Don't Let Stress Control You

Stress especially chronic stress and highly stressful jobs can easily begin to control you - constricting you and wearing down every part of your being. Stress can also affect your relationship with others unless you can learn how to control it and keep it to a minimum. Learn these 12 stress kickin' habits so you can stay in control.

The good news is, most of the damage done by stress can be reversed. If you experience chronic, long term stress, your very life will depend on what you choose to do. It's going to take daily effort on your part, but you don't have any other option if you don't want to suffer thru life. If it's impossible to reduce the stress - you may need to get outside help like counseling, or leave the stressful situation entirely. Ready? Let's do this together.

Top Causes of Stress

The top causes of stress are: job or job loss, relationships, marriage, divorce, money, debt, imprisonment, chronic illness, death of loved one, and moving especially to a new city.

Stress = Health Problems

Stress is highly destructive to your whole being - starting with your mind & emotions followed by your body. Common health problems that stress causes: frequent sickness, serious illness or disease especially heart diseases, high blood pressure, anxiety, depression, teeth grinding, pressure, isolation, helplessness, frustration, addiction, lack of sleep, weight gain, and loss of self, etc.

First, Recognize Stress Symptoms

The first habit is learning to recognize when you first begin to feel stress creeping in. And, to know the source of your stress?

1. Be self aware of changes to your mental & physical state. Take inventory of your symptoms and answer these questions:

• Do you feel frustrated or agitated? Does your body feel tense? Has your heart rate & blood pressure gone up? Do you feel stressed or anxious? Do you feel on high alert?

2. Determine the source(s) of your stress. This should be easy to figure out. It could be a person like a spouse who gambles away money. It could be a place like your job, or it could be a situation like going thru a divorce.

Second, Keep Stress Under Control

1. Can you make small changes to keep stress under control, and at a minimum? Obviously, stress from a life event is temporary and you should be able to stay motivated to keep stress under control. However, long term chronic stress may require drastic measures if your health is spiraling down and nothing else has worked.

2. Adopt stress kickin' habits to reduce stress levels and maintain better health. Learn the habits below that you can incorporate in your day.... every day. Pick and choose at least 3 or 4 habits that work best for you to start out with. The key is to practice these habits every day as long as you're experiencing stress.

3. Rather than swallowing medication, it's better for your body to minimize stress & heal using natural methods. Using Rx prescriptions can harm your body and usually act as band-aide over the problem so you've got to keep taking it. That's NOT healing.

FYI: You can also see your Doctor. My Dentist was the first to tell me I was in a high stress job - and that was SCARY.

Habits to Kick Stress

1. Take 1-4 day mini-retreats OFTEN, 1x/month.

Mini-retreats can include your backyard, your community, or a few hours away. The goal is to get away from your normal routine & responsibilities.

If you stay home, go to a different restaurant and do things you don't have time for like reading a book in a lounger in the sunshine. For at least half your mini-retreats during the year - no spouse or kids. Just you... and sometimes your best friend too.

2. Get a daily pick-me-up during the week.

Whether your job is at a company site, or your home - DON'T skip your lunch hour. Do this 3 days/week - take a walk or ride a bike for 30-35 minutes. Next, eat lunch. Then, breathe in slowly & deeply as you pray or meditate, calming your mind and inner being. Say out loud 2 to 3 things you're grateful for. And finally, go back to work. Save one day/week for lunch with friends and one day to run errands.

If you work or live near the beach or forest - bein in nature is an added bonus. As you walk, soak in the sights, smells, and sounds. Focus on your senses - it helps the mind de-stress. Also, take a 10 minute break mid-morning and mid-afternoon and talk with friends, sit quietly and sip on a beverage, or head to an outside balcony - anything that clears your mind.

In the evening, set aside at least 30 minutes for yourself. It's best to do it when there's no kids or spouse interruptions. Choose from any relaxing activities. A yoga stretch routine, a hot bubble bath with essential oils & your favorite music playing, or reading a good book. Also, pick 1 day/week when you and your spouse or loved one do something enjoyable - a night out, or stay in and get all comfy and watch a movie together.

3. Make a habit of seeing friends during the week.

Friends actually help you reduce stress & keep you healthier in a few ways. Friends keep you from isolating. Isolation creates more stress & feelings of no support system. Friends also make you laugh & make you feel wanted which lifts your mood & minimizes stress.

While it's important to have alone time.... friends just makes things better, especially fun group activities like backyard BBQ's, beach parties at night with a guitar playing friend, waterfall hikes, or having a spa day.

4. Minimize the problem.

Control stress - minimize the problem by doing 2 things. First, thank God, your higher power, or the universe for the problem. WHAT? That's absurd, you say. Try it a few times. Having a "thankful" posture minimizes the stress problem. When you can shrink the problem by focusing on the big picture and what you do have, stress loses it's control over you.

Second, do not hold onto past problems or stress, or enlarge potential future problems. You cannot change the past, so release it to your higher power. Stressing about it will only cause the problem to consume you, cause you more pain and health issues. The same goes for potential future problems. Do not borrow from the future, we have enough worries for today. You can pray for strength about a future event, but then leave it where it belongs.... in the future.

5. Change your focus.

By changing your focus, it becomes a little easier to control stress. Stress is BAD, NEGATIVE, DESTRUCTIVE. The more you focus on that, the more you hurt yourself. What we think about will shape our feelings - and then our actions. Those negative thoughts will create destructive feelings: bitterness, anger, and frustration. This will affect both you and others around you.

Focus on the positive, and think happy thoughts. This is area where having a thankful heart for the good things in your life is super helpful & healthy. Why not take 10..... right now. Write down a list of things you're thankful for. Even if you hate your job - there's always a couple positives, like a good friend/coworker and a paycheck. Positive thoughts will create happy feelings: grateful, peaceful, relaxed, joy, etc.

6. Laugh every day, it's the best medicine.

Find ways to laugh every day. It's proven that laughter creates happy hormones which reduces stress. Things that make you laugh come from a variety of sources, like pets & comedy clubs. To keep your life interesting, choose different options & venues to get your daily dose - and get your laugh on. See how to: Make Happy Hormones.

7. Various therapies will relax your mind & reduce stress.

There's various therapies you can indulge in that are proven to relax the mind, helping you control stress levels. Combine 2 therapies together for a double win - like get a small water feature (water cascading down rock ledges) and put it behind your lounger while you read a book Laughter, water therapy, breathing, aromatherapy, and massage. To learn more, go here: Relax Your Mind or Go Cuckoo.

8. Hobbies & volunteering help control stress.

Not only do hobbies boost your happy hormones, they relax your mind and help you control stress. Hobby ideas: singing, playing an instrument, knitting, gardening, painting, crafts, antique restoration, outdoor activities, dancing, and reading a book. Volunteering is also a great way to minimize stress.

9. Places that bring you joy & peace.

Make a list of places that are fairly close to home, and include your top 5 places that you love. It can be a place for physical activity, or for mental relaxation. Go to a different place each week for a 1-2 hour escape. Get in your happy groove.

10. Be aware of stress creeping in.

Yes, we talked about it earlier but it's important enough to repeat. Be aware of the moment that stress starts creeping in. You have 2 options to deal with it. Walk away or confront the person. By confronting the person, you may be able to resolve the issue in a positive way which will diminish the chances of it repeating. If it's something like heavy traffic or crowds, you'll need to go back to Habit #4 #5, and possibly #6 above.

11. Prayer & Meditation is good therapy for many things.

If you make prayer & meditation a part of your daily life - it's a powerful tool before you start your day. It has several health benefits: mental strength and peace to control stress when it does occur, and the confidence and wisdom to be more prepared to handle stress in a positive way. Prayer & meditation also work immediately after a stress incident or a stressful day. Don't forget - you want to focus on today (not yesterday or tomorrow), for maximum benefit.

12. Vacations are one of the best ways to reduce stress.

Another proven fact is that vacations help reduce stress, re-set your body's natural rhythms, and restore overall wellness. Per statistics, some of you will take vacations 1 or 2 times/year. And some will skip a vacation, or will cut vacations short due to workload. Your health literally depends on: DON'T skip your vacation. DON'T skip stress kickin' Habit #1 = take 1 to 4 day mini-retreats every month.

Studies have shown the health benefits of 4-5 day vacations can last up to 45 days. The benefits for 1-2 week vacations can last for 1-2 months. Here's some vacation benefits to help you reduce stress: Vacations are Health Bombs.

• Stress - Stress from job burnout & home life significantly decrease during vacations. No alarm clocks, no hectic schedule, no overload of tasks to do every day - gone. This has a huge, healing impact on your mental state within a quick couple days.

• Mental health - Vacations restore your mind, keeping it focused but calm - no longer racing. You'll notice your mood lifting as well. You'll start to feel alive again and more like YOU.

• Sleep - after several days, your natural rhythm starts to return as stress decreases and sleep improves. You feel more relaxed & rested. Your mind uses sleep to declutter & empty out. With a few good night's sleep, you'll notice you feel carefree..... and happy. Oh the JOYS of being happy.

• Physical health - with all the walking you're doing going from one site to the next, you'll notice that you're feeling lighter, stronger, and more confident. You'll dive into activities with almost childlike joy as your body gets recharged.

• Immune system - after 1 or 2 weeks, the healing that's occurred has begun to reset your being according to factory settings. With stress under control, your immune system gets a big boost which prevents illness & disease.

Take Control of Your Happy & Health

• Decide to take control of your own happiness & health, instead of letting stress control you.

• Start with 2 or 3 habits and do them for a month - they'll become your normal routine. Then add more. All 12 stress kickin' habits are fairly easy to do, and some are really fun.

• Make the choice: - be strong & confident, positive focused, calm, free, thankful, happy, healthy, and more adventurous.

• Discover new things that make you happy. Don't skip on mini-retreats & vacations.

• Don't procrastinate - take action today.

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