How To Manage Stress

Coping with and Managing Stress

Instead of coping with stress, one needs to learn how to manage stress. Learning how to manage stress has been shown to prevent serious health problems. Stress causes many negative effects on the body, including inhibition of the processes of digestion, reproduction, growth, tissue repair, and the responses of the immune and inflammatory systems. http://faculty.weber.edu/molpin/healthclasses/1110/bookchapters/stressphysiologychapter.htm Essential functions that keep your body healthy begin to shut down. If you put yourself in the position of managing your stress, breaking the stress habit, then the things that trigger the stress do not manage you. This guide on proven stress management techniques which will help you on your journey to improved physical and mental health.
Tips
- Take a time out - Create space between you and the stress
- Identify what causes the stress, start a journal
- Understand that you cannont control everything
- Get adequate sleep
- Eat a balanced diet
- Eliminate caffeine from your diet
- Talk with someone
- Breathe - slow, rhythmic breaths
- A positive attitude and ability to laugh go a long way
- Be kind to yourself
Types of Meditation Practices
There are many techniques of meditation, but the result of all is to help you still your mind and body so that you become more aware and conscious.
Guidelines for practice time usually range from 20-30 minutes per sitting. Practice twice a day with one early morning practice and another in the afternoon or before you go to bed.
One of the most popular techniques is from the Buddhist tradition, Vipassana meditation. In this meditation, the meditator focuses on his or her breath. There are various ways of focusing on the breath, but the focus of concentration on the breath is to become aware of the mind-body complex just exactly as it is. This "mindfullness" of the body allows a connection of the mind-body and there are specific methods of guiding your awareness. There are entire books on what meditation is and isn't, but I do recommend this site because it is thorough in its presentation of the subject. Besides reading about the subject, I recommend that you find a group to work with to get started, but you will have to practice on your own as well. http://www.vipassana.com/meditation/mindfulness_in_plain_english_7.php
Jack Kornfield, one of the premier Buddhist teachers, also a Buddhist monk in the US, has a compassion meditation which is a derivative of the mindfullness technique. I highly recommend reading his site, because in all of the meditations, a compassionate attitude is most helpful in attaining advancement in the practice. http://www.jackkornfield.org/index/meditations?id=compassionMeditation
If you are Christian, I would also recommend the meditation practice of Centering Prayer. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2147071/centering_prayer_for_stress_management_pg2.html?cat=34 This is a silent prayer, which is somewhat similar to what Jack Kornfield presents in his "compassionate mindfulness" meditation approach. This practice initiated with the Desert Fathers of the Catholic tradition, but it is an ecumenical Christian practice which has been adapted to modern times. Here are the guidelines:
- 1. Choose a sacred word that best supports your sincere intention to be in the Lord's presence and open to His divine action within you (i.e. "Jesus" "Lord," "God," "Savior," "Abba," "Divine," "Shalom," "Spirit," "Love," etc.). Alternatively, you can also follow your breath, which is a divine gift, as a means to return to remind yourself of your intention. Once you have chosen this sacred word, it is important to stick with it during your practice.
- 2. Sit comfortably with your eyes closed, relax, and quiet yourself. Be in love and faith to God.
- 3. Let the sacred word be gently present as your symbol of your sincere intention to be in the Lord's presence and open to His divine action within you. It is important to use the divine word in a gentle fashion to bring your awareness back to your central intention.
- 4. Whenever you become aware of thoughts, feelings, perceptions, images, associations, etc., simply return to your sacred word, your anchor.
Father Thomas Keating teaches workshops across the country and there are regional organizations that support instruction in this practice. http://www.contemplativeoutreach.org/site/PageServer?pagename=about_practices_centering

Learning How to Relax and Avoid Stress

This guide on how to manage stress is designed to give you some essential tools that will help you relax and be more at ease with your life. The ability to manage stress is within the reach of anyone, regardless of the events which precipitate stress. It is a skill that can be learned. We all experience events that trigger a stress reponse, a "flight or fight" physiological change of the body. http://www.harvardsquarelibrary.org/unitarians/cannon_walter.html http://www.thecausewayretreat.com/blog/2009/06/fight-or-flight-response/ This is a sympathetic nervous system imbalance which has many negative effects on the functions of our bodies and mental health. Fortunately, you can condition your body for a "relaxation response" so that you can keep yourself healthy. Here is outlined 3 essential steps for conditioning yourself to relax so you can relax and enjoy your life.
Quick and Effective Creative Visualization for Relaxation

A creative awareness meditation that can induce a relaxation response. reduce stress and make you more alert.

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my12things added a comment September 24, 2009 12:24 PM
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Here are the 12things I did to manage General Anxiety Disorder..
http://www.my12things.com/

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Step 1:Learning a Method of Taking a Time Out

The first step is to reserve some time for yourself immediately after you awake in the morning. The best time to do it is from 5 am to 6 am, when there are no distractions. If you need to get up a few minutes early, do it, because you will reap many benefits. During this time, you need to do two things. First, start a meditation practice to clear your head. You need to do each practice session for at least 15-20 minutes. Use a timer that can gently wake you at the end of each session, or some music which ends at the appropriate time. You can choose from various practices as outlined on the section of various meditation techniques. Once you find a practice, stick with it and do it daily. Twice daily is better for progress. Evening or afternoon sessions help you let go of the tension that accumulates in the mind and body during the day.
Jon Kabat Zinn - Scientific Presentation of Mindfulness Meditation at Google

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Step 2: Get Some Exercise Every Day

Movement of the body and creating body awareness is known to alleviate a number of different problems that people experience, including stress. Take 15 minutes to exercise in the morning, preferably an exercise that helps you with your body's flexibility and ability to breathe. Practices of yoga, qigong, and tai chi are best for this. The exercises do not have to be complicated, but they should help you move and breathe better. It is important to do the exercises in a gentle manner do not force movements. With practice, you will note that your range of movement, flexibility, and breathing will improve gradually. With a more functional body, you have a more functional emotional state of mind.
Step 3:Spend Some Time Each Day for Reflection

Keep a journal. You can use this journal to help you identify the events that trigger your stress, which may lead you to an understanding as to what it is within you that allows you to react. In this way, you can do some self-analysis. Reflect on other factors that you can change in your life that will help you in balancing your life - diet, your work, your friends, the things that are good and positive in your life. Most of all, use the journal as a practice of gratitude and be kind to yourself. You can also look up some other references on the art of journaling. http://stress.about.com/od/generaltechniques/ht/howtojournal.htm
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- Health & Balance: Manage Stress
  
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