so easy to get alcohol- you don't need to talk to a doctor or get a prescription- that it is the drug of choice to deal with depression more often then not. The problem is, alcohol can really make the depression worse. It definitely interferes with your ability to deal with the problems which caused your depression in the first place. Many people who have trouble sleeping start using alcohol as a sleeping pill and it causes no end of problems. In the end, alcohol abuse will really interfere with sleep. In low doses, alcohol makes you feel relaxed and more able to talk to and be around people if you are shy or lack confidence. Taking small amounts of alcohol, especially red wine seem to be good for our hearts. But there is a big difference between drinking a glass of wine and downing a six pack to back off the pressure. Even a few drinks can be a depressant for you. Some of the effects are: -Impaired judgment and decision making -Vision disturbance, especially peripheral vision -Less coordination -Problems with depth perception -Slower reaction time -Sleepiness -At moderate-to-high doses, alcohol also causes: -Feelings of sadness and despair -Impaired coordination -Impaired perception -Slower reaction time -Sleepiness to the point of dropping off And here are health problems you stir up with over alcohol use: -It can lead to obesity -It can cause kidney and liver problems -It is involved in one half of suicides -It plays a role in many auto accidents -It is often a part of domestic violence -It is often a part of assaults and homicides -It can allow unacceptable behavior -It can become an addiction -It can ruin relationships and families -It can cost your job As you can see, I am really suggesting to you that alcohol is not the way to deal with your depression. Alcohol is cheap and easy to get and you don't have to talk over your problems with someone to get it. But it can and will cause you to become more depressed if you are using it to treat yourself. The same can be said for abuse of street drugs. If you use cocaine or heroin or amphetamines to solve your emotional pain, your pain will only get worse and then you will have not only problems with depression but also problems with addiction.
Using Natural Ways For Dealing With Anxiety
July 24th, 2010 admin Anxiety is a reaction often associated with stress, illness, or even treatment. During an anxiety attack, a person feels overwhelming nervousness, tension, fear, forgetfulness, and panic. Although people experience anxiety as a normal part of life, true anxiety attacks are much different. For instance, if you were interviewing for a new job, you might feel a little anxious or apprehensive but this is different from true anxiety in which the above symptoms take over. If you find yourself being faced with anxiety often or if you have an anxiety attack that persists, you want to see your doctor.In the meantime, remember that anxiety is treatable. If the situation is serious, your doctor may recommend prescription medication such as Klonopin, but before you get to that point, you might consider a number of natural ways for dealing with anxiety. With this, not only can you bring the anxiety attack under control but also help prevent the attacks in the future, which would be the ideal solution.For starters, when you feel an anxiety attack coming on, find a quiet room or place where you can sit and relax. There, use what is called imagery, which is where you allow your mind to imagine other things or places that are calming. As an example, you might sit in a quiet room and envision yourself on the beach, hiking around a lake, shopping, or whatever it is that you enjoy. During this time, try to hear the sounds and smell the aromas of the experience to make it as real as possible. Most often, imagery works quickly and successfully.In addition, you will find a number of safe products on the market to help ease the tensions associated with an anxiety attack. Often, these products are made from things such as Lavender, Melissa Officinal's, and Passiflora Incarnata. Together, these natural substances calm the anxiety but also irritability and stress. For this type of product, just a few drops in a glass of water provides relief within minutes. Available in a small bottle, you can carry it with you so you are always prepared.Another favorite combination is made from Passiflora and St. John's Wort. Again, when used in therapeutic dosage, this mixture can provide a sense of well-being in helping stabilize anxiety. The thing to remember is that if you suffer from anxiety or full-blown anxiety attacks, you have great natural remedies and solutions to consider. However, in severe cases, remember a visit with your doctor may be needed, whether for prescription medication or perhaps some counseling to help you through the challenges of anxiety.
