Are you familiar with stress balls? The ones made of foam that you squeeze?
So, drop your balls and let's get juicy with powerful stress management techniques. There are four stress relieving strategies I use regularly. I believe everyone needs to have an assortment to choose from depending on the type of stressor, situation and time frame you're working with.
1. Generate Endorphins
Laughter can be done any time. Laughter has been proven to trigger endorphins which are the feel good brain chemicals. Endorphins help to manage pain and promote feelings of well-being. In a study by Dr. Robert Dunbar, from Oxford University, laughter that creases the eyes triggers endorphins increasing health and well-being. It's important to make sure your laughter creates a sparkle in your eyes. Get a good hearty, deep laughter going for about 15-20 minutes. I'm sure you understand why this stress management technique is one of my favourites.You don't even need a reason to laugh. You can laugh while doing the dishes, washing the laundry or driving the car. Simply start laughing. You'll be pleasantly surprised how this positively changes your day too. :) I'm a trained Laughter Yoga leader and when facilitating Laughter Yoga we use a variety of fun exercises to generate laughter.... and endorphins.
2. Thought Awareness
In your mind are thoughts that may be creating stress. Your thoughts are not truth, but are in fact a creation of society's constructs and past experiences. By keeping a thought diary you can become familiar with the thought patterns running in your mind, and then choose to change this to relieve your stress. You might like to read moire about thought awareness and keeping a thought diary on my personal development website: www.PersonalDevelopmentInsights.com.
3. Meditation
There are many different forms of meditation. My preferred forms of meditation are present moment awareness ones. In each moment you have the power to still your mind, and create your life. It's quite easy. For example, when you are eating pay attention to each bite. Choose one of your favourite foods and focus on the texture, the smell and how your mouth waters when you smell it. You might even like to close your eyes while eating. Your worries and fears only exist when your thoughts are in the past or future.... bring your thoughts to what's happening in the moment and naturally feel more relaxed.
4. Be Grateful
There are times in my life when I'm feeling really low. I'm sure most people get these down times. Have you ever felt so sad or anxious that you become numb to the world? It's a terrible feeling. Well, one powerful stress management technique I have found very helpful during these down times is to think of everything I'm grateful for. I think of the things that are special in my life. Being grateful is an instant flick of a switch thought changer from negative and down to positive and uplifting.
