Abbas Abedi asked:


You can gain time and energy in your life. This can be done by spending a few minutes each day making your life simpler. “Downsizing” your life a little at a time will lower stress and bring you a sense of satisfaction.

You may be wondering what do I mean by “Downsizing”? There are times in life when you need to get rid of things. Things that clutter your life. Things that no longer have value to you and your family.

We all have a tendency to collect more than we really need. Some of us are collectors to the extent that we have a totally cluttered life. Others have a neat life, but still have more than they need stored away in the depths of their closets.

Once a year we need to go through our closets, garages, dresser drawers and boxes stashed in the attic and find out what we can get rid of.

There is a saying, “Get rid of what you do not want to make room for what you do want”. If you were to follow this advice, you would find your life less cluttered than it ever has been, or at least less cluttered than it has been in a long time.

Collecting too many things begin to weigh our lives down with so much stuff that we cannot get out from under it. If you have to make isles in your garage or storage shed to get to things or worse yet, you have to make isles inside your home to get to things, you need to make a decision to start sorting through your belongings and get rid of things you KNOW you will never use again.

Do you save clothes in hope of returning to the size you were when you stored them? This clothing can add up to boxes and boxes of things that will be out of style by the time you actually can wear them again.

You local charities can use donations of clothing. They can use good clothes to sell in their thrift shop and to help clothe the needy. They can even use holey and moth eaten clothing which they bale and send off as rags.

Maybe you have boxes or cabinets with mismatched dishes. How about old silverware and utensils you no longer use. Put them all in the donation box.

Have you been saving books and magazines that you plan to read or re-read some time in the future. If you have not read them in the last three years, do you really think you will read then in the next three? It is unlikely. I know you are saving many of them as references. With the Internet, you have all the reference material you will ever need right at your fingertips. Get rid of books and magazines. Put them in the donation box.

If you really cannot stand to give things away because it all has value, have a garage sale. Make it a challenge to have tons of stuff at your sale. When it is over, take whatever does not sell and donate it to a charity. Promise yourself you will get rid of the leftovers.

To sum up clutter, it robs valuable time from your life. It takes away some of your life energy and makes you wonder how you will ever organize it all. Do not organize it all; get rid of a lot of it.

You can often save money by spending $3 at the store rather than spending three hours looking for something you know you have, but cannot find. You end up buying the lost item anyway.

Get rid of what you do not want to make room for what you do want! Your stress will decrease automatically.

Sara T asked:


I want to control my anxiety in a healthy way, I’d like to avoid heavy medications but any advice is appreciated.

Scott Goodman asked:


Companies are beginning to face decreasing productivity in their workers. With the economy stumbling, people have to work longer hours just to make ends meet and pay for gas and all the bills. However, this has the unfortunate side effect of increasing the amount of stress in their lives, and they end up being less productive during their working hours as a result, meaning that they work longer hours just to do the same amount of work. Because this is costing businesses money, many are offering their workers free stress management programs to make them happier and increase productivity back to normal levels, so the workers can be more productive, working less hours to do the same work.

Follow Your Own Program

Stress management programs are easy for anyone to pick up, even if your company isn’t offering you one. However, it can take a gradual lifestyle change to be truly effective in some cases, and all of this information can be confusing. To make it easier, you can attend a stress management seminar, where you’ll be taught sound techniques and how to implement them in everyday life. Also, there are plenty of guides in bookstores and online, so you have a ton of options for learning stress management programs.

As such, you’ll have enough options to fit any schedule or preferences. If you want a comprehensive stress management program for dealing with a serious stress problem, then you may very well want to check into Yoga or other stress relief classes. These will give you some of the most effective stress management activities, and you’ll be pleased with the results within days, sleeping better at night and generally finding that you have a great deal more energy during the day. However, Yoga and other stress relief classes aren’t everybody’s cup of tea, and not everybody requires them. Other stress management programs can be more casual and entertaining.

Some of the simplest stress management programs involve simply putting on music, which helps you to focus on the task at hand. For example, music will help take your mind off of the bad meeting that you had earlier that morning, and you can concentrate on the present much more easily. Also, fun exercise activities such as tennis and bowling can be great stress relievers, and any physical activity will actually help your body feel more relaxed over time. These are just a few of the stress management programs available, and you should do a bit of searching to find the one that best fits your preferences.

Albert Lee asked:


Almost every person has experienced unrelenting stress, anxiety, strain, and sustained tension once in their life. This can have drastic effects on happiness and health.

Sustained stress for long periods can cause adverse health problems because hormones related to stress are released to your blood stream that over-stimulates a person’s metabolism. Your heart rate, breathing rate, blood pressure, and muscle tensions can increase due to stress.

You can counter the effects of stress to your body through yoga’s breathing exercises and other relaxation exercises. These exercises try to achieve deep quietness in the mental and physical state to alter your emotional and physical responses. After performing such exercises, you will soon notice that your heart rate decreases, as well as your muscle tension and blood pressure.

By practicing yoga regularly, this relaxation response can improve your overall health and the effects are lasting.

If you’re going to treat yoga seriously, you will find more interesting subjects about it and how it reduces stress. Yoga exercises tend to slow down a person’s brain waves, thereby reducing stress. By appropriately practicing complicated and vigorous yoga exercises, the activities of your driving brain-waves will be reduced. These brain waves have a significant relation to stress.

Medical science has only recognized yoga’s principles a few decades back. Medical professionals now have established the link between mind, body, and spirit.

The management of stress can be achieved through yoga. You will learn a great deal of things on how yoga reduces stress. All it takes is self determination and self discipline. Soon enough, you will experience a big lifestyle change and will live a happy and longer life.

Wendy Owen asked:


tion techniques for stress management

There are three main types of relaxation techniques you can practice when you feel upset and stressed out. If you practice them regularly, they will become part of your lifestyle and you may find yourself habitually more relaxed as a result.

This article contains a breathing relaxation technique and an autogenic relaxation technique.

Part 2 will have a Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) exercise to release negative thoughts and situations and a progressive muscle relaxation technique too.

Because of the mind/body connection, exercises to relax the body will also flow through to the mind.

A lot of the stress we feel is due to our resistance to certain feelings, or emotions. Try to relax and let the feeling flow through you. Sometimes just by doing this the feelings will tend to dissipate on their own.

So let’s begin. Find a quiet empty room for 15 to 20 minutes and take the phone off the hook.

Breathing Exercise.

Do this lying down if possible, arms by your side and legs uncrossed. Loosen any tight clothing. If you can’t lie down, sit and make yourself as comfortable as possible. This exercise will calm and energize you.

Take a couple of deep breaths, roll your eyes up and let them close. Concentrate on the effects of your breathing on your body. As you breathe in your stomach rises, as you breathe out your stomach falls.

Be aware of the life energy in your body, as you breathe in imagine this energy circulating throughout your body. As you breathe out, mentally say the word “peace” in your mind.

Thoughts will attempt to distract you. Rather than trying to force them out, acknowledge them then imagine them just floating out of the back door of your mind. Go back to concentrating on your breathing.

Continue until you feel relaxed. Then gently arouse yourself keeping the feeling of relaxation with you.

Autogenic Relaxation Exercise

You can do this one sitting or lying down. Loosen any tight clothing and make yourself comfortable.

Take a deep breath, hold for the count of three and exhale slowly. Repeat a couple of times. Let your eyes close.

Imagine lying on a deserted beach, you can hear the gentle waves breaking on the sand. In the distance there is the sounds of seagulls.

The sun is shining on your left arm making it warm and heavy. Concentrate on how warm and heavy your left arm is feeling.

Now the sun is moving over to your right arm and making that warm and heavy too.

Go through the same procedure with your left and right leg, your head and neck and your stomach.

Finally focus on your whole body. Feel how warm and heavy your body is. Let your body sink down into the bed or chair.

Stay in this relaxed state for a few moments before gently arousing yourself. Take the calm relaxed feeling with you for the rest of your day.

PS. If you have trouble sleeping, these relaxation techniques will definitely help!

Lizzi asked:


 

Anxiety is one of the ways in which we respond to negative stress. When we are stressed out, we spend a lot of time worrying about what the future will bring. This in turn leads to anxiety attacks. Anxiety attacks can range from mild fears to gut-wrenching life-stopping moments. As such, anxiety has the potential to derail your life seriously. Unfortunately, life in the world today is such a huge cauldron of troubles that getting away from stress and anxiety is almost impossible. The only way out is to learn how to manage stress effectively so that you are never subjected to anxiety attacks.

Contrary to popular beliefs, it is not very difficult to relax during stressful times. There are certain anxiety relaxation techniques a person can use to arrest an anxiety attack. Given below are the top 4 anxiety relaxation techniques you can use to keep your fears at bay.

Meditation: Relaxation refers to a controlled state of mind where you are completely at peace with the thoughts running through you. One of the easiest ways to relax is to go into deep meditation. There are two kinds of meditation. One, in which there is an attempt to focus deeply on one thought, and another in which the attempt is to become free of all thoughts. Whichever technique you use, meditation can be used to achieve deep relaxation.

Massage: If you have the time, then getting a good body massage with essential herbal oils can be a great way to relax. Many essential oils evoke soothing responses in the brain and bring about deep relaxation both in the body and mind. Of course, you need to make an attempt to clear your mind of disturbing thoughts so your body can relax itself.

Deep breathing: This is actually a mild form of meditation. When you breathe deeply, oxygen floods your system and this brings about a soothing feeling. Imagine that you are inhaling fresh air and that you are exhaling all your troubles. Deep breathing focuses the mind and makes it possible for you to tune into the silence of your mind. This is an excellent method to de-stress yourself.

Listening to music: These days, music for relaxation is being reinvented in a big way. Music has a very strong therapeutic influence on the mind. Different tempos can evoke corresponding moods in the mid. With advances made in the field of music therapy, it is now possible to get music CDs that are specially designed to relieve stress, evoke positive thoughts, assist meditation or bring freedom from pain. Listening to music is a great way to unwind. It is also less expensive and the effect is quiet immediate.

The choice of an effective anxiety relaxation technique depends on your personal preferences. After a while, you will begin to see what works and what does not, and what can be done to manage your anxiety better. Learn from your experiences and open the doors to a happy life.

dianas_lotus asked:


I get headaches a lot and I don’t eat often enough to pop pills. Is there anything i can do at work or home to get rid of them?

Li Ming Wong asked:


Have you ever noticed your self-going to the icebox to get something to eat when your are all upset. Your not alone there are many people just like you in this world. They are like you wishing they could do something to change that from happing to them but it isn’t going away what you can do to help you to change all of this form happing to you. You have to train your self to do something different only you can do this.

What causes this to happen to people?

Most of the time this happens when people are stressed out or being up set. The first thing they want to do to ran to the icebox and eat ever thing they see in it. Which isn’t health for you in the first place? You need to think way down inside your body and figure out what can be done about this habit. There are other ways to go, you just have to figure out what to do about it and do it.

What can one do to learn to redirect myself?

Redirecting is hard for most of us to do but it can be done in time. You have to do it over and over again until your brain knows that is what you want it to do instead of going and binging on food. So when you feel you have to eat why not go and pick up a good book and read it. You’re going to have to make your self-do this but you can do this if you want it bad enough. If you find that reading isn’t what is good for you at a time like this then you will have to find something that will work for you.

What are some things I can do to find what is good for me?

There really isn’t anything good to say about this other then you have to do some things on your own to find out what would be best for you what might be good for you may not be good for some one else. You might want to ask your friends what they do to give you some ideas. They may suggest some thing like taking a real hot bath, or reading a good book. Some of them may find that exercising is a good way to relive some of there stress.

There are many things that you may find works for you that don’t work for your friends. You might think that cleaning house is a good way to get rid of stress that is okay to.

Why is stress so bad for me and why do, I need to get rid of it?

Stress is something that you might want to get rid of as soon as it hit you. Why is this?

This is because stress isn’t good for you or your health. It will cause you many problems if you don’t get rid of it as soon as you are able to.

Some of the things it can cause is heart troubles, high blood pressure, out of control cholesterol, and can cause you to have some depression. If this happens then you will have to go to your family doctor and may have to take some kind of medication for it. Therefore, you are better if you can learn to control it before this happens. There is way to do it you just have to have some will power and set your mind to it and do it. Thrive to make satisfying changes.

Thriving on Satisfying Changes in Stress Relief

Have you ever had one of those days that you find your self-going to that harsh change to get to the refrigerator to digest when your are at the greatest peak of being upset. You’re not alone. Good news however, many programs allow you to research ways to thrive on stress.

Some of the advantages of the latest thriving on stress guides give you puzzles. Puzzles are like you wishing the puzzles could do something to change that from happing to them but it isn’t going away what you can do to help you to change entire of this comprise happing to you. You have to train your self to do something different single you can do this.

What causes this to happen to multitude?

Most of the time this happens when people are haggard out or being up fixed. The first item they want to do to blast to the cutting moreover digest ever thing they see in it. Which isn’t health for you in the initially place? You need to think way down inside your being also figure out what can be done about this habit. There are other ways to go; you just have to figure out what to do about it along with do it.

How can I whip myself in shape?

Redirecting is hard for most of us to do anyhow it can be done in time. You have to do it overly together with surplus again until your cerebellum knows that is what you want it to do by preference of going moreover binging on food. Therefore, when you feel you have to eat why not pick up a good book go also also refer to it. You’re going to have to make your self-do this but you can do this if you want it troubling enough. When you find that mind reading is not for you, perhaps you can take some time to find other less demanding strategies that work for you.

What are some things I can do to find what is good for me?

There veritably isn’t anything shipshape* to say about this other then you have to do some knowledge on your own to find out what You could be most highly for you what might be good for you may not be good for some one else. You might want to ask your friends what they do to give you some ideas. The puzzles may conjecture some thing like taking a real hot bath, or reading a admirable textbook. Some of them may find that application is a sound way to relive some of there stress.

There are many knowledge that you may find works for you that don’t work for your amalgamate. You might examine that cleaning roost* is a positive way to get rid of stress that is okay to.

Why is stress so bad for me and why do, I need to get rid of it?

Force is something that you might want to get rid of as quickly as it masterstroke you. Why is this?

This is forasmuch as stress isn’t gratifying for you or your health. It will cause you many complexities if you don’t get rid of it as hastily as you are able to.

Some of the things it can cause are heart troubles, high blood pressure, out of control cholesterol, including can cause you to have some depression. If this happens then you, determine have to go to your family doctor and may have to take some kind of medication for it. Therefore, you are better if you can learn to control it precedently this happens. There is way to do it you totally have to have some insist power along with immovable your mind to it and do it. Relax and let go of that stress.

Joy asked:


I know the unhealthy ways, such as lashing out at people for random reasons and eating too much unhealthy food. So what are some HEALTHY ways to ease stress? Because as much as we’d all like to get rid of the SOURCE of stress in our lives, we can’t. So there must be a better way to handle it, right?

I think a zillion of you will tell me to meditate. Do you have any other thoughts as well?

Karen Cole Peralta asked:


What is Stress?

Stress may be defined as the three-way relationship between demands on people, our feelings about those demands and our ability to cope with them. Stress is most likely to occur in situations where:

1. Demands are high.

2. The amount of control we have is low.

3. There is limited support or help available for us.

Who is Affected Most by Stress?

Virtually all people experience stressful events or situations that overwhelm our natural coping mechanisms. And although some people are biologically prone to stress, many outside factors influence susceptibility as well.

Studies indicate that some people are more vulnerable to the effects of stress than others. Older adults; women in general, especially working mothers and pregnant women; less-educated people; divorced or widowed people; people experiencing financial strains such as long-term unemployment; people who are the targets of discrimination; uninsured and underinsured people; and people who simply live in cities all seem to be particularly susceptible to health-related stress problems.

People who are less emotionally stable or have high anxiety levels tend to experience certain events as more stressful than healthy people do. And the lack of an established network of family and friends predisposes us to stress-related health problems such as heart disease and infections. Caregivers, children and medical professionals are also frequently found to be at higher risk for stress-related disorders.

Job-related stress is particularly likely to be chronic because it is such a large part of life. Stress reduces a worker’s effectiveness by impairing concentration, causing sleeplessness and increasing the risk of illness, back problems, accidents and lost time. At its worst extremes, stress that places a burden on our hearts and circulation can often be fatal. The Japanese have a word for sudden death due to overwork: karoushi.

Medical Affects of Chronic Stress

The stress response of the body is like an airplane readying for take-off. Virtually all systems, such as the heart and blood vessels, the immune system, the lungs, the digestive system, the sensory organs, and the brain are modified to meet the perceived danger.

A stress-filled life really seems to raise the odds of heart disease and stroke down the road. Researchers have found that after middle-age, those who report chronic stress face a somewhat higher risk of fatal or non-fatal heart disease or stroke over the years. It is now believed that constant stress takes its toll on our arteries, causing chronically high levels of stress hormones and pushing people to maintain unhealthy habits like smoking.

Stressed-out men are twice as likely as their peers to die of a stroke. There are weaker such findings among women, which is likely due to the fairly low number of heart disease and stroke cases among women, rather than a resistance to the health effects of chronic stress. Women seem slightly more susceptible to the effects of stress than men.

Simply put, too much stress puts you at dire risk for health problems. Whether it comes from one event or the buildup of many small events, stress causes major physical alterations that often lead to health problems. Here is a list of some of these changes:

• Our heart rates increase, to move blood to our muscles and brains.

• Our blood pressures go up.

• Our breathing rates increase.

• Our digestion slows down.

• Our perspiration increases.

• We feel a rush of strength at first, but over time stress makes us feel weak.

These reactions helped our ancestors survive threats by preparing for either “fight or flight.” Today, our bodies still react the same way, but the events that cause stress do not require this ancient mechanism.

Stress can also greatly raise our risk of:

• Ulcers and digestive disorders

• Headaches

• Migraine headaches

• Backaches

• Depression

• Suicide

• High blood pressure

• Stroke

• Heart attack

• Alcohol and drug dependencies

• Allergies and skin diseases

• Cancer

• Asthma

• Depressed immune system

• More colds and infections

We have to learn ways to relieve stress, because when it goes on for very long or happens too often, it obviously can cause many serious health problems.