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Deal with Stress During the Holidays

donnam — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 12:09:15 +0000

It is that time of year again; that whirlwind of gift-giving holidays, marketing blitzes, holiday parties and activities galore that begins right after Halloween, builds to Thanksgiving, and continues gaining momentum through the end of the year. For many this is the most favorite time of the year, but for others it is filled with pressure and stress. My strategy for dealing with stress during the holidays is simple, “do less and be more”.

FAMILY STRESS
The holiday season is also a time when many of us spend time with family members that we may only see once or twice a year. Seeing people that may emotionally charge us is one of the biggest holiday stressors. Before seeing those individuals that cause you stress, take time to do some deep meditative breathing. Think about the situations that may arise and bring you stress, contemplate what you may do differently in this situation instead of your typical reaction to this stressful person. While breathing think about what it is that you are thankful for. By finding something to be grateful for it crowds out other feelings of resentment and annoyance. Another option is to reduce time spent with certain family members if you find it too uncomfortable. Give yourself permission to strongly consider this.

LESS IS MORE
When we over-do we spread ourselves too thin and we are left feeling frazzled. It is easy during this time of year to fill up your schedule with every holiday party that you are invited to. Commit to less events and the truly enjoy the people at the ones you attend. Being with friends, family and co-workers at this time of year is what the season is all about anyways.

HOLIDAY SPENDING
With the marketing promotions out there it is hard to resist spending and buying. There is no reason to finance your holidays for the next six months, which will inevitably cause more stress down the road. Be reasonable with holiday spending. You can also tell your children/family members that you are setting a limit on spending for each because that is the responsible thing to do. You can ask them what type of gift(s) they would like within your holiday budget. This also gives them choices. Keep in mind that you are demonstrating financial responsibility and boundaries to others and avoiding later debt and stress.

GIVING TO THOSE IN NEED
Please remember the ones who are truly in need of holiday cheer this time of year; don’t forget to donate to local charities. If you feel moved to help feed the hungry in metro Detroit, Gleaners Food Bank, a wonderful organization allows for online donations. http://www.gcfb.org There are many hungry people that will not have the spread of holiday foods we may take for granted.

Above all, this holiday season to take time to be present to all of the wonderful people in your life; time passes by much too quickly. Enjoy the time that you do have with those in your life that bring you joy.

Blessings to you and your families,

Donna Marie

Do You Use Avoidance as a Strategy to Deal with Stress in Your Life?

donnam — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 19:23:27 +0000

Avoiding situations won’t deal with stress. In fact, avoidance may actually escalate your stress. Have you been guilty of this? Everyone has come into contact with a situation that causes stress, fear and anxiety. As a culture, we have a fight or flight response to many stress filled situations, with many people more easily making the choice of flight. This means that many people are choosing to avoid stressful events or situations entirely, rather than deal directly with the source of their stress or fear.

While in the short term, this seems like an easy fix, in actuality it can cause much more harm than good. By choosing to skip out on any event that may cause you undue stress, you will not be able to effectively learn tools and coping skills. There are many things you can do yourself to help you prepare to deal with stress in advance.

One effective tool is planning ahead. Envision the stressful situation in your mind. Maybe it is a situation at work, such as a meeting where you always feel put on the spot. Now break down the event into steps. Visualize in your mind a successful meeting. Visualize being calm, centered and in control during the whole meeting. Imagine successfully answering any questions posed to you, easily and calmly. The more you can picture yourself succeeding, the more you will be able to meet any challenge thrown your way.

Also, take time to connect with yourself before every stressful situation so that you do not feel like you need to run away from a challenge or stress. Take time to do deep breathing, relaxation or meditation, or take time to thank the universe for the multiple blessings in your life. Many people also practice affirmations. Repeating positive thoughts over and over to yourself will allow you to prep yourself to deal with stress and stressful situations as they arise.

Once you have spent time envisioning a challenging situation going smoothly, preparing internally for the challenges that may lie ahead, and practicing positive self talk and affirmations, you will be prepared and ready meet any challenging situation that may come your way. Deal with stress in this way and you will find that difficult situations can become easier, and you will be able to meet your challenges head on.

Take an Inventory to Successfully Deal with Stress

donnam — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 18:04:06 +0000

Everyone everywhere has fears and stressors that can influence their daily lives to a greater or lesser scale. Many people do not deal with stress that has entered their lives. Stress can pop up in your life in a multitude of ways. Stressors ignored can build beyond the point of manageability. Understanding where your stress is coming from will help you reduce the pressure.

Stress can come from your family, from your kids, from work responsibilities, or from added activities that you place on your own shoulders. Some stress is internal, and can be controlled by daily practices such as meditation, rest, journaling or active communication. Other stress comes from external sources and needs to be dealt with by figuring out active strategies to prevent these added sources of stress from overtaking your life.

Yes, as we see, stress is a part of everyone’s life and cannot be avoided entirely, but by making a few simple choices, you can easily reduce the level of stress in your life and deal with stress once and for all.

Start by doing an inventory of all the added stressors in your life. Try to pinpoint where your own personal stress is coming from. Once you have made your list, begin to target each stressor one by one, to actively find a way to remove it from your life or to find an way to deal with stress specifically.

Do you have to take too many stressful phone calls throughout the day? If so, designate a specific time of day where you will return all your calls, and allow yourself to remain focused at work.

Does your partner or spouse pick fights at home? Schedule some time to sit down and communicate your issues once a week, allowing the rest of the week to be stress free!

Make a list of things that bring joy into your life. Is it taking walks, relaxing with friends, catching up on reading? The more positive energy you bring into your life, the more your stress level will decrease.

Use Mindfulness Meditation to Deal with the Stress of Job Uncertainty

donnam — Tue, 18 May 2010 15:06:54 +0000

In this challenging economy, many people are dealing with constant stress at work. As more and more jobs begin to cut positions that are non-essential, the careers of many hard working people hang in the balance. You may be convinced that your job is not secure. You might be worried about the added pressure of remaining at the top of the pack. A job environment such as this one can breed stress and frustration.

It is hard to remain calm and productive in a work situation where your job hangs on the line. Situations like these are extreme examples of stress at work, but an example that more and more people are encountering every day.

Almost everyone sees situations where they are dealing with stress at work. When in one of these situations you have choices. You can choose to allow the stress to take over your life- cause you physical and emotional stress, and perhaps decrease job performance; or you can choose to deal with stress in positive, uplifting ways.

Do not feel, even in a climate of threatened layoffs, that your attitude needs to be a negative one. The more positive you are, the more positivity you will attract. One great way to deal with these added burdens at work is to practice Mindfulness Meditation. Mindfulness Meditation encourages you to begin and end your day, every day, by taking a few minutes to express what you are grateful for.

Our lives are sometimes so quick and busy, with pressures and stresses coming at us from every angle. It is a wonderful idea to stop, breathe, and be grateful for all the blessings that we encounter in our lives every day!

Try to start with the basics. Be thankful that you have a job, be thankful for friends or family, and be thankful for your health. You’ll find that once you begin a Mindful Meditation, the list can go on and on! Keeping yourself aware of all the positives can help you enter each and every day with a more uplifting attitude about your life, which can translate into your job.

It is important to remember that all you are in control of is yourself. Dealing with stress at work, step by step, and being as productive and positive as you can, will hopefully secure your job position and reduce your stress level for years to come. Choose to practice Mindfulness Meditation, and see how beginning and ending your day with a moment of gratefulness can enrich your life monumentally, and decrease your stress level along the way!

Can’t Focus? Mindfulness Meditation will Deal with Stress at Work

donnam — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:00:12 +0000

Finding that you can’t focus while you are at work? Is the stress of the daily grind taxing you in ways that you are having trouble dealing with?

Tons of people around the world find their jobs to be a source of tension in their lives. Whether it is a boss that constantly judges or critiques, co- workers who meddle or argue during work, a stressful project with a tight deadline, or too many things to do all at once, stress at work is a common phenomenon. What should you do about it? Here are some great tips on how to deal with stress at work.

If you can focus on these simple steps, your work stress will quickly and easily be able to be lowered to a manageable level . The first step to dealing with stress at work is called Mindfulness Meditation.

The concept of mindfulness meditation is that many people spend too much time in their daily work environments complaining about what Cialis online is wrong or bad about their jobs, but very little time feeling thankful about the work that is in their lives.

These people (and you may be one of them) tend to see the work environment glass as constantly half empty instead of half full. Ring a bell? Mindfulness Meditation tells you to first express gratitude before complaining.

For example: Yes, the boss might be on your back about this big project, but, you are enormously thankful for being given the responsibility to tackle the project in the first place. Making the oh so important time needed to express gratitude, and practice Mindfulness Meditation regularly, will make the problem itself seem less insurmountable.

Another a good way to deal with stress in the workplace is to eliminate judgments. Do not judge anyone in your working environment negatively. Once you pick up this practice, you will find how quickly you can begin seeing the glass as half full again.

A positive way to help yourself is to allow yourself to say “No,” once and a while. In this fast paced world, we all may find ourselves taking on responsibility after responsibility, without really ever stopping. Sometimes you have to allow yourself to say no. It is possible to do so in a graceful, positive way, to help the other person understand why you are turning them down. Letting the word ‘No” into your daily life will allow you to give yourself a break every once and a while. Then you can focus on doing your work 100 percent, without additional work piling up on the back burner.

Learning how to practice Mindfulness Meditation, keeping a positive attitude while at work, and letting yourself say no sometimes, are three spot on strategies to employ when dealing with stress at work.

Help Your Body Deal with Stress Too

donnam — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 00:07:58 +0000

Its that time of year again when stress has slowly begun to creep into many people’s lives. While stress can sometimes be a good thing, and can push you to get many things done in an enjoyable way, there are many hidden negative stressors that can affect your life on a day to day basis.

It is important to begin to work on dealing with stress early on, so that you can limit your stress, and thereby enrich your life. Here are a few simple ways that you can deal with your stress!

To begin with, you need to nourish your body. Choosing to eat healthy foods, fruits, vegetables, whole grains and drink lots of water. Choosing healthy foods are one way that you can help your body deal with stress. Consuming foods or drinks high in sugar or processed materials puts extra pressure on your body, making it hard for you to deal with the daily hurdles in life. Take care of your body, and it will take care of you!

The next step on your low stress journey is to let go of things happening in and around you that are outside of your control. Many people spend hours every day worried or anxious about decisions others are making that may or may not have any affect on them. Essentially, these are worries about things that are completely out of your control.

Choose to let go of these worries and insecurities, and trust that the universe has a master plan for you. This can be comforting. Knowing that we will discover this path on our journey through life can be a wonderful way to deal with stress, and an ideal way to go into each day with a positive outlook on life.

The next part of your life to analyze is how you are spending your time. Are you surrounding yourself with activities and a job that gives you pleasure? Do you enjoy your social life? If so, wonderful. For many, however, they find that the added tension in their workplace or social life can be the last straw!

If your job is holding you back, then work towards finding another one that excites you. Take up a hobby, explore an old passion. Join a new club or group about a topic you always wanted to learn about. All of these things will allow the tension in your life to melt away.

So, to recap. Nourish your body both in and out. Let go of things that are outside of your control. Find exciting new activities to supplement your life, and remove old ones that might be bringing you down. Step by step, you too can deal with stress in your life.

Five Important Ways to Deal with Stress in the New Year

donnam — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 17:30:12 +0000

Are you feeling like stress has taken over your life? Do you have too much on your plate or too many tasks that need completing? Does it sometimes seem a bit overwhelming? Relax! There are many easy and simple ways to deal with stress.

Here are five ways you can banish overwhelming stress from your life! The first thing you need to do is take a look at your surroundings. Many people find that they have unknowingly surrounded themselves with people or things that bring added stress to their lives without even knowing it!

If you have a friend whose life problems are always bringing you down, or a family member that places too many burdens on you on a regular basis, your first action may be to limit your interactions with them. Instead choose to surround yourself with other people who bring positive energy to the table!

Next, remember to be mindful at all times. Take some time every day to check in with yourself about the great things that are going to happen during the upcoming day and to be thankful for the blessings you do have in your life. In such a fast paced world it’s easy to focus on things that might weigh on us or bring us down. It is sometimes an after thought to focus on the things that may bring us up.

Your next challenge while dealing with stress is to stop your judgment of others (and yourself.) By judging other people we simply bring harsh words and negativity into our environment, which does not do any good for anyone!

Next up is a tough one for many. It is important to learn how to say no. For the “people-pleasers” out there, this is one written especially for you. When you are in a situation where someone is trying to have you take on more then you believe you can handle – summon up your courage and say “no” to them. You’ll find that this becomes easier the more you practice this skill. Many people will respect you more if you graciously decline to take something on, rather than taking on more than you can chew at the present moment.

The last item on the short list of how to deal with stress, is to make sure to have a time and a space just for you. Find a comfy chair or a sunlit porch or a park where you can relax. Take the time to breathe and allow your body to relax. Many people practice meditation, listen to music that relaxes them, or practice deep breathing for 20 minutes at a time.

Once you begin taking some time for yourself every day, you will find a reduction in your stress levels almost immediately! If you begin these daily steps to deal with stress, you will find yourself on your way to a better, more relaxing daily life.

Four Simple Ideas to Deal with Stress Right Now

donnam — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 01:49:41 +0000

Are you a person that must deal with stress on a daily basis? Is life bringing you more downs then ups? Are you finding that you are more and more stressed out in your day to day life? If this describes you to a “T”, don’t worry! There are many all natural ways to deal with stress in your life. All you need to focus on are a few simple steps, and you will soon be on your way to a calmer, more productive life!

One of the most important things to think about when combating stress regularly is your breathing. When many folks get stressed out or frustrated they forget to breathe, or may begin breathing too shallowly. When either of these things happens, it contributes to your feeling of pressure or anxiety! In order to combat this symptom, you need to remember to breathe. Sounds simple, but for some, it takes a bit of effort.

Did you know that deep breathing, in addition to relaxing you, will also bring many additional help benefits into your life? Your deep breathing in stressful situations will help increase your brain activity and functionality, reduce the feelings of pressure, help you relax so you can think out your situation as clearly as possible and in general enhance your mental well being. How can you garner all these benefits?

When you are in a situation that demands a lot of you, and you can feel yourself breathing shallowly, make a concerted effort to take just a few deep breaths. Try to breathe deeply into your abdomen and slowly release the air. You may be shocked to find out that this simple “treatment” can help you deal with stress extremely effectively!

There is another very simple way for you to reduce stress in your life! Try to find a few situations in which you can pause for a moment to give thanks for something in your life. In our fast paced lives we may not regularly pause to give thanks for any of the things we have in our lives. Giving thanks reminds us that we are lucky to have what we do, even when stress seems to be infiltrating our lives.

Additionally, you can take the time to be kind to others. Go out of your way to help someone, spend some time volunteering or helping out a charity. Doing something selfless will allow you some time away from your own personal stressors.

Finally, make some time to laugh. Laughter, as they say, is the best medicine, especially when it comes to dealing with stress! Find a TV show that amuses you, have a conversation with a friend that makes you laugh, and you will find that the simple route to deal with stress in your life starts as simply as one step at a time!

Deal with Stress with Mindfulness Meditation

donnam — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 19:15:27 +0000

Many of us lead such fast paced lives, and we are often under constant pressure and stress. There are many proven ways to deal with stress. I have found five steps that work extremely well to reduce suffering from excessive stress. One of the most important, tried and true techniques to reduce stress is the practice of mindfulness and visualization.

There is much scientific research that proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that your physical health is greatly affected by your mental and emotional state. When one is out of balance, the others will follow.

Mindfulness meditation and visualization is a strategy to deal with stress that helps our body relax by centering ourselves, and giving each individual a sense of calm. People that practice this mindful meditation are able to leave the stress of the outside world, and focus just on the exact moment at hand.

Adding Visualization into the mix means that you can take a stressful event apart piece by piece and visualize yourself completing the event or getting through the stressful experience.

Ever heard the old adage, practice makes perfect? With mindful meditation, you too can deal with stress by relaxing and focusing your mind and visualizing how a situation will play itself out.

Most people’s minds are running like freight trains, 100 miles per hour, it is no wonder that it becomes difficult for anyone to really truly relax. Mindfulness meditation and visualization is a great way to
focus your mind onto what is really important, and get yourself through any stressful events that may arise. Finding a way to relax is essential to long term health benefits in the future.

Meditation has long been looked at as a great way to deal with the stress that effects you in your day to day life. Your mind and body are able to be calmed down during meditation.

People that practice these techniques with regularity have touted many benefits including new, positive life changes, a general calm feeling, and the ability to attract good and positive energy into their daily lives.

Mindful meditation is the key to being able to deal with stress, focus our minds and relax our bodies. It is a great addition to anyone’s schedule, and can help us relax more fully throughout our day. It also easily integrates your physical body, emotional moods and mental thoughts.

Deal with Stress Today – A STRESS Tip You Can Use NOW!

Deal with Stress Today – A STRESS Tip You Can Use NOW!

donnam — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 03:12:56 +0000

Did you know that you can deal with stress right now with the simple act of breathing deeply. You can reduce the intensity of stress you are feeling by BREATHING deeply right NOW? Take a moment . . . and breathe deeply several times.

Try it Now – Here’s How!

DO IT THIS WAY: As you breathe in, breathe down very deeply as if you are by-passing your lungs and breathing into the pit of your abdomen. Think of this as breathing deep into your tail bone then breathe out slowly. This will help you to become aware to breathe deeper than usual.

We tend to hold in stressful feelings with the shallow breathing. Think about when you are in traffic and someone cuts in front of you. Do you step on the brake, gasp, and hold that experience in that breath? Feel some fear? Most do.

So in other words, when we are startled we breathe in the stressful experience. We do not know that we can deal with stress and breathe it out too. As we hold in many emotions we actually hold them in with our breath. Over time this contributes to very shallow and ineffective breathing. We unintentionally create a container of stress within our bodies.

So do this throughout the day . . . Take several deep breaths as you feel stressed … Take several deep breaths as you think of someone or a situation that is uncomfortable.

Deep breathing has become one of the most effective means to deal with stress and move towards a peaceful existence. Give it a try. Try not to underestimate something simple that can work. There is nothing to lose.

If you care to, let me know your experience. Please leave your comment below.

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