Real Relaxation by Konstantin Koss

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If you are stressed, don’t feel too worried on how to deal with it; this will only aggravate your stressful situation. There are different ways of approaching coping with stress and this article will be a start of it. Read the basics and start to live in a more relaxed state.

There are a lot of ways to counter stress but we can limit them to 10. Here are ten ways on how to cope with stress:

1. Exercise regularly. Stress is an internal reaction and your body’s reaction to change. Exercise can help your body release confined stress and can make the body stronger. The best exercise to improve your body’s response to stress is aerobic. Walking exercises is a good way to start. You may also have other options of aerobic exercising like racquetball.

2. Relax. Surprisingly, it’s quicker for our mind to relax if we will learn to relax our body first. One type of relaxation is the progressive muscle relaxation wherein you will tense each of your muscle groups. You will have to hold the tension for 10 seconds and release it for the next 10 seconds. Relaxation exercises will only take 20 minutes to complete. It should be practiced once a day. You will start to feel more relaxed over time after these exercises.

3. Sleep well. Your body will be vulnerable to stress if you don’t have enough quality sleep. You may have a sleep disorder if you find it difficult to sleep every night or staying asleep. Another symptom of sleep disorder is falling asleep unexpectedly within the day or feeling exhausted the whole day.

If possible, try to sleep at the same hours each night including weekends. To have a regular sleeping schedule, begin by getting up same time each morning; change your bed time when necessary. It can be tough for the first or second week but ultimately, it will help you.

4. Laugh it up. Laughter can really release stress and it’s advisable to do it often. To cope with stress, you can start by thinking about what makes you laugh. Maybe, you’ll feel that you are wasting much time by watching “The Simpsons” each week but it’s a good therapy. You can go browsing the internet and find something that can make you laugh.

5. Make time for fun activities. This is somewhat related to the fourth tip. Give yourself leisure time. I may not be easy but it must be done. You have to decide on the regular activity that you can do leisurely.

6. Improve your diet. You may have to change your diet to cope with stress. You can start by eliminating caffeine. Caffeine is a stimulant and a drug which can cause the body to react to stress. This can lead your body to be more sensitive in life changes and you may be unable to cope with them. It can also cause panic attacks.

Alcohol may also increase panic and anxiety overtime. It may make you feel more relaxed oftentimes but over indulgence can result to an opposite effect. If you are under medication, this might not take effect if you’re drinking always. You also need to avoid another stimulant which is nicotine that produces similar effects to caffeine.

Examining what you eat, when you will eat and how much is also necessary is also needed. A healthy diet shall make you stronger. It may be hard to stick on a regular healthy diet but the benefits are astounding.

7. Create your support network. If you have anxiety disorder, 3 main types of support will help you cope with stress. One is support from people who also have this disorder. They can understand you and can give advices on how to cope with stressful situations.

The second group is the therapist. You will be assisted by a therapist on learning and coping with stress through known techniques. The therapist will listen to you during those stressful times. The third group is your family and friends. When everyone else cannot understand you, the power of support and love will always come from your immediate family and friends.

8.Change negative thinking. This should not be confused with positive thinking. You may not need to be optimistic and cheerful always and you shouldn’t always forget bad stuff. You just don’t need to feel angry all the times and put yourself down always. You cannot cope with stress if you always criticize and dislike yourself so change this thinking.

9. Manage your time. Your time management must be personalized and flexible. When you feel overwhelmed and rushed, you will be stressed eventually. To cope with stress, cut some activities out of your daily routine. Time management can also include learning new skills such as delegation, assertiveness and saying “NO”.

10. Stop being a perfectionist. Negative thoughts are somewhat related to being a perfectionist. It can be good to expect yourself to do great things but being perfect is impossible. You cannot cope with stress if you will always be perfectionist. Always remember the 2 main goals to eliminate perfectionism: 1 To learn the difference between the perfect and the best that you can do. 2. To praise yourself for each last accomplishment each day no matter how small it is.

Aside from the above steps, there are many other ways to go about coping with stress. Because stress is our response to changes, we can also begin to change some of the things that can only make us pressured and depressed. Practicing at least one technique a day is a good start for you to cope with stress and to live a stress-free life!

(Photo by Zanastardust)

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