Stress Less

Between the holiday bustle and competing demands of home, work and family life, it’s no surprise that many people feel stressed out. Stress is a normal physical reaction that occurs when you feel threatened or overwhelmed – but you can bring your system back to a healthy balance of calmness and control by practicing natural stress management techniques.

Start by identifying the main stressors in your life. Stressors can include anything: financial situations, traffic jams, even hosting holiday parties. After identifying your stressors, you can make the active choice to change the situation or minimize it using natural stress reduction techniques, including the below:

• Take a deep breath – sit in a comfortable position and breathe slowly, inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth. Close your eyes and focus on your breathing.
• Practice relaxation of your muscles – isolate one muscle group at a time, moving from the bottom of your body to the top. Do this by tensing for 8-10 seconds, then relaxing and letting the tension go.
• Laugh a little – take a humor break if you can. Read or watch something funny or find a friend who makes you laugh. A good laugh relaxes tense muscles, sends more oxygen into your system and lowers your blood pressure.

Stress can have both short- and long-term effects on your mind, body and behavior. In fact, chest pain, stomach ache, anxiety and depression have all been identified as common side effects. Maintaining a low stress level is also critical because more severe illnesses, such as post-traumatic stress disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder, are linked directly with depression.