Everyone needs successful stress management techniques. Easy to learn and easy to implement, you can use them for your own stress management or teach them to help others manage theirs.
Manage your stress and be a healthier, happier and more pleasant person to be around. Let's cut to the chase?
1. Make stress your friend
Acknowledge that stress is good and make stress your friend! Based on the body's natural "fight or flight" response, that burst of energy will enhance your performance at the right moment. I've yet to see a top sportsman totally relaxed before a big competition. Use stress wisely to push yourself that little bit harder when it counts most.
2. Stress is contagious
Stressed people sneeze stress germs indiscriminately and before you know it, you are infected with stress germs too!
Protect yourself from stress germs by recognising stress in others and limiting your contact with them. Or if you've got the inclination, play stress doctor and teach them how to better manage their stress.
3. Copy good stress managers
When people around are losing their head, which keeps calm? What are they doing differently? What is their attitude? What language do they use? Are they trained and experienced?
Figure it out from afar or sit them down for a chat. Learn from the best stress managers and copy what they do.
4. Use heavy breathing.
You can trick your body into relaxing by using heavy breathing. Breathe in slowly for a count of 7 then breathe out for a count of 11. Repeat the 7-11 breathing until your heart rate slows down, your sweaty palms dry off and things start to feel more normal.
5. Stop stress thought trains
It is possible to tangle yourself up in a stress knot all by yourself. "If this happens, then that might happen and then we're all up the creek!" Most of these things never happen, so why waste all that energy worrying needlessly?
Give stress thought-trains the red light and stop them in their tracks. Okay so it might go wrong ? how likely is that, and what can you do to prevent it?
6. Know your stress hot spots and trigger points
Presentations, interviews, meetings, giving difficult feedback, tight deadlines??. My heart rate is cranking up just writing these down!
Make your own list of stress trigger points or hot spots. Be specific. Is it only presentations to a certain audience that get you worked up? Does one project cause more stress than another? Did you drink too much coffee?
Knowing what causes you stress is powerful information, as you can take action to make it less stressful. Do you need to learn some new skills? Do you need extra resources? Do you need to switch to de-caffeinated coffee?
7. Eat, drink, sleep and be merry!
Lack of sleep, poor diet and no exercise wreaks havoc on our body and mind. Kind of obvious, but worth mentioning as it's often ignored as a stress management technique. Listen to your mother and don't burn the candle at both ends!
And those are the 7 successful stress management techniques! Take time to learn them, use them and teach them, and be a great stress manager.
Lyndsay Swinton is an experienced team leader, people manager and business coach. Her website is www.mftrou.com - 'Management for the rest of us'. Subscribe to her free no-nonsense Management Tips newsletter at www.mftrou.com today.
All stress comes from believing a thought that argues with... Read More
Adversity is an unavoidable part of life. Death of a... Read More
Did you know that more than half of our adult... Read More
Stress is normal. Stress is OK. Stress is the same... Read More
When Army leaders fail to control battlefield stress, they lose... Read More
According to the Australian Council of Trade Unions' (A.C.T.U.) 1997... Read More
Q: "My career, though very very stressful, is one that... Read More
The moment I read the story I'm about to share... Read More
What do you do when you wake up in the... Read More
Why Stress Management programmes don't work?It seems that every week... Read More
In his book, The 22 Non-Negotiable Laws of Wellness, author... Read More
WHAT THE RESEARCH SAYSExperts in the stress management field have... Read More
There is one sure fire medicine that cures all difficulty... Read More
Are you a person who has a keen imagination, a... Read More
You can learn a lot by watching children playing. There... Read More
Deceiving? You bet they are. How? Without your even knowing... Read More
Stress management is a hot topic; stress-related illness and suffering... Read More
Are you feeling stressed out? Too many things to do,... Read More
According to the StressPulse survey by ComPsych Corporation completed at... Read More
We are not designed for long term stress.It causes us... Read More
We so often take the feelings of happiness and saddness... Read More
Writing down our thoughts and feelings, as in keeping a... Read More
Stress and anxiety can prematurely age our mind and body.... Read More
One of my favorite stories about change is the story... Read More
After a stressful day as a computer programmer, Jim pulled... Read More
Today's workplace produces plenty of stress. Life's little hassles mount... Read More
The main problem in a down economy is that workplaces... Read More
Learning methods of stress elimination is a vital skill in... Read More
In my experience, most of us spend a lot more... Read More
I hear from many people that they see ever increasing... Read More
One of my favorite stories about change is the story... Read More
Panic.Heart racing. Palms sweating. Breathing rapid and shallow. Mouth dry.... Read More
Many of my readers write to me about the tensions... Read More
To be a safe and predictable person for those around... Read More
I love a good story and I know I'm not... Read More
* The material presented in this article is provided for... Read More
Aromatherapy is very therapeutic when it comes to healing emotional... Read More
"Let your mind be quiet, realizing the beauty of the... Read More
Do you get out of your car with a queasy... Read More
Lake Hopatcong, NJ (PRWEB) November 30, 2004 -- Here are... Read More
Get at least 15 minutes of sunshine daily.Daily Exercise -... Read More
Let's face it. If you are stressed, agitated and flitting... Read More
"Adopting the right attitude can convert a negative stress into... Read More
Everyone experiences stress at some point in their life. In... Read More
It is no secret that stress and related disorders are... Read More
There is one sure fire medicine that cures all difficulty... Read More
Feeling stressed? Who isn't!! In today's society, feeling "stressed out,"... Read More
WHAT THE RESEARCH SAYSExperts in the stress management field have... Read More
Everyone needs successful stress management techniques. Easy to learn and... Read More
Recently the well known American news anchor Peter Jennings died... Read More
Stress Management |