Best Ways to Reduce Stress
Jay Lillie
August 10, 2009
Here are my three top tips for how to reduce stress when "positive" approaches like meditation, breathing or relaxation are out of the question.
1. The 3% rule. Remember that you only need to enjoy life 3% of the time. Take the pressure off yourself to be more positive. Struggling is part of life. A big part. Relax into it.
2. Count the Minutes. Counteract the helplessness that accompanies stress by marking time, whether it is counting seconds in your head through a tough interaction, or marking hours or days off your calendar through a more trying time. Time progresses forward with every breath we take. Better times will come.
3. The Negative Mantra. Stressful situations and people generate negative feelings, and nobody likes to feel mean and negative. Counteract this stressful conflict with a negative mantra repeated over and over that confirms and strengthens your feelings, like "this is so awful, this is so awful" or "she's so awful, she's so awful."
Claudia Luiz, Ed.M., Cert. Psya.
Think mind, body, spirit, environment.
Mind-- give yourself a break, eliminate the words "should" and "shame.". Feed yourself only positive thoughts and think of stress as a motivation for useful behaviors. Relaxation tapes and meditation lower blood pressure.
Body-- Move that body! Get outside and walk or keep weights in the office and pump a little iron to destresss.
Spirit-- have a larger world view. Get in touch with your religious beliefs! Talk to a spiritual leader. Keep in mind the big picture and where the daily stressors of life fit.
Environment-- keep it free from negative people and places. If friends create stress, talk about it or limit contact. If you are unhappy with your physical environment, try to improve it with decluttering, cleaning and fresh air. Clutter in the home or office create stress.
Be your own counselor and when you have some negative stressors then ask yourself: "what would I tell my best friend."
Carolyn Kelley North, LCSW
Top stress reducing activities one can find immediately benefit from would include: 1. Getting regular exercise. While this might seem so intuitive, it is often overlooked by so many people. Unless you have a medical condition that prohibits exercise or your doctor says "no", getting exercise has almost instant stress relieving properties. My favorite kind of exercise is anything that is fun! Just make sure its 30 minutes or longer and cardiovascular. The second tip is sleep. Sounds easy right? Not really. Lack of sleep causes irritability and a decrease tolerance to stressors. Most adults need about 7-8 hours a night. Last tip is watching what you eat. Most Americans drink way to much caffeine for example. Caffeine is like adding fuel to the fire when we are trying to reduce stress. It mimics the stress response in the body and reduces our ability to tolerate normal situations. By watching our caffeine intake we can greatly reduce the physical and psychological symptoms of stress.
Ari Novick, Ph.D.
1. The 3% rule. Remember that you only need to enjoy life 3% of the time. Take the pressure off yourself to be more positive. Struggling is part of life. A big part. Relax into it.
2. Count the Minutes. Counteract the helplessness that accompanies stress by marking time, whether it is counting seconds in your head through a tough interaction, or marking hours or days off your calendar through a more trying time. Time progresses forward with every breath we take. Better times will come.
3. The Negative Mantra. Stressful situations and people generate negative feelings, and nobody likes to feel mean and negative. Counteract this stressful conflict with a negative mantra repeated over and over that confirms and strengthens your feelings, like "this is so awful, this is so awful" or "she's so awful, she's so awful."
Claudia Luiz, Ed.M., Cert. Psya.
Think mind, body, spirit, environment.
Mind-- give yourself a break, eliminate the words "should" and "shame.". Feed yourself only positive thoughts and think of stress as a motivation for useful behaviors. Relaxation tapes and meditation lower blood pressure.
Body-- Move that body! Get outside and walk or keep weights in the office and pump a little iron to destresss.
Spirit-- have a larger world view. Get in touch with your religious beliefs! Talk to a spiritual leader. Keep in mind the big picture and where the daily stressors of life fit.
Environment-- keep it free from negative people and places. If friends create stress, talk about it or limit contact. If you are unhappy with your physical environment, try to improve it with decluttering, cleaning and fresh air. Clutter in the home or office create stress.
Be your own counselor and when you have some negative stressors then ask yourself: "what would I tell my best friend."
Carolyn Kelley North, LCSW
Top stress reducing activities one can find immediately benefit from would include: 1. Getting regular exercise. While this might seem so intuitive, it is often overlooked by so many people. Unless you have a medical condition that prohibits exercise or your doctor says "no", getting exercise has almost instant stress relieving properties. My favorite kind of exercise is anything that is fun! Just make sure its 30 minutes or longer and cardiovascular. The second tip is sleep. Sounds easy right? Not really. Lack of sleep causes irritability and a decrease tolerance to stressors. Most adults need about 7-8 hours a night. Last tip is watching what you eat. Most Americans drink way to much caffeine for example. Caffeine is like adding fuel to the fire when we are trying to reduce stress. It mimics the stress response in the body and reduces our ability to tolerate normal situations. By watching our caffeine intake we can greatly reduce the physical and psychological symptoms of stress.
Ari Novick, Ph.D.
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