Effective stress management and relaxation?
February 28th, 2009 | by Anthony |philogos82 asked:
Stress has been defined by some as an “imbalance between demands and resources” or when “pressure exceeds one’s perceived ability to cope”
My question is, what specific steps to do you use, or have you found effective when dealing with stress?
CIERRA
One Response to “Effective stress management and relaxation?”
By THE_Sparkchaser on Feb 28, 2009 | Reply
For me, it has always been exercise. Physical exertion releases endorphines into the bloodstream, which have the effect of created a “natural high”, so to speak. I have used running, weightlifting, martial arts, and even physically demanding “honey-do” projects to gain this effect. Not only does it result in the release of endorphines, but it serves as a diversion; engaging in an activity that requires your attention allows your mind to, temporarily at least, shift the focus AWAY from the stress inducing event or situation.
Meditation has also been effective for me in dealing with stress. A darkened room, either quiet or with soft music playing, and about 30 minutes to an hour (depending on just HOW stressed I am) of uninterrupted time allows me to focus my mind, separate, prioritize, and compartmentalize issues that need to be dealt with and/or come to terms with. Not recommended to attempt meditation when you are too exhausted, otherwise you will fall asleep and lose control of the process. I hjave heard it suggested, and believe, that dreams are the subconscious mind’s method of compartmentalizing events that the conscious mind has yet to address. Unfortunately, this process is segmented and erratic, and I know of very few people who have the ability to control this while sleeping. End result: non-refreshing sleep, which leads to less ability to handle outside stressors, which leads to more stressors that must be dealt with, etc, etc, AD INFINITUM.
So for me, exercise, meditation, and distracting activities. Not necessarily in that order, but usually all to some degree.