Coping with Stress

Coping with Stress

In our lives today, the only constant is CHANGE!!!
We change jobs, move frequently, hurry all day and seem to accomplish little.
We have to juggle job, family, social obligations and nurture relationships.
The good and the bad of all of these activities leads to Stress.

During periods of physical or emotional stress a normal person will experience temporary
tension in muscle tone, level of alertness, and reflexes impairing the ability to act quickly.
All these symptoms will gradually fade once the situation has been resolved.

However, if a person is exposed to stress or pressure for extended periods, physical symptoms will
set in (headaches, stomach aches, back pains, binging, nausea, vomiting, insomnia etc.).
Other manifestations of stress are: irritability, anger, fear, frustration, boredom, anxiety and depression.
On the job: You lose your concentration, forget things, and start to get disorganized.

How to handle rising tension?

Some suggestions that work are:
– Soak for 15 minutes in a hot bath a few degrees warmer than your body temperature

– Squeeze a tennis ball in your hand because “squeezing something provides a release that satisfices the body’s
‘fight or flight’ response”

– Breath slowly and deeply from the abdomen to supply the body with enough oxygen. As you exhale, let your jaw, tongue and
shoulders go limp

– Exercise. Use your muscles strenuously, and when the exercise is over, they will relax voluntarily. Also, exercise
burns off stress-related chemicals.

– Laugh! Laughter changes the brain chemistry and puts you into an altered state. It works physically and emotional.
So…. sit down to a funny show, a comic book or seek out friends with a sense of humor

– Once or twice a day sit quietly for 15-20 minutes without outside disturbances, eyes closed, drift into a pleasant thought.
Recreate and re-live a peaceful moment in your mind.

– Back down from that activity! Look at your life. Are you biting off more than yo can chew? Decide what gives you the most
satisfaction, do more of it and cut the irritants out.