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Self Improvement > Stress Management > Change Your Stress Level, Change Your Life!
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Article rating : 0.00, 0 votes. Author : Glory Borgeson
In an article titled "He Who Dies With the Most
Toys Wins?", I discussed stress and how a Japanese
company has developed a sleep chair in order to
help sleep-deprived citizens get more shut-eye,
and thus reduce their stress. Over the last 6 years,
I’ve spent some time studying nutrition, changed
my diet, and looked at the effects of stress on
the body. In particular, over this time I became
interested in how increased stress levels can bring
on disease. Stress is like an open invitation
(or an open party, as we called it in high school)
for disease to come in and take up residence.
When we’re healthy, our bodies fight off all kinds
of disease, such as cancerous cells, every day.
When our defenses are down, it’s more difficult
for our bodies to fight these things off.
While my change in diet and stress level is still
far from what I want it to be (I still have a sweet
tooth, for example), I know that I have accomplished
a lot. It is very complimentary when women who are
10 to 15 years younger than I am want to know what
my secret is for staying healthy and looking closer
to their age than "actual." Several women at one of my client’s
offices have even begun to change their diet based on what they
have seen me do.
While we can change the food we choose to put into
our bodies, stress often comes to us from the outside
and unexpectedly. Because of this, we need to recognize
what creates stress for us, figure out what we can
do to lessen the amount of stressful situations coming
at us, and consider adding to our "to do list" the types
of activities that we find lessen the load of the stress.
As I was writing this, an example of a poor way to handle
stress came to mind. It involves a fictional teacher at
a Catholic school whose class was not paying attention.
I’m almost embarrassed to admit it, but this example comes
from a Cheech and Chong recording called, "Sister Mary
Elephant" (or about her, anyway) from the early 1970’s.
In this piece, the Sister’s class was talking quite loudly.
She wanted their attention. So in a regular speaking voice,
she said, "Class." (No response.) Then a little louder,
"Class!" (No response.) Once more, a little louder, "Class!"
(Again, no response.) Then in a loud, screaming voice,
"Shut up!!!" The class quieted down.
Then it was time to check Sister M.E.’s blood pressure and
heart rate.
For Sister Mary Elephant, her stress level increased from a
classroom of noisy kids. (She should have thought about that
before deciding to become a teacher.)
What creates stress for you?
- Too much on your schedule
- When people work against you
- Financial pressures
- Too many problems to solve and not enough answers
- Change
- Looming deadlines
- Work of a complexity that you are not ready to deal with right now
- Boring work, but it’s the wrong time to look for something different
- Issues with spouse
- Issues with kids
It’s important to recognize the types of situations that
increase stress for you, to begin an awareness process so
that you can at least notice it and perhaps name it.
What can you do to lessen the number and/or intensity of
stressful situations coming at you? This is a subjective
question with subjective answers. It will take some time
to think through which types of situations call for what
types of responses, especially on the front end.
For example, if a stressor for you is "too much on my schedule,"
what can you do to reduce the load? "I can’t do anything
about it" is not a legitimate response, and this is why:
One day your body will make you do something about it. And
it will do it with disease or a car accident or some other
wake up call.
What types of activities help you to reduce your stress?
When I was writing this article, I was just about to go
on vacation to Hawaii. It had been a long time since I actually
went out of town for a real vacation. In the few years prior, when I reduced my stress level quite a bit, however,
I found that I didn’t really need a vacation. I was able to
reduce stress right where I was and could "get away" pretty
easily without actually going far away. Still, a vacation is
a very legitimate way to reduce stress.
Several people wrote to tell me how they reduce their stress
levels, especially in terms of work. Here are some of their
thoughts:
- As one task falls off my list, I try not to add another task to the list
- I want less stuff
- I let others help me
- I count my blessings more often
- As I get older I care less about things I once thought were important (life isn't that serious)
- I get up a little earlier in the morning and take about 15 minutes to have coffee or tea (outside, if the weather cooperates) and read a book.
- Fit exercise into my schedule 3 times a week
- Don’t spend much time with people who display their anger destructively rather than constructively
- Spend time with my kids, finding out about their lives
- Spend time playing with my dog or cat
- Watch a funny movie or TV show
- Go fishing
- Go anywhere that is peaceful
What can you do to recognize stress-creators in your life,
reduce their number and/or intensity, and add activities that,
by their very nature, reduce your stress levels?
© 2005 Borgeson Consulting, Inc.
Glory Borgeson is a business coach and consultant, and the president of
Borgeson Consulting, Inc. She specializes in helping small business owners to
increase profit and decrease stress. Whether an entrepreneur is at the top
of his game like any top athletes you can think of today, or a rookie just
starting his business, Glory works with the entire spectrum of entrepreneur.
Top athletes have a coach; why not you?
Click here for Borgeson Consulting, Inc.
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