How to Relieve Stress

Stress could have a number of adverse affects on your health, both short-term and long-term.  If you are experiencing some of the following symptoms, it may indicate that you could benefit from some advice on how to relieve stress before your health suffers any worse than it already has.  Feelings of anger, fear or helplessness are common indicators of stress, as is insomnia.  Stress could cause headaches and pain in the jaw, neck and back.  Habitual smoking, drinking, overeating and drug abuse are also caused by stress.

Stress is how your body responds to change.  And situations that cause stress in one person might not cause stress in another.  It is a really individual experience.  One person might become tense when driving over high bridges, while another may enjoy the view.  The thought of skydiving terrifies some people, but others find it thrilling.  It is virtually impossible to classify any particular situation as stressful, because what causes stress in one person may be a source of enjoyment for the next.  The key is to identify and manage what is stressful for you personally, because letting stress go unmanaged could have life-threatening health consequences.

Things you feel that you have no control over could be upsetting.  But remember that it is not the situation, but how you deal with it that’s important.  You can not control everything that happens to you, but you are able to decide how you handle stressful situations. 

Here are some tips for relieving your stress:

Focus on your breathing and breathe slow, deep and deliberately.  Picture a peaceful scene in your mind.

Exercise regularly.  Exercising releases tension from your body.  Find something you enjoy that gets the major muscle groups going.  Jogging, walking, swimming or bicycling are all excellent choices.

Count to 10 slowly and deliberately.  This helps you to pause and relax before reacting to a stressful situation.

Do some stretching exercises numerous times during the day.  Stretching relaxes the muscles and reduces tension.

Have a friend massage the back of your neck, shoulders and upper back.  These muscles get particularly tense when you are stressed.

Take hot showers and baths.

Listen to relaxing music.

Talk to your family and friends about what is causing you stress. 

Seek help when you need it.  If you have recurring headaches and neck or upper back pain, and are having problems sleeping, you should see your physician.

Learning how to relieve stress, and putting these methods to use are critical your overall health and happiness.  Try to learn to accept what you can not change.  Not everything is going to happen the way you want it to.  Train yourself to look for the good in what appears to be a bad situation, talk to other people about your troubles, and try to mentally remove yourself from the situation then evaluate it from the outside looking in.