Stress Relievers
By Dr. Edward F. Group III, DC, ND, DACBN
updated on 11/19/2007 at 03:03PM
DO
- Make small, simple changes: If you are feeling stressed out, you need to make some changes in the way you do things, in order to keep the stress from accumulating and becoming problematic.
- Organize your time: You may be able to go about your life with little organization or scheduling in your daily routine. But when you’re feeling the effects of stress, you should go out of your way to be a bit more organized. Stress leads to hurried feelings and disorganization will only compound the problem. If you’re not used to making a schedule, just try to loosely outline the tasks that you need to accomplish each day so that you’ll be better prepared to meet these demands, and less stressed throughout the day.
- Eat right: If you are stressed, you may be tempted to overeat, under-eat, or make unhealthy food selections in an effort to alleviate your symptoms. But your body needs a good supply of nutrient rich food in order to maintain strength and energy and face the challenges of your day. Eating a wholesome, organic well-balanced diet is a good way to relieve the physical symptoms of stress.
- Exercise: Exercise is an excellent stress reliever. It helps to calm both the mind and the body, distract you from your worries, and relieve muscle tension. It also stimulates the release of endorphins, which are natural mood enhancers. If you’re too busy to make exercise a regular part of your day, try making small adjustments, like park further away from your office, or walk around the block while you check messages on your cell phone.
- Breathe: Often, when we’re feeling stressed and hurried, we actually forget to breathe. Certainly, we take in necessary oxygen, but we don't actually take the time to breathe. It’s amazing how calming and relaxing just one slow, deep breath can be. And practicing simple breathing exercises are an even better way to relieve stress. Alternative nostril breathing is done by pinching off one nostril with the fingers, and taking slow, controlled breaths through the other. After a few breaths, switch nostrils.
- Ask for help: Never be afraid to ask for help, whether it’s at work, at home, or amongst your friends. Your co-workers, family, and friends should be very understanding of your situation. In addition, they may be able to offer assistance, guidance, or creative suggestions for accomplishing your tasks. Don’t drown yourself in your stress! If you’re overwhelmed, ask for help.
- Keep in touch: Make the time to stay connected with friends and family members. They can support you through a stressful situation and possibly even offer assistance to ease your burden.
DON'T
- Tell yourself to relax: Trying to force yourself to relax can be very stressful. If you’re feeling stressed out, allow yourself to feel the physical and emotional symptoms, and to understand their cause.
- Focus on all the little details: Prioritize your tasks and the details that you need to focus on to do them well. You cannot expect to micromanage every detail of your life, let alone those of your spouse, children, co-workers, or employees. Focus on getting the job done right, and practice letting go of the little details.
- Attempt to remove all of the stress from your life: Stress is an inevitable part of life. If you try to maintain a completely stress-free existence, you will be disappointed whenever this method fails. Rather than ignoring stress, learn ways to manage and relieve stress so that it doesn’t detract from your life.
- Avoid feeling your emotions: Whether you’re sad, angry, or happy, sometimes we are just too busy and too stressed to fully appreciate our emotions. You may feel that by feeling your sadness or anger, you make your stress even worse. But the opposite is actually true. When you ignore your feelings, you tend to compound the emotions. This doesn’t mean that you need to completely give in to feelings of anger or sadness whenever they arise. But allow yourself ample opportunity to recognize and safely express these emotions when they do.
- Put all your hopes on one technique, (such as a long vacation): You may be feeling stressed out and decide that a long vacation or an exercise class will do the trick, but placing all of your eggs in one basket is likely to lead to disappointment. Relieving stress usually involves making small simple changes in your daily activities and behaviors. Each change adds to the cumulative benefit of stress relief.
My theory on the cause of depression, stress and anxiety is the lack of exercise, poor diet, excessive caffeine intake, dehydration, fluorescent lighting, radiation from cell phones and computers, alcohol consumption, refined sugar, white flour, MSG, nutritional deficiencies and not enough personal relaxation time.
For more information on Dr. Group or coping with stress, anxiety or depression naturally, using drug free methods go to www.stress-anxiety-depression.org or www.ghchealth.com. We also have a forum where you can interact and ask questions regarding your condition.
