Happy and relaxed Around People

Stress Relief Techniques
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Friday, 27 April 2007

Is stress taking over your life? Do you wish you could just relax and not feel so much tension all the time? There are ways to reduce your stress using some very simple techniques.

Stress affects everyone, but for some people it can really become extreme. Stress occurs any time something in our life changes and we have to adjust. Positively, stress can induce action and give us a new perspective. However, stress can also cause feelings of anger, depression, rejection and distrust if it becomes bad. Stress can even lead to health problems such as stomach aches, headaches, rashes, insomnia, heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke in extreme cases.

Some common signs of excessive stress include regularly doing things in a rushed way, regularly worrying and thinking about past or future events, frequent tension and tiredness of the body and feeling "on edge".

We all need a certain amount of stress to have an enriching life so your goal should not be to eliminate all stress but to get it to a manageable level. Insufficient stress actually causes depression and boredom.

The first step to reduce your stress is to pay attention to it. Don't ignore your stress and pretend it isn't there. Try and determine what causes your stress and how your body specifically responds to it. After you have determined what causes the stress, decide if you can avoid the cause or eliminate it. Try and reduce your exposure to stress as much as possible.

If you can't avoid the causes of your stress, try to reduce your emotional and physical reactions to it. Stress is caused by your perception of a situation. If you perceive something to be physically or emotionally dangerous, you will become stressed. When you are stressed, take a look at the situation and see if you are overreacting and viewing things as absolutely urgent and critical. Try to view stress as something that you can control rather than something that is controlling you. When you feel stressed, take slow and deep breaths and just try to relax.

There are also things you can do daily to manage your stress. Do something that is fun at least once a day. Avoid holding your feelings in every day; try to find a way to feel and express them. Take breaks during your workday to help you to relax. Go outside and take notice of the simple things, such as the sky, trees, flowers and weather. Do everything at a relaxed pace, don't rush. After you eat, just sit for a minute and relax. Try to do all of this every day.

Keeping your body healthy is another step to relieve stress. You should exercise three to four times a week, eat nutritious healthy meals, avoid smoking and caffeine and maintain a healthy weight.

Having people to support you will also really help. It is much easier if you have the love and support of friends and family. Try to spend time with positive, happy people. If you are around people that don't have a positive attitude, if can really bring you down.

posted by ezimind @ 11:44 am 0 comments

Top 10 Secrets for Being HAPPY!
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Friday, 5 January 2007

One of my favorite songs is Bobby McFerrin’s refrain, "Don’t Worry, Be Happy". I recently had the opportunity to observe people’s reactions when a highway was closed because of an accident ahead. As we waited, I watched as some listened to radios, a few began tossing a Frisbee, other’s seemed to be working or reading, and some opted for a quick nap. But, there were also a handful who were clearly agitated and angry. Pacing about, swearing, and upset, they decided that the best response to this event, which none of us could control, was to be very unhappy. I was reminded of Abraham Lincoln’s comment that, "Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." The following are my Top 10 Tips to increase happiness in your life:

1. Decide to be a happy person. As Lincoln observed, most people, most of the time, can choose how stressed or happy, how troubled or relaxed they want to be. Choose to be happy.

2. Watch and Read less news. As a recovering news addict, I know this can be difficult because the stock market fluctuates, politicians politic, and sports teams compete. But, most of the time, you don’t need the stress. So, just don’t watch. I think it was Henry Thoreau who noted that if you’ve ever read about a train wreck, you understand the principle and don’t need to know any more about it.

3. Practice the Attitude of Gratitude. We all have so much to be grateful for. Just thanking the many people who assist us, encourage us, teach us and open doors for us could take all day!

4. Take Time. My dog has taught me much about loyalty, about noticing the sights, sounds, and smells in the yard, about being relaxed and about play. Eat when you’re hungry, nap when you need it. Get your ears scratched whenever possible!

5. Laugh everyday. Hear a joke, tell a joke, laugh at yourself, laugh with your friends and family and co-workers. There are very few medicines as powerful as laughter, and I don’t think you can over-dose, although it is addicting!

6. Love well. Express your affection, appreciation, friendship and warmth to those around you, and they will almost always respond in the most amazing ways! Be generous…it pays great dividends!

7. Work hard. This one comes as a bit of a surprise, but there is tremendous satisfaction in being competent, and joy in completing our assigned tasks. One of the great sources of happiness is to do work that is worthy of you, and to do it well.

8. Learn something new, everyday. To be happy, most of us must also be growing, expanding, learning and challenging ourselves. Read, listen, adapt and stretch to accommodate new ideas and new information.

9. Use your body as it was designed. Walk and run, stretch, throw things, and lift things. Dance! Exercise is good, but so is making love, mixing up a batch of cookies, or exchanging backrubs. You have a body and it can be either a source of joy, or a source of aches and pains. Your choice.

10: Avoid toxins. I prefer writing positives (things to do) rather than negatives (things to fear), but reality says there are negative people and there are bad chemicals, stressful noises, and unsafe places. Don’t go there! Avoid poisons whenever possible. It seems to work out better that way.

posted by ezimind @ 11:41 am 0 comments