kaykay asked:


Does anyone know any ways to reduce stress??? Like without pills? Like, mabe exercises, or meditations? I just need a way to reduce the tons of stress I get!! Thank you.

Stress is part of life and in fact the human body has a natural way of fighting stress. However, excessive or constant stress is harmful to one’s wellbeing and is one of the top causes of serious illnesses such as heart disorders, hypertension, and cancer. This is because stress weakens the immune system and disrupts the chemical balance in the body.

A highly effective way to reduce stress levels is to find a stress relief activity that will relax your body and mind as well as give you an inner sense of calmness. The stress relief activity or activities that you choose should be simple and easy to do. Otherwise, you may not have the energy to go through with it.

Stress is often the result of overworking or spending too much time and energy on a task. Thus, a stress relief activity is intended to distract you from your daily work grind or take your mind off work for a short time every day to give your body time to relax and recover from stress.

A simple but effective stress relief activity is walking. Get out of the building or your home and walk around a couple of blocks or do a quick stroll in a nearby park just to refresh your mind. If you cannot leave your workplace, listening to music is a great alternative stress relief activity. While people have different tastes in music, classical music or instrumental music are the ones recommended for relaxation. Oftentimes, just having a coffee break with friends and talking about other things aside from work is a good enough stress relief activity.

If you are working from home or you are a stay-at-home parent, meditation is an ideal stress relief activity for you. Take some time off from your tasks and go to a quiet place in the house. This stress relief activity can also work for office workers and students if they can find a suitable place to meditate. Meditating is simply being still both physically and mentally for a few minutes, from 5 to 20 minutes or more depending on your preference.

Sit comfortably on a chair or on a mat on the floor. Make sure your back is straight. Close your eyes and concentrate on your breathing. Keep other thoughts away from your mind. Take deep, long breaths through your nose and each time you inhale, hold your breath for 3 seconds and then exhale slowly. Just keep doing this until you feel relaxed.

There are many other activities for stress relief including writing, stretching, gardening or doing some other hobby. The key is to find the stress relief activity that will suit you and will easily fit into your daily routine.

By: Milos Pesic

About the Author:

Stress can be defined as the external forces of the outside world impacting on the individual. Yet stress is also a normal part of life that can help us develop and grow as people. On the other hand, stress can cause us significant problems.

Stress releases potent neurochemicals and hormones these prepare us for action. The common reason for stress is to either fight or flee. If we don’t take action, the stress response can lead to health problems. Prolonged, uninterrupted, unexpected, and unmanageable stresses are the most damaging types of stress.

Day in and day out we face stressful situations. They meet us at every corner of our life. We can face to face and with stress in life’s low valleys as well as on the mountaintops where we experience life’s real joys. The good and the bad both come with there own patterns of stress.

Meeting groups of people can be particularly problematic. Everybody, no matter how experienced they may be, will feel a degree of stress when faced with a group situation.

Bear in mind that if you are feeling under stress then everyone else in the group is feeling in much the same way. However, if you’ve been called to lead that group then the stress on you is going to be that much greater. You will be concerned about how others perceive you, about whether you will be accepted or not and you will be thinking about the task that the group must face as well. Never lose sight of the big picture, the reason for the existence of the group.

The group will operate and perform their task much better if they are feeling comfortable with the group. The group dynamics can be influenced by the degree of interaction of the members of the group. If you are the leader then it’s your responsibility to get the group performing.

You will find the task much easier and less stressful if you are adequately prepared. One way you can prepare is to have a bank of stress relief games for groups at hand, or at least have an idea of how these stress relief games for groups work.

You’ll find that these games will help to break down the natural barriers that exist as groups begin to form and develop.

Stress Relief Games for Groups #1: If I Were A…

These stress relief games is extremely good at getting people out of their shells and begin communicating. Good communication assists with group performance and without it the group would never achieve its stated aims.

Its best to have the group stand or sit in a circle, this will create a sense of the belonging. The leader starts by turning to the person on his right and ask the question “if you work and animal what animal which you be?” That person will answer the question and turn to the person on his right and ask a similar question, such as if you were a famous writer who would you be? The game that continues and everyone has a chance to ask a question and give an answer. Just remember that nobody is allowed to repeat a category.

This is a very simple game with no preparation beforehand and that is the best type of stress relief game for a group.

Stress Relief Games for Groups #2: Who Likes What?

In this game everybody has a pencil and a piece of paper on which to list five categories. Basically the categories can be about anything such as “composers”, “actors” or any other category like a fancy.

Now everybody is simply lists their favourite item in each part of the category.

Give everyone a piece of paper and a pencil. Then list five categories such as “foods” or “musicians.” Everyone should list his or her favourite thing in each category. All the slips of paper should then be given back to you (the leader). As you read each list aloud, the other members of the group try to guess whose list you are reading.

Stress Relief Games for Groups #3: Liar, Liar

Here we have each person in the group making three or four comments about themselves. Some of the comments should be true and some should be false, its up to the rest of the group to decide which are true and which are false.

Stress Relief Games for Groups #4: Gossip

This one’s especially great for groups that have to go on to develop a serious sense of communication but you do need at least 10 people for it to be most effective. The maximum for this game is 20. so bear these details in mind if you plan to use it.

The idea is that the leader begins by whispering a long sentence to the person on his right. That person passes the message onto the person to her right and so the message goes around the group.

Its amazing how the message will turn out as it gets passed on. This game will demonstrate just how informal communication gets changed form its original idea into something that never happened. It’ll stress the need to write down important notes as the need arises. We cannot always rely on word of mouth alone.

Stress Relief Games for Groups #5: Ethics

This game works well for a small group of adults who know each other who love to discuss/argue issues and don’t get offended easily. The leader starts the game by turning to a random group member and presenting an ethical dilemma. For instance, “If you knew someone was going to kill your worst enemy, would you try to warn him?” The person answers the question and explains his or her rationale. Then the group votes on whether or not they believe the person would really act as they said they would. If the majority of participants think the person is lying, he or she is out of the game. If the majority thinks he/she is telling the truth, that person picks another “victim” and poses another ethical dilemma. Last player left is the winner.

By: Peter Wellington

About the Author:

psylentkinght asked:


I have been under a lot of stress latly, who knows some easy home cures?

Rich asked:


It seems like Social Anxiety is a fairly new disorder. What has it made it so prominent in the past couple decades?

One viewpoint is that it hasn’t increased. People are just more in touch with their emotions nowadays–which has caused more awareness of it and that awareness can actually enhance the symptoms of SA.

I don’t think thats completely true. I agree that people are more in touch with their emotions, but I’d still say there is an increase caused by something else.

Does anybody have any thoughts as to why you think SA has increased in the past years?

I appreciate it.

Cassie asked:


I have problems with anxiety and muscle tension in my neck and back. I feel like if I can relax my muscles it may help with the general uncomfortableness i feel. Hopefully, w your experiences i can devise a little stress relief regimen.
thanks!

Here are 5 tips to fight anxiety. The first one is really simple in that you just have to make a few adjustments to your diet. Why? Some foods are stimulants and other foods will cause crashes in blood sugar levels and that is bad. Cut down on tobacco, alcohol and coffee. Sometimes people feel that a cigarette will calm their nerves but in reality, they are just feeding their addiction. A cigarette, just like an espresso coffee is a stimulant. Wholegrains, fruit and vegetables plus lean meats will help your body to fight anxiety.

The second tip is to get back into control when you are fighting anxiety or when something is really worrying and stressing you out. There are several ways you can do that. First, I always concentrate on my breathing and it is not just a matter of taking a deep breath! Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. As I do that, I concentrate on the actual breathing mechanism and I become acutely aware of it. If I find that my worries and anxiety are still racing through my mind as I do that, I add counting to help me, a simple 1-2, nothing complicated. I keep repeating that. The whole exercise takes just a few minutes and at the end of it, I always feel much calmer. Now you know why meditation and yoga are also effective because they are activities which restore mind body balance.

The third tip to fight anxiety is not to rely too heavily on prescription drugs for anxiety as they do not cure anxiety. They certainly can help but their side effects can be devastating and they can cause all sorts of problems ranging from more depression, suicidal thoughts, loss of libido and weight problems. You might think this is a joke but it is not! Many anxiety sufferers are using a sledgehammer to ***** a nut. They are not aware that certain natural remedies for anxiety, such as the St. John’s Wort and Passion flower herbs are equally effective and have very few side effects.

The fourth tip to fight anxiety which I use when overwhelmed with anxious thoughts is to try and visualize an image in my mind which I will really concentrate on. The best one I use is the ‘Stop’ sign. I visualize it in all its detail, the colors of the sign and the words and exactly how it looks. Even doing this for just twenty seconds helps in fighting anxiety. It is also reinforcing a subliminal command to stop the anxiety and the worry.

The fifth tip to fight anxiety is the one I call ‘my worry hour’. I devote just one hour to all my worries and anxiety and they have complete freedom to dominate my thoughts and emotions. I try not to let negative thoughts dominate the rest of the day. Usually, people who try this are bored after a few minutes and never finish the hour!

Whether your level of anxiety is a mild one like dysthymia (chronic state of mild depression) or one of social anxiety, help can be found in the natural remedies for anxiety which are herbal remedies and which have had great success. Did you know that in Germany, St.John’s Wort is prescribed for about 50% of the population who are suffering from anxiety and that Prozac, Paxil, Lexapro and other anxiety meds are prescribed for about 2% ? Why not try the above tips in fighting anxiety and take some natural alternatives such as herbs to enhance your mood and well-being.

By: Robert William Locke

About the Author:

Brendan S asked:


I play about two times a week, once at a small course to work my irons and on the weekend to play for real and for money or very small tournys. I have no problem playing golf, it is the anxiety of maybe hitting a bad shot. Is there anything to do before a shot to settle myself down and clear my head?

Thanks

smile4cobra asked:


My best friend has Social anxiety and its very hard on him and honestly people around him…Besides counseling because he refuses to go at this point in his life…What are some tips I can give him to make him understand that he is holding back from him life??

I mean…sure I can get bored for the couple of hours Im with him but than I go and have a life and he doesnt…I dont feel so great about that, everytime it comes time for me to leave.

I mean…he goes out and stuff but will never go out clubbing and places where there are young or “cool” people…like he likes to call them.

He thinks people are always staring at hm because he is worth less than others.

RobertGClarkson asked:

anxietysupportcenter.com FREE FACTSHEET on a simple but effective solution to PERMANENTLY STOP ANXIETY AND PANIC. — anxietysupportcenter.com — © Copyright 2009 Anxiety Support Center. All Rights Reserved. This video may be displayed in public and redistributed for use in unedited form only. Alteration or redirerection to another solution or to another link is strictly prohibited.