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.

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 Today » Stressful Situations

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

Four Simple Ideas to Deal with Stress Right Now