Stress!!!! What Role Does Play in your life?

Stress!!!!  We have all had out experiences with it.  It seems to be a common everyday malady.  To hear, "I'm really stressed out!" or "This is making me totally stressed." seems to be heard almost every day.  When we feel this way, we probably are worried or uncomfortable about something.  We may also experience a variety of symptoms such as feeling ill.  Stomach aches and headaches are well known symptoms.  Being "stressed out" occurs in people of all ages.

Often we think of stress as being a bad thing.  However, there is such a thing as good stress.  Good stress can help us get things done and/or done better.  Times when we feel good stress might be when we have a report or presentation to give, are going for an interview, are performing for others, etc.  Some may say, how can that be "good stress"?  In reality, it is up to us to determine.  This stress can urge us to prepare better and more thoroughly for the presentations, interviews, and performances.  As we do this, we gain more confidence.  When we are well prepared and have more confidence, we do better.  On the other hand, if we allow the stress to gain momentum and power, it becomes an influence for experiencing illness, immobilization, and poor performance.  It then can become an experience that is uncomfortable, debilitating, and embarrassing, rather than uplifting, exciting, and empowering.  The great news is: We are the one who chooses!  We are the ones in control!

Turning stress and tension into positive power is done in different ways by different people.  We are all unique, so different techniques may be more effective for some than others or different techniques may work better some times than others. Here are a few to begin with:

• Breathe your stress away!  Find a quite place, lie down or sit comfortably, close your eyes, place your hands over your ribs, take in a deep breath slowly through your nose so that your belly fills up like a balloon (this a deeper breath where your shoulders don't move), hold it while you count to 5 slowly.  Then let the air out slowly through you mouth.  Repeat this several times (at least 3-5)
• Exercise your tension away!  Walking, running, swimming, jumping rope, doing sit-ups, riding a bke, dancing, singing, etc. are excellent ways to burn off extra energy and let the stress out.  Hitting things is not the best thing to let stress out.  It can accelerate stress.
• Do and/or think of something different.  Take a break.  Watch a movie, take a walk, play a game, take a shower, get a drink of water, read a book, take a trip to the park, etc. just a few of the things you can do to give your mind and body a break.
• When you are presenting, preforming, taking a test, etc. work extra hard and practice more.  Begin early to learn and prepare for it.  When you are prepared and know it, you are more confident and have less stress.
• Talk to someone you trust and feel comfortable sharing your feelings.  Often talking with such a person helps relieve stress.  Hearing their point of view and objectivity can help to see things from a different and more powerful perspective.  

More information and ways to reduce stress and increase power and control in your life are coming this week.  Remember you are the one who chooses how it will be!