How Stress Occurs And How To Deal With It

A certain amount of stress is good for us if it is helpful stress that spurs us on and helps us work better, perform better and generally get as much out of life as we can.

But if your stress levels increase to the point where your body and mind cannot cope, then it is working against you, and this is not good.

Part of becoming stressed or feeling anxious has to do with how we cope with certain situations in life. If you see a problem and get upset, this will cause you to feel defeated which in turn will produce a feeling of stress. But if you challenge the problem head-on you are more likely to cope with it and not feel any stress.

When you come home from work after a long day and feel tired, this is a good kind of tired because it helps you to enjoy your rest and relaxation. But if you come home feeling stressed instead of tired you may soon find yourself feeling constantly grumpy, lethargic, irritable, fatigued, jumpy or depressed. Does this sound like you?

Stress encourages cellulite because when you feel stressed you forget to breathe properly and your short breathes don’t allow enough oxygen into your body. Without a good amount of oxygen, your body cannot eliminate waste properly which affects your digestive system and causes constipation or diarrhoea and – cellulite.

Stress also affects your sleep and without proper sleep your body cannot rest and repair itself.

There are many factors which can cause stress, either on their own or as a combination of several. Stress can originate from:

~ Problems at work
~ Too many deadlines
~ Running a household
~ Travelling
~ Money worries
~ Relationship problems
~ Illness
~ Family problems
~ Noise

If you cannot change the things in life that are causing you stress, then you should try to implement some stress management techniques into your life.

You can start by taking some time-out every day to work on stress reduction.

Here are a few simple steps to get you started:

Breathe deeply. Take some personal time (10 minutes will do) to sit and do nothing but breathe. Sit comfortably on your most comfortable chair, close your eyes and concentrate on your breathing. Breathe in and out as slowly as you can. Don’t let your mind wander. If you feel your thoughts getting away from you, bring them back by concentrating on your breathing. Breathe slowly and deeply and you’ll be surprised how relaxed and refreshed you’ll feel after only a few minutes.

Take a long warm bath in a quiet relaxing room. Just lay back in the warm water and let it soothe you. If your “inner chatter box” won’t let you lay in peace, just concentrate on your slow deep breathes. Whenever you mind tries to wander, bring it back to your breathing. You could even add some essential oils to the water (lavender is calming) to make your bathroom experience complete.

Do some vigorous exercise. Go for a swim, play squash, take an aerobics class or go for a run. Exercise is good for stress and relieving tension and can also chase away mild depression.

Do some gardening. It’s good to work in the garden and put your hands directly on the earth. The soil has many nutrients and our skin can soak them up. In the concrete jungles that most of us live in, it’s rare that we ever actually put our skin on the earth. Gardening can be a soothing past time and you can also create a beautiful Eden at the same time or grow some delicious vegetables.

Getting enough sleep is also important for reducing stress. Not only do you need to sleep for enough hours every night, but also ensure you get the correct type of sleep. It’s no good making sure you get 8 hours sleep every night if that 8 hours is spent fitfully tossing and turning. You are better off having 4 hours of quality sleep then 8 hours of poor quality sleep.

So when you go to bed at night, lay flat on your back with your arms by your side. Try to think of nothing but your breathing as you take slow deep breaths to slow your racing heart beat. Then picture your toes in you mind and think to yourself “Relax toes, relax.” Then picture your feet and think “Relax feet, relax.”

Work your way up your body and really feel the different parts of you unwinding and relaxing. After your feet work on your calves, knees, thighs, bottom, hips, stomach, chest, arms, hands, shoulders, neck and finally your head.

By the time you’ve finished you should feel your body sinking deeply into your mattress and your breathing should have slowed down and deepened, allowing you to fall blissfully into sleep.

To really help you unwind even more you could try using relaxation audios, or massage, or how about a relaxation holiday. Just get away from it all to somewhere warm and quiet.

Now wouldn’t that be nice?