Ten Easy Ways To Stress Proof Yourself
Posted on November 12, 2008Filed: Lifestyle
Stress is now the number one reason behind sickness from work and
more than 70% of working adults have experienced stress at work
in the past year according to the Gee Publishing Survey of 2006.
Whether or not these statistics are true one thing is certain, we
cannot expect our employers to provide everything we need to reduce or
manage our stress. They are far too busy themselves.
So with this in mind lets look at some simple ways to reduce your stress levels.
1) One of the main ingredients in any stress management program
simply must be a relaxation regime. There are many simple easy to learn
techniques to relax your body, some are better than others. Progressive
relaxation is probably one of the more well known ones. Taking time out
even if only for fifteen minutes a day to relax and wind down is a
definite.
2) At work it is so easy to start slipping into the
habit of taking on too many tasks. Streamline what you do by really
asking yourself why you are there. what are the three most important
things you are there for in your role. You should concentrate on these
top piorities and learn to shed anything else. You may have to be a bit
ruthless with yourself but you will gain hugely from this one exercise.
3)
Make sure every once in a while you reassess your life values to stay
on top of what is important to you then you only have to revolve your
life around the things that are truly important to you and again other
things that took up a lot of your time and attention will just fall
away.
4) Every now and again go to assertion skills training and
rediscover the your personal power. Taking time to reclaim our personal
power rid sus of so much stress you wont believe it. sometimes you just
have to say no and it is OK to do that. If you have problems doing this
your stress will rise so assertion skills are the key.
5)
Delegate tasks you hate if possible or ones that cause you particular
stress. hey, these days virtual assistants can take a lot of bothersome
chores off your hands and they are cheaper than you think. a good one
for the self-employed by the way.
6) Keep a reasonable fitness
level. this is the one thing along with a relaxation regime that can
really do huge amounts to stress proof you and is borne out by much
research. Added benefits are better quality of sleep.
7)
Establish and maintain good social contact. Research shows that people
who have at least two good friends resist stress more than others who
are more reclusive in nature. If you have social anxiety which prevents
you from increasing social contact see a psychologist or therapist for
help with this.
8) Get a pet, even if its a cat who you may not
see all the time. again research points to the fact that people with
pets not only live longer but are less stressed than people without
pets.
9) Improve your time management skills. We all need to
lessons in this area. A basic but effective form of time management is
to categorize tasks into important things and urgent things. Important
things are the ones you give your best time and thinking too because
they will ultimately have a longer term impact than urgent things which
will be short term usually and could be delegated or sometimes even
automated like using auto-responders on the internet to remind people
of appointments or schedules.
10) Take some time to improve your
relationship. If its great already do something romantic together.
Better bonding in relationships is one of the best ways to stress proof
yourself. go to a workshop together and improve things even more, its a
real recipe for increased happiness and a stronger immune system
Of all the above keeping fit and learning an effective relaxation method will do wonders for your stress levels.
About the Author
Lee James Heather is a therapist specializing in stress and anxiexty management
. He teaches clients how to switch off the brain stress centers for profound relaxation. For more visit:
The most Powerful Relaxation technique
