Effective Stress Management For Those With Busy Lives!

by: Paul Duxbury
What would you do with increased stamina, decreased anxiety, and solid peace of mind? You would probably get more done in less time--at the very least, each day would be more enjoyable. In the long term, you would certainly experience better physical health and a longer life span.

The only thing standing between you and a higher level of general well-being is the unpreventable occurrence of stress. Daily stress can rob us of our potential, weakening every aspect of our lives. Consider the following:

* Stress breaks down the efficiency of the immune system leaving our bodies vulnerable to illness and disease.

* Stress causes heart problems and high blood pressure.

* Stress contributes to addictive behavior, causing alcoholism, eating disorders, nicotine addiction, and workaholic tendencies.

* Stress causes social withdrawal, perpetuating symptoms and leading to destructive isolation.

To avoid stress and related symptoms you must be proactive, nurturing your body and mind through a balanced diet, exercise, and reserved time for relaxation.

A Balanced Diet - We know that a balanced diet can improve your health, but can it really do anything for your stress level? Experts say it can. Research has found that good nutrition has a tremendous impact on our ability to ward off the damage stress can do to our systems. Sure, you’ll still feel tense, but with your body nutritionally armed for battle, you’ll handle things better. There are many things you can do to maximize your body’s fighting power.

One of the most significant things you can do is to reduce the amounts sugar and white flour in your diet. Sugar and white flour cause a host of problems you could do without. By reducing these items in your diet, you will be able to maintain better weight control, reduce the risk of heart disease, and increase your energy level. Why? Because items made with these products metabolize too fast in your blood system. The result is unhealthy spikes in your blood sugar, rapid depletion of energy, and damaging stress symptoms.


Exercise - In addition to eating right, exercise can be a tremendous help in fighting stress. As you get moving, your circulation delivers oxygen and nutritional elements throughout your body. The result is muscle relaxation, the release of mood elevating chemicals, and a strengthened immune system. Studies show that those who exercise regularly are less likely to suffer from stress related illness.

Relaxation. When your body relaxes, it reverses stress symptoms. You experience a sense of control as you eliminate the feelings of helplessness that often accompany stress. Find that one thing that really helps you to kick back and forget about things for a while. Here are some suggestions:

- Catering to our senses, such as sight, smell, and sound can reduce anxiety. So put on some favorite music, keep fresh cut flowers in view, and sink into a warm bubble bath.

- Reduce the clutter in your life. Passing a stack of papers as you leave for work, tripping over boxes, or stuffing a breakfast plate into a sink of dirty dishes, creates underlying tension that acts as a fuse when something gets you fired up.

- Deal head-on with anything that has been bothering you. Ignoring problems won’t make them go away--resolving them will.

- Get a good night’s sleep. Your body needs this time to heal and “reboot” in preparation for the next day’s challenges. Deny this basic need and you drain all of your systems of their strength.

Good nutrition, exercise, and learning to enjoy life will help you ward off dangerous stress symptoms. It’s important that you take steps now to ensure a healthy future. That is why I dedicate several sections of my ebook series, A Balanced Approach to Health, to teaching you how to reduce the levels of stress in your life, instantly improving your quality of life. You’ll learn: How to cope rather than stress, 13 affirmations to move beyond stress and its impacts, how to become a relaxation guru, and much more.

About the author:
Paul is Head of Training for a major UK Charitable Organisation with a wealth of experience in personal development, management development, e-learning and operational management.

More Articles

How To Relieve Stress

... begins with recognizing the warning signs. Then, once the warning signs are seen, healing can begin. The first thing to do when you want to know how to relieve stress is to learn how to walk away. That's right, get up, go someplace else, and just cool off. It is often vital to hit that reset button and ... 

Stress Elimination

... should your mind be any different. By simply stretching in your seat every 15 minutes or so, then getting up and walking around for a couple of minutes every hour, you can ensure that your brain will stay sharp and stay focused. However, if you do not take these breaks, your mind will start wandering ... 

Stress And Exercise How Do I Make It Work For Me?

... resentment you feel won t help with your stress levels. There s a wealth of exercise options from walking, swimming and cycling, through to aerobics, martial arts and team sports. In fact, you don t actually need to exercise to exercise. All you need to do is get active so if walking the dog, digging ... 

Dealing With Family Stress

... it will take some time for you to make some connections and understand that things may not always be as easy as you hope. After all, if something was easy, it wouldn't be worth doing, would it? Family stress is difficult to deal with, but it is not impossible. By accepting your own limitations, as well ... 

How To Reduce Stress In Your Home And Work Environments

... bodies. Although this stress is not always obvious to us, the daily tension can cause minor illnesses such as insomnia, backaches, skin disorders or headaches, and can also contribute to potentially life threatening diseases like high blood pressure, heart disease and a variety of other serious illnesses. ... 

Treadmill Stress Test - Stimulating The Heart To Search For Heart Problems And Severity Of Complications.

... physical exertion on a treadmill is recorded. Treadmill stress test mainly monitors the heart rate and heart rhythm while the patient is walking on a treadmill. A treadmill stress test also is known as an exercise electrocardiogram. Treadmill stress test is performed on doctor request/prescription. A ... 

How To Deal With Environmental Stress

... ground. Unfortunately, streams are filled with particulate matter and chemicals can soak into the ground. However, some water is simply taken from municipal water supplies and those are not safe either. Thus, this is a problem that needs to be faced in day-to-day life. Unfortunately, these poisons do ... 

Break A Sweat To Break Your Stress

... besides all the errands you need to get done that day. Reduce your stress with exercise. It is a natural way to energize your body and calm your mind. Make exercise an integral part of your daily living. You will be glad you did as you enjoy each day, stress free. About the author: Louise Hathway provides ... 

Teenage Stress

... your parents have felt teen stress and they know what it is like. Sure, they may not want to admit that it was anything special, but they will, hopefully, remember that it was not easy at the time. So if you really need to get some sort of advice or help, sit down and talk to your parents. Not only will ...