Preventing stress

There are several things that can be done to prevent stress. The essential is to limit the number of things you feel you need to do or take care of. To give time to yourself and your own relaxation in spite of duties hanging over your head.

• Get your life organized so your ambitions are realistic.
• Organize your economy.
• Have fun when you take time off.
• Exercise.
• Do meditation or yoga.
• Proper rest and sleep.
• Ask for help and use your social network.
• Know the symptoms of stress and react when you notice them.
• Don’t let minor things stress you.
• Focus on the positive and stop all negative thinking.

Don’t take on more projects than you can realistic cope with and manage. Make a plan and prioritize which projects are the most important and leave the less important ones for later. Deal only with one project at a time and don’t try to do everything at once.

Money can be a major emotional stress factor. By having your economy organized and making sure that there’s savings and not too tight a budget, you can avoid a lot of stress.

Taking time off is taking time off. Don’t spend the time you’ve scheduled as free time doing other chores and duties. When you have free time, make sure you’re doing things that are fun and relaxing. Planning to have leisure time is important and stick to that planning. This is when you’ve scheduled yourself to relax. Relaxing and having fun is just as important as work and projects.

Physical exercise is a great stress-reliever. By working your body you tire it, so you can get a proper deep rest and sleep. The brain can let go of the stresses and reconstitute itself and charge for the next day. There are many health benefits to exercising. Physical work-out has a positive effect on many stress related problems. Exercise also allows for the brain to relax while you’re exercising and the physical strain releases hormones that makes you feel good.

Meditation and yoga are good means to help the brain relax, as well as the body. They are structured exercises which can be a lot easier to follow than tryin on your own. They are aimed towards relaxing and strengthening the mind and body.

Sleep and complete relaxation are essential to managing stress. While we sleep our mind and body heals itself from the strains of the day. It is during sleep that babies grow, it is during sleep we deal with the impressions and problems we have faced during the day. When your sleep is sound your body completely relaxesand can let go of tensions that have built due to stress. Lack of sleep can cause depressions and lowers your immune system.

Asking your social network for help can help you manage your stress. Nobody says you have to do everything on your own. Friends and family are here to help and support you. In most cases they’ll be more than happy to give a hand when it’s needed, just like you wouldn’t hesitate to help them if they’re in need. Delegate your workload and accept that others might not be able to do it as well as you can do it. If you’re too stressed while doing things, you can’t do them as well as you want anyway.

If you know the symptoms of stress you can catch it before it becomes a real problem. Preventing stress is much better than healing stress. Learn what warning signals your body and mind sends you and act on them instantly. You can use your sleep as an early indicator if stress is affecting you. When you notice the signs, pause and stop up. Give yourself that treat, drop that chore, sleep in that morning to prevent stress becoming a problem.

Decide what is important to you and what is unimportant. By letting go of small things and not allowing them to stress, you can lift a considerable burden from your shoulders. Try looking at your own life and notice how many minor things that annoy you. Prioritize and decide what is important to you and what doesn’t really matter. Is it that important to have the windows washed every week? Does it really matter if the person in the queue before you is in a bad mood? Does it really matter that the neighbour’s dog is barking?

Positive thinking can change the world. By focusing on the positive things in our life we affirm ourselves and learn to value what we achieve and are capable of. Negative thinking is a downward spiral and will become self-enforcing. By focusing on the positive we empower and strengthen ourselves, it makes our mood better and fights depression.

Train yourself in focusing on the positive and stop all negative thoughts as they appear. Turn the negative thoughts around to positive. Teach yourself to see the positive in any situation and push the negative away. Do not allow yourself to dwell in negative thought patters but recognize them as a destructive behaviour that will not change your situation or reduce your stress. Negative thoughts also stops you from acting and giving your best effort. Positive thoughts makes heavy burdens lighter.

Source: http://www.netdoktor.dk