WELLNESS CENTER
Stress Management Program - Prevention
Stress is your mind and body's reaction to tension from daily life as well as past events and future anxieties. Stress has been widely discussed the past decade as the cause of a myriad of problems affecting physical health, mental health, relationships, careers, and quality of life for millions of people.
Stress has taken the blame for obesity, malnutrition, excessive weight loss, ulcers, heart disease, cancer, colds, fatigue, depression, anxiety, overeating, undereating, chronic pain, anger, headaches, divorce, fighting, and general lack of well being among other conditions.
It is the belief of some that stress is a normal part of life and can be minimized (but not eliminated) by lifestyle changes or a change in perspective. Others believe stress is simply an illusion; your mind creating a story around a situation that causes anxiety and hence stress.
Whatever your belief around stress, it's clear that there are some simple things you can do to reduce it or eliminate it all together. We hope you find this advice useful.
There is no prevention of the events that cause stress: it comes with every breath. What needs to be done is to become competent in the stress reaction response.
Under self regulation:
Learn the relaxation response. Five times a day take a moment to close your eyes, relax your body, and go through a 30 second drill to detach from your concerns. In other words, "You are more than your body. You are more than your feelings and emotions. You are more than your thoughts, memories, and associations. You are this Inner Wisdom that is connected to the Universal Intelligence (Higher Self, Inner Self, Soul, or whatever terms you like.) Remember, a great teacher once told this author sarcastically that your concerns will not go away, and you can return back to them in a moment...
Be busy, do, and learn. But, take time off and "smell the roses."
Enjoy your relationships at home, work, or out with friends. Many relationships are difficult and troubled; but they are your lifeblood, keep you connected, and prevent the devastation of isolation. You can always learn even from difficult people or relationships: it is your honor to learn from others.
Seek support from these relationships. Talking with a good, loving listener is the best medicine you can take.
If one has a stuck, emotional reactiveness like anger, depression, hopelessness, etc., find some decent counseling. Cognitive-behavioral counseling is very good with these things as well as professionally led, educational-support groups.
A regular fitness program in many studies is equivalent to taking anti-depressants and anti-anxiety pills. Healthy exercise is (ideally) 30 minutes, twice a day before breakfast and dinner, 5 days a week of mixed activity. It need not be a boring machine at the gym. Walking, running, swimming, gardening, landscaping, shoveling, chopping wood, sports, hiking, yoga, climbing, and anything that gets your heart up counts as exercise. In fact, if you can get your exercise outdoors it's all the more therapeutic and effective in relieving stress. Find something you like doing or it's not easy to sustain daily exercise.
Read a lot, explore, seek, and listen to videos and tapes, and so forth; but always remember no one, no matter how exalted or glamorous, is a better expert of your life than you and your own Inner Wisdom.
Good Medical Nutrition: Wellness.com will be starting a section on this soon.
Avoid harmful substances in attempt to relax. Drinking, drugs, smoking, pills, oversleeping, and overeating may seem like they relieve your stress, but they simply prolong the time when you learn to relax without the need of chemicals. Cut them out of your life immediately or at least take measures to minimize them.