Antidotes to Stress - Your Relaxation Response

The key to successful stress management is to keep a mild, healthy degree of stress in your life, in intermittent amounts. Each person has a unique response to stress, so experiment with techniques that help bring you back into balance, and learn what works best for you.

Stress, You Take My Breath Away — Breath, You Take My Stress Away
Nature has conveniently provided the perfect way to initiate your parasympathetic nervous system, your relaxation response, and it involves the one involuntary bodily function that you can also consciously control — your breathing. Nothing is more convenient than using your breath to bring yourself back into balance. Whether quieting a rapid fearful breath or boosting a shallow anxious one, just a few mindful breaths can shift your experience.

The first step is to simply bring your breathing under control:

• Exhale completely.
• Then slowly take a deep breath in through your nose.
• Expand your diaphragm/belly to bring air into the lower portion of your lungs.
• As you gradually fill your lungs from bottom to top, expand your chest.
• Even lift your shoulders for a last bit of fresh air.
• Briefly pause your breathing and your thoughts.
• Then relax and let the air flow smoothly out of your body.
• Pull in your stomach at the end to expel the last bit of stress.
• Enjoy the emptiness for a few seconds.
• Then begin another breath.

As you do this few times, pay attention to the sound and sensation of your breath. If you get light-headed at first, then breath normally. Your brain is probably not used to all that oxygen.

Rapid Relaxation Breath
New York's Stress Management and Counseling Center recommends a breathing technique for rapid relaxation. According to program director and practicing psychologist Allen Elkin, Ph.D.:

"You take a deep breath, deeper than normal, and hold it in until you notice a little discomfort. At the same time, squeeze your thumb and first finger together (as if you were making the okay sign) for six or seven seconds. Then exhale slowly through your mouth, release the pressure in your fingers, and allow all your tension to drain out. Repeat these deep breaths three times to extend the relaxation. With each breath, allow your shoulders to droop, your jaw to drop and your body to relax."

Control Power
Loss of control is itself a principal cause of stress. For example, when hospital patients are allowed to administer their own painkillers as often as they like, they use less painkillers than patients who have no control over their medication. A study of coronary angioplasty patients found that ones who "perceive control over their futures by having positive expectations . . . seem to be at less risk for a new cardiac event." (Psychosomatic Medicine 1999;61)

By using your breath to take control of the situation, you always have an immediate and natural way to calm down. Then you can proceed with other ways to initiate your relaxation response and get the situation under control.

Derailing Your Train of Thoughts
Concentrating on your breath is just one way to slow and stop the train of normal everyday thoughts that trigger stress — especially the kind of circular thinking that gets you nowhere. Perhaps you have a simple thought or quote, even a word or sound, that you can use to initiate your relaxation response.

"Grant me the serenity to accept things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference."

A Sound Way to Counter Stress
Maybe Mozart is the muse whose complex compositions conduct your endocrine ensemble of stress-relieving hormones. Whatever kind of music soothes your savage beast — classical, Celtic, Celine — let it shift your brain into its parasympathetic symphony. Toning, chanting, and other self-generated sounds have transforming effects on the mind end emotions. Augment sounds with mental images of stress being washed or blown away. Let your mind use all its resources to protect itself from stress hormones.

Open Your Mind's Eye —Visualization and Guided Imagery
For a quick shift into a calmer state of mind, simply imagine yourself in a favorite, tranquil place: a serene scene from your past or a hopeful one in your future. Close your eyes, breathe deeply, and try to see and feel your surroundings. The key to successful visualization is first to practice with real objects until you can vividly see them in your mind's eye. Then you will be able to better visualize imaginary ones.

You can start with images from books or listen to audio tapes, but the best images are the ones that your subconscious provides. A skilled guided imagery therapist can facilitate the process of bringing these images into consciousness.

Regular practice of visualization is important. Be sure to take advantage of the transition states between sleeping and waking, when the door to your subconscious mind is open.

Sixty-five patients who listened to guided imagery tapes for three days before and six days after surgery reported less stress and physical pain than a control group. Moreover, they requested only about half as many painkillers as those who had not listened to the tapes. The tapes helped patients imagine themselves in a beautiful and peaceful place along with a person they cared for. They visualized that their upcoming operation caused little pain or stress. (Psychology Today, Mar/Apr 1998)

It's Time We had a Brain-to-Brain Talk
When you're stressed out, first of all, realize what is actually going on inside your body and what the consequences are for your brain cells. Here's a brain transcript from "Attack of the Adrenals!"

"Attention all parasympathetic forces. Urgent. Missile silos mounted atop kidneys have just released chemical weapons of mass destruction. Must mobilize internal defenses. Launch immediate counter-calm before hippocampus hammered by cortisol."

Visualize fire hoses spraying cooling hormones that soak your adrenal glands until they're no longer steaming with cortisol. Then visualize security hormones rounding up the cortisol delinquents still loitering in your hippocampus — and taking them to Kidneyland for a one-way ride on the Bladderhorn.

Guided Metabolism
Create your own metabolic story, one that works vividly for you. Use imagination to reinforce your inner troops as they try to keep you alive and healthy. Have fun with it. Swim with the "endolphins" of your mind. Hey, it's not brain surgery. (And let's keep it that way.) This "guided metabolism" is similar to the way cancer patients use visualization to increase their immune system's T-cell count.

Sleep On It — The Brain Power Nap
Why do cats nap? Because they can. But so can you. Taking a "Brain Power Nap" may be one of the best things you can do to correct poor mental performance, especially after a stressful night of disrupted sleep. It makes sense: naps can help restore what insomnia steals.

It's been found that for every hour of lost sleep you lose an IQ point — reversible with sleep therapy or meditation. One study found that higher cognitive functions in children — verbal creativity and abstract thinking — were impaired after a single night of restricted sleep, even though the children could maintain routine activities. (Sleep 1998;21/8:861-8) A study of Japanese men found that a mid-afternoon nap had positive effects upon the maintenance of their daytime vigilance level. The 20-minute nap improved performance level and their self-confidence. (Clin Neurophysiol 1999;110/2:272-9)

Acute stress is known to modify sleep-wakefulness cycle, which leads to poor mental performance. Reverse the sequence: improve your performance with naps that reduces stress. Learn how easily it is to enjoy a Brain Power Nap, a variation on Tom Edison's famous catnaps. If he found time to take them, so can you.

Meditation — It's Not What You Think
Unlike prayer, where you do the talking, meditation is more akin to listening. And, your breath is the most natural thing to tune in to. Just observe your breathing. Listen to the sounds it makes and feel the sensations it creates. This leads you into a meditative state. If thoughts enter your mind, just let them go. Passively disregard them. Instead, stay with your breath. Let it settle into its own circular rhythm.

Dharma Singh Khalsa, M.D., author of Brain Longevity, found that meditation not only lowers oxygen consumption, heart rate, blood pressure, and blood lactate, it also causes a decline in cortisol production. "Among people who meditate regularly, cortisol levels tend to remain low, day after day. . . . Meditation has been shown to slow the aging process significantly, and to increase not just lifespan but 'health span.'" He also found that meditation promotes theta brain wave activity, which heightens learning ability and creative problem solving.

A daily session of meditation — preferably at the same time every day — will change the way your body responds to stress, because the effects of one session can last throughout the day. There are many nuances to meditation, and a qualified teacher may be advisable.

In a study at the Medical College of Georgia, scientists discovered that the daily practice of transcendental meditation kept blood vessels open, thus significantly lowering the blood pressure of meditators compared to those who just relaxed as completely as possible. (Psychosomatic Medicine, Aug 2, 1999)

Breath is even more than a mind-body interface. It is the gateway to spirit. The ancients knew this, and their language underscores the connection. In Sanskrit, atman means world-soul and atma is breath. In Hebrew, neshuma refers to both spirit and breath. The English word inspiration also hints at the connection. After years of studying meditation, Dr. Khalsa found that "the space between our thoughts — what the Asian healers call 'the sacred space' — is where most spirit-directed healing originates."

Biofeedback and Hypnotherapy
Some people benefit from more modern techniques of initiating the relaxation response. Biofeedback training uses sensitive electronic instruments that enable you to measure and eventually regulate bodily functions such as heart rate and blood pressure. Chronic heart failure patients who used biofeedback in a UCLA study were able to improve their blood flow compared to patients who only rested. In the 20-minute sessions, patients increased their skin temperature by imagining their hands becoming warmer. (Spectrum, Mar/Apr 1998)

A qualified practitioner is essential, as it is with hypnotherapy, which accesses your unconscious mind. From this advanced state of relaxation, a posthypnotic suggestion is given that may help you deal more effectively with stress in your daily life. Patients preparing for coronary bypass surgery who used self-hypnosis relaxation techniques were calmer and required less pain medication after their operations, compared to a control group. (Alternative Therapies, Jan 1998)

LET'S GET PHYSICAL — Flight or Fight (not just Fright)
To avoid stewing in your own juices of adrenaline and cortisol, it can be a good idea to do what nature has best prepared you to do — move it to use it to lose it. Burn up those hormones with physical activity.

• Do exercises that work your leg muscles, as in "Run away!"
• Bounce on a rebounder or jog in place.
• Climb stairs or use a stair-stepper.
• Walk it off or run around the block.
• Use a treadmill. (It works for rats.)

When two groups of rats were given mild shocks, the ones that had an outlet for stress, such as treadmill, had lower levels of cortisol and stress-related illnesses than the group without a way to alleviate their stress.

• Use short bursts of muscular energy, as in "Put 'em up!"
• Kick-box or have a punching bag handy.
• Do push-ups, sit-ups, and other upper body work.

Exercise not only defuses a stressful situation, it better prepares you to cope with future stress and even stimulates your brain to grow.

Progressive Relaxation
Another option — especially if you're stuck in your car or at your desk — is c. Tense, then release different muscles in a set sequence. It's easy to learn, simple to do, and it works. Scientists at Ohio University in Athens found it to be the best therapy for reducing tension headaches. In several studies, chronic headache sufferers experienced a 50 percent reduction in pain and frequency using progressive relaxation. (Prevention, June 1998)

Yoga and Tai Chi
These moving meditations that came to us from Asia are excellent long-term practices that can help you develop a healthy response to stress. A good teacher will get you moving in the right direction.

Special mind-body exercises are the centerpiece of Dr. Khalsa's brain longevity program. These unique combinations of movement, breath, and sound are energizing and regenerating yoga techniques that have helped his patients better cope with stress as well as improve their overall brain health and fitness.

The Medium is the Massage
Because mind and muscle are connected through the peripheral nervous system, massage does more than just relax your muscles. By relieving muscular stress, massage may improve brain function. A study of preschoolers found that those who received a 15-minute massage scored better on tests of cognitive performance than children who just read stories with an adult for the 15 minutes prior to testing. (Touchpoints, Vol. 5 #1)

Massage reduced levels of the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline in depressed mothers with infants. A study at the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami Medical School found that massage therapy also improved sleep and reduced the mothers' depression. Massage releases endorphins that calm the peripheral nervous system. It increases circulation and speeds up the removal of toxins from the body. (Alternative & Complementary Therapies, Jan/Feb 1996)

Feet First
Foot reflexology is a form of massage that works with the thousands of nerve endings in the soles of your feet. A session with an experienced reflexologist can be a liberating experience. Simply rolling your foot over a golf ball can be a good way to reduce tension.

In a Chinese study of 86 individuals, blood tests were taken before and after 30- to 45-minute reflexology sessions, ten days in a row. The results showed that levels of free radicals decreased while antioxidant enzymes increased. (China Reflexology China Symposium Report, Oct 1996) In a three-year study, Danish postal workers given access to reflexology therapy missed fewer days of work, saving thousands of dollars per month. (Self Healing, May 1997)

LET'S GET PHILOSOPHICAL — Mind Over What's the Matter

• See problems as opportunities.
• See problems as personal trainers.
• There is no right answer.
• It's not a perfect world.
• Let go, and let God.
• This too shall pass.
• Refute negative thoughts.
• Stop overgeneralizing.
• Control yourself, not others.
• Be you now.
• You are a human being, not a human doing.
• "Don't sweat the small stuff."
• "Work like you will live forever; pray like you may die tomorrow." (Ben Franklin)

Another powerful way to elicit the relaxation response is prayer — your own or the prayer, and care, of another.

News Fast
No, not another media feed. Just the opposite. Stop absorbing all the information — mostly negative — that assaults you throughout the day. Information overload is an insidious form of chronic stress. Turn off your TV. Andrew Weil, M.D., often suggests his patients try a one-week news fast.

Laugh First — Ask Questions Later
Before you react to some stressor, first try becoming an observer whose job it is to find the humor in the situation. Seek belly laughs that release those pain-killing endorphins which make you feel good as well as more stress-proof. The pioneering work of Norman Cousins demonstrated the value of laughter in stress-reduction.

Friends who make you laugh are one of life's greatest blessings. Here's where the right social network pays off. One of the most important anti-stress coping skills is to develop a social support system. For example, in a five-year study of 1350 coronary disease patients, those who had no spouse or intimate friends were three times more likely to die than those who had support. Even pets are effective.

Crying Out Loud
Crying is another one of nature's stress-relieving strategies. A psychiatric chemist named William Frey, Ph.D., showed that not all tears are alike. Emotional tears have a different composition than tears caused by eye irritants, and they are especially abundant in adrenaline and other stress-related chemicals.

Allies from Planted Earth
Plants have been at the heart of medicinal systems throughout the history, and today we are verifying that compounds extracted from herbs do indeed have properties that account for the benefits ascribed to the herb. Traditional cultures have always used relaxants such as chamomile, valerian, and kava. A 1998 survey by Consumer Health Sciences showed that 19 percent of individuals with depression used St. John's wort, 18 percent ginseng, and 17 percent ginkgo. The closest pharmaceutical was Prozac (17 percent).

Ginkgo and Depression
A Swiss study found that ginkgo biloba may help improve both sleep and cognitive behavior in depressed patients. "Results from the depressed patients' brain scans provide the first direct evidence that ginkgo biloba may improve their sleep," said Dr. Martin Hatzinger, one of the researchers from Basel Psychiatric University. Ginkgo appeared to significantly reduce the number of awakenings and increase both short wave and slow wave sleep. Both types of sleep returned to original levels however after ginkgo treatment stopped. (American Psychiatric Association's 152nd annual meeting in Washington)

Ginseng and Cortisol Regulation
Ginseng is a traditional herb that has long been valued as an adaptogen that helps the body better handle physical and psychological stressors. Apparently it does this by strengthening of the adrenaline glands, thereby reducing the overproduction of cortisol that is secreted in response to stress.

Ginseng helps to create a calm, focused state of mind, a greater ability to adapt to life's changes so you can bend not break. Numerous studies demonstrate its ability to improve the mental performance of people, especially when they're under stress. Russian telegraph operators who took ginseng for thirty days showed improved concentration and coordination, reflexes and endurance. Another study measured increased blood flow in the main arteries to the brain, while others demonstrated ginseng's positive effects on memory and learning — even for the elderly.

Vitamin C Reduces Stress Hormones
New research shows that high daily doses of vitamin C reduced the levels of stress hormones in rats' blood. P. Samuel Campbell, chairman of the University of Alabama's biological sciences department, reported that megadoses of vitamin C also increased the levels of an immune system antibody in stressed and unstressed rats, as well as reduced other indicators of stress. Rats were given 200 mg of vitamin C daily. The equivalent human dosage would be several grams per day. (Speech to the American Chemical Society, August 23, 1999)

Magnesium helps control the firing rate of neurons, and along with vitamin B1 is an essential nutrient that supports the reparative process that neurons need to offset the stress from the continual firing of the electrical impulse. Low synaptic levels of magnesium can cause hypersensitivity and increase your body's response to stress. Noises will sound too loud and lights will seem too bright. Stress affects your kidneys' ability to recycle magnesium, which in turn increases your sensitivity.

Aromatherapy — Common Scents that Your Brain Knows
The all-encompassing word "chemistry" derives from the Greek khemeia — "the extracting and mixing of medicinal plant juices." The famous 16th century Swiss physician and chemist Paracelsus referred to the oils he distilled from medicinal plants as "quinta essentia," hence our modern term, "essential oil." We obtain these unique compounds from the seeds and flowers, the roots and barks, and the fruits and resins of plants.

Smell was the first sense that animal life developed and is the most nostalgic of all your senses. A certain fragrance can immediately remind you of an experience in your distant past. This is because smell takes a direct route to your limbic brain where emotional memories are processed — and where stress hormones do their worst damage. Perhaps this why the sense of smell if often the first to go in older individuals.

Aromas have an intimate and irresistible effect. Unlike other senses, molecules of the object you are detecting actually come in contact with your brain. Your olfactory receptors are the only part of your brain that is exposed to the outside. Essential oils from plants are very powerful chemicals that influence brain chemistry, hormone production, and stress levels. Obnoxious smells certainly demonstrate this, but positive scents also have a subtle but powerful affect on emotional well being. It's not known for sure how essential oils work on the brain, but it's thought that they interact with certain membrane lipids as well as affect enzymatic processes.

A study of depressed men showed that citrus fragrance in their room reduced their intake of anti-depressants. Lavender has a calming effect on many people. A few drops of lavender oil on a handkerchief can help suppress the distress of frustrating situations, like being stuck in traffic or on the runway. Vaporized lavender oil was used in a British nursing home to help residents relax into sleep. It worked as well as sedative drugs. (Alternative Therapies, May 1997)

Andrew Weil, M.D., mentions research showing that the essential oil of a tropical flower called ylang-ylang causes the pituitary gland to secrete more euphoric endorphins, while oil of grapefruit stimulates the brain to produce natural painkillers called enkephalins. The scent of oil of marjoram boosts production of the calming neurotransmitter serotonin. (Self Healing, Oct 1996)

Essential oils added to bath water or massage oil are good ways to use aromatherapy, because heat helps the oils penetrate into the skin and bloodstream, as well as releases the oil's aromatic molecules for entry through the nose.

Trees are People, Too
Plants have their own stressors and have evolved chemicals to defend themselves. Trees have been shown to react to stress strikingly similar to the way we do. In her excellent book, The Fragrant Mind, Valerie Ann Worwood describes how trees respond to predators. When threatened by deer, a tree produces chemicals called tanins that deter the animals from chewing its leaves. Within 15 minutes, tanin levels in leaves have been observed to increase up to 282 percent, depending on the tree. And, like us, it takes much longer for the tree to return to its normal chemical state — from 24 to 100 hours after the attack.

Quick and Convenient Relaxation Techniques:

• Gain control of your breathing.
• Repeat a helpful quote or word.
• Visualize yourself in a tranquil place.
• Have a brain-to-brain talk.
• Use progressive relaxation.
• Get away from the noise.
• Use good scents.
• Lose the coffee.
• Laugh.

With More Time and on a Regular Basis:

• Exercise.
• Meditate.
• Get a massage.
• Practice yoga or tai chi.
• Take a Brain Power Nap.
• Use guided imagery tapes.
• Take an aromatherapy bath.
• Listen to Mozart or other music.
• Use biofeedback or hypnotherapy.
• Take time-out: a short walk or a long vacation.
• Take a news fast: stop being a receptacle for the world's problems.

"We are disturbed not by things, but by the views we take of things." — Epictetus

"There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." — Shakespeare

"I've had many terrible experiences in my life, and some of them actually happened." — anon.

Managing Anxiety: Expectations Are Killers

STAY AWAY AT ALL COSTS - DON'T LET YOUR EXPECTATIONS GET THE BETTER OF YOU.

We do not want to "set ourselves up" ahead of time for feelings of failure and defeat. We do not want to try to "force" or "pressure" anything into happening on a particular rigid time schedule.

For example: "Today, I will go to work, march into the bosses' office, and get that raise I deserve so much."

Maybe this is a true statement, but there are too many things beyond your control in this statement that have nothing to do with overcoming anxiety.

You are setting yourself up for a fall, and it is likely that you will have one.

Maybe your company no longer is giving anyone raises. They do like your work, and they do not want to lose you, but perhaps company policy dictates that no raises are being given for the next six months.

If you take this personally and allow yourself to feel defeated, you are sabotaging yourself. Don't do it. This is not something to be taken personally.

It is NOT a slap in the face to you. This would occur to anyone asking for a raise during this time.

Or, consider this irrational expectation: "Tonight I will go out and meet someone..."

This is a big, bold, unrealistic expectation. Why? Yes, you can go out and "meet" someone, but what you mean is you want to meet someone interesting that may turn out to be a friend or a lover.

The trouble is, again, you do not have control over WHO is going to be "out there". If you have some scruples, and are really looking for a quality person who shares your interests, you have limited your chances tremendously.

This particular expectation is usually a real killer: you expect way too much, and all of it is out of your control. You are setting yourself up for defeat if you carry this expectation out.

Instead, a healthier, productive outlook is to generally increase your social activities in areas in which you have a legitimate interest. Your interest in the activity should come first, and your focus should be on having a good time that evening - not on any of the people who might be there.

If your FOCUS is on slowly expanding your social activities - and not on other things - you have automatically increased your chances of reaching your goal.

Yes, this is another paradox. the more and more (and desperately and desperately) you seek something and "expect" something, the more and more elusive it becomes.

It can turn into a depressive nightmare, and your progress against social anxiety can be halted. So, FOCUS on moving ahead for yourself, healing yourself, expanding your social circle very gradually for yourself, and you will be moving in the right direction.

Handling Stress: Alternative Cures

Stress has become huge, and when looking for help or relief you will be faced with a barrage of Therapies, Practitioners and Drugs, all of which will claim to give relief from stress, and in most cases they will help. Some of the remedies available are discussed below.

The Doctor's Response

When we first fall foul of stress, we automatically go to the doctor with a whole list of symptoms and feelings, hoping there will be a miracle pill to make it all go away. But the truth is the doctor can only treat the symptoms and not the emotional or physiological reasons for the condition. In the limited time available with you, the GP will try his or her best to get to the bottom of why you are as you are.

Medication is not always the answer to solving stress, so many GP’s will refer you to a counselor or community psychiatric team. They may also refer you to a specialist: Psychotherapist, Psychiatrist or Clinical Psychologist.

Drugs

Depending on the symptoms you present to the GP, in some cases drugs will be prescribed to help you through a difficult time. In most cases these will be tranquillisers, though these will not be prescribed over a long period of time as they can be addictive.

Beta blockers help with anxiety, reduce palpitations, tremors and sweating. Depression caused by stress can be dealt with by another series of drugs, which can be given over longer periods of time, as they are in most cases not addictive, although some do carry some nasty side effects; some people experience withdrawal symptoms when they stop taking them. There are two main types of anti-depressant – the older style tricyclic drugs and the new selective serotonin inhibitors (SSRI’s) such as Prozac. Note: users of these drugs should be aware that it can take up to three weeks for these drugs to take effect and during this time you may experience side-effects, but you should continue taking the drugs under advice from the prescribing GP.

Under times of stress, we may take drugs in other formats that we don’t even consider as drugs, such as alcohol, cigarettes and recreational drugs. These will alleviate the stress short term but will not keep it at bay for good.

Alternative Cures

Talking
‘Talking it out’ is good for stress. Your GP may suggest you try a counsellor or psychotherapist who is free of charge, however the waiting time for these appointments can be up to six months in most cases, or your GP may refer you to someone private.

Counseling
Counselors generally don’t specialize in stress, anxiety or depression. However there are Stress Counselors who do. The counselors will be able to assist you in examining your causes of stress and suggest ways for you to deal with it better.

Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy delves deeper into your background, rooting out possible causes for your stress and the state you may be in. This therapy will tend to go on for longer than counselling.

Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT)
CBT has become more popular over the past few years. It focuses on changing negative thought processing into positive. The therapy aims to show you how to identify negative thought patterns and give you positive ways to change them.

Stress Counselling & Stress Management
Over the last ten years we have seen a rapid increase in the interest in Stress Management consultants and counselors. They can help you identify the underlying causes of your stress and give you positive coping strategies.

Aromatherapy
Aromatherapy is a world away from scented bath oils. Practitioners will use a variety of oils best suited to your needs, such as Lavender, Marjoram and Geranium. They may be added in a carrier oil to aid massage or dispensed from a diffuser.

Flower Remedies
Bach remedies are the best known flower remedy and marketed for a range of emotional difficulties.

Healing
Spiritual, Faith and Reiki healing all involve energy being passed through one to another. This can be done via the laying on of hands or distance healing.

Massage
Massage is a very relaxing experience which many people find beneficial when stressed, whether done by a practitioner, partner or friend.

Relaxation
There are many methods of Relaxation (See Services and courses), either taught by professionals or ones you can teach yourself. Many bookstores and health food shops sell books and videos for you to use yourself. Yoga is often recommended because of its relaxing qualities and the use of deep breathing.

Stress Management: Breathing

Have you ever concentrated on your breathing, while going through the daily mundane chores of life? For most of you, breathing is an unconscious activity that you tend to take for granted. You may have noticed that for a lot of activities and sports you need to concentrate on your breathing. Controlling your breathing is crucial for effective performance. That is why breathing exercises are amongst the most useful and popular relaxation techniques. The more you use this method the more you will begin to appreciate its effectiveness and reap rich rewards from it.

Despite the fact that breathing is one of the most vital functions of your body it is not only a concept that is not well-understood but is also done improperly. It can affect the way you feel, both mentally and physically. Breathing can also affect your emotional and physical feelings. Breathing right can help in reducing anxiety, depression, irritability, muscle tension and fatigue. It can improve your vitality, your thinking and even how your skin looks!

What happens when you breathe incorrectly? Because an insufficient amount of fresh air reaches your lungs, your blood is not properly purified or oxygenated. Products that should have been removed are still in circulation, slowly poisoning your system. Digestion gets hampered. The bodily organs and tissues become undernourished and deteriorate. Poorly oxygenated blood also contributes to the states of anxiety, depression and fatigue, and makes each a stressful situation harder to cope with. Thus proper breathing habits are essential for good mental and physical health.There are basically two kinds of breathing:

Chest breathing: This is characterized by an upward, outward movement of the chest wall. The breath is shallow, jerky and unsteady. It is usually seen when the body is aroused by certain challenging or stressful situations. There is a direct relationship between the mind and breathing. Unless this shallow and jerky breathing is replaced by deep and even abdominal breathing, the body will continue to be in a state of constant arousal and tension.

Abdominal breathing: This is also referred to as diaphragmatic breathing, since it involves the diaphragm. The diaphragm is a sheet of muscle that separates the chest activity from the abdomen. When you breathe in, the diaphragm contracts and pushes downwards. This relaxes the abdominal muscles.

When you breath out, the diaphragm relaxes and the abdominal muscles contract to expel the impure air. It is the most efficient type of breathing, because it enhances greater expansion and ventilation of the lungs. It also improves circulation. When you are calm and relaxed, you breathe abdominally. Learn to breathe correctly and you will feel a marked difference in your life.

Avoiding Exam Stress

How do you know if you are suffering from examination stress or not? Broadly speaking, you can have three types of symptoms -- psychological, physical and bodily symptoms.

Psychological symptoms would include your inability to concentrate on your work, getting angry at the slightest pretext, feeling tense, brooding and being unable to relax. Physical symptoms include feeling tired, being unable to sleep, a feeling of throwing up, indigestion and sweaty palms.
Other common symptoms include eating chocolates, drinking loads of coffee, neglecting your looks, biting your nails, pulling your hair and tapping your fingers on the table. If you have most of these symptoms, then you are stressed out. Here are a few tips on how to avoid exam stress:

Acknowledge the problem: The first and foremost rule of beating stress is to acknowledge the fact that ‘yes I do have a problem’. Identify the problem, or else you are not going to know what you are dealing with.

Get help: Once the problem is identified then you need to get help. You can go to anybody who you feel comfortable with. For example, ask a teacher or a tutor on how to organize your material or on how to revise.

Take short tests: Self-testing is a very good assessment of judging where you stand. Remember you are doing this for yourself so don’t fool yourself. Assess yourself and then work on your weak points.

Plan your work: Make a detailed timetable and plan out your work. This will also give you a good perspective as to where you stand.

Stay healthy: You may neglect your health during exam time. However, it is important to eat well and get enough sleep in order to put in your hundred per cent.

Exercise: Sitting on your table all day long will make you dull and difficult for you to retain everything. You must exercise, go for a walk and get a breath of fresh air to keep your batteries charged.
Be positive: Do not waste your energies on negative thoughts such as, "What if I fail, or don’t finish my paper on time or don’t remember anything." This will only make things worse for you. Concentrate on your work and don’t hassle yourself thinking about the future.

Be alert: You must be totally alert while studying and should have nothing troubling you at the back of your mind.
Don’t be too relaxed: Some amount of stress is positive and will make you work harder.

Do your best: At the end, what’s important is that you give your exams your best shot and leave the rest to your teachers.
Remember the more stressed you are, the more difficult the period of exams will be for you. It is in your hands to control your stress. Follow these simple rules and do it now.

Your Guide to Stress Free Working

"My boss is always picking on me, my colleagues think I am footloose and fancy free, I am always discriminated against because of my sex, my views are often ignored… all this because I am single and working…oh the travails of a single working woman."

Is this your story? Today, as more and more women aspire for top positions, social and gender prejudices have become all the more glaring. So what are you doing about it? Suffering in silence and being victimised for no reason, or taking some proactive steps to counter the critics. There's no law that says that you can't be single and working and happy, all at the same time. Here's how to get started:

1. Get Organised
Organise your work in such a way that nobody ever gets a chance to point fingers at you. You will feel a spurt of new confidence creeping in and people will start respecting you. Follow the dictum 'People get to you only if you let them' so it is all in your hands. Don't give anybody a chance to say anything by keeping yourself updated and organized.

2. Be Assertive
Learn to stand up for yourself and assert your views. You are a mature young woman of the 21st century who wants to make her own space in the professional world, so don't take everything lying down? Charge forward, air your thoughts and opinions, make your presence felt by sheer dint of hard work and your intelligence. Assert yourself when you know you are right and just watch the balance tilt in your favour.

3. Learn to ignore
Turn a blind eye to things that don't affect you directly and you will be better off. Remember ignorance is bliss. Of course, don't make this a universal rule.

4. Speak your mind
Remember people will take advantage of you if you let them, so sit up and speak your mind. Nothing and nobody can stop you if you are in the right. Only don't be rude or step on anybody's toes! Be soft spoken and amiable and if you are right, you will be heard.

5. Say NO when you have to
Learn to say NO. There is absolutely no need to accept social invitations from colleagues or requests to finish off somebody else's work. If you always feel cornered into agreeing to some issues, remember that it is in your hands to not get cornered.

6. Confront the culprits
If somebody in the office is trying to act funny or get too close, be it the boss or a colleague, tell them frankly that it is in bad taste. Being single does not mean that you are fair game. If you feel that there are hands brushing against you or some one forever banging into you then it is time to confront them. Just tell them to watch where they are going and to keep their hands in their pockets loud enough so that the entire staff hears you!

7. Don't get involved in office politics
Colleagues might try to involve you in office politics and groupism, but the best policy is to stay neutral. Avoid gossip and gossipmongers and concentrate on your work.

8. Be aware of your own strengths and weaknesses
Recognize your strengths and weaknesses and leverage them to your advantage. Work on your weaknesses and gradually improve them.

9. Always look confident
Always have an air of confidence about you even if you are all jittery inside. Only beware of not being overconfident!

10. Be proud of yourself
Last but not the least, be proud of what and who you are. You are a beautiful, intelligent, single woman determined to create your own niche in today's world. So just stay focused, go ahead and do it!

Think of Indira Gandhi, Margret Thatcher, Benazir Bhutto - three women of steel who fought against all odds and changed the face of history. If they could do it, so can you!

Simple Tips: Unleash the Power of Positive Thinking

It’s Monday morning. Sanjay is edgy and worried. He has to make an important presentation in front of the top management team, for which he has been working through the weekend. He says to himself: "I am dreading this. What should I do? Will the top brass rip apart my presentation? Will I be able to answer their questions or not? May be they won’t like my presentation."


Sanjay is definitely making things difficult for himself by harboring negative thoughts in his mind. To make himself feel better all he has to do is some positive thinking. He should say to himself: "This presentation is going to go off well. I have worked hard on this and I know it is good. I know my work and I will be able to keep them interested."


Thinking positively will change your attitude and make you positive. It will help you cope with the pressure and the stress that is taking the toil on your body due to the constant reminder that you find a task difficult and you won’t be able to do it. You can become positive by constantly talking to yourself and motivating yourself. This is known as self-talk.


Self-Talk


This is a process of endless monologue, which you carry inside your head. It influences the way you perceive things and the message that you give to yourself. Self-talk can either be positive or negative. There are two ways at looking at every situation.


For Example:


Car problem on the way to office
" Damn this old car. I'll miss all my meetings. It's hopeless". You can change this to: " Bad time for a problem. Maybe if I call office and let someone know, they can start the meeting and I will join in as soon as possible."
Anticipation of a presentation
" What if I blow it? What if nobody laughs at the opening joke? What if they ask about…. I hate talking to groups." You can change this to: " This ought to be a challenge. I'll take a deep breath and relax. I am sure they will enjoy it. Each presentation goes a bit better. I know I am good and I can do it."

It is important to pay attention to the quality of your thoughts, because they determine how you feel during the day, how well you perform and how well you sleep at night. What positive thinking can do is to get you into the right frame of mind, to demonstrate your skills to the best of your advantage while you stay calm and focused. When you are relaxed you are likely to deal with problems more effectively and constructively. So a positive outlook is a must. When you think and tell yourself that you can, you will, and you must, notice the marked difference it will make in the job that you undertake.


Positive thoughts: Once you undertake a task tell yourself positive thoughts about:

You as a person:


I am good
I can cope
I am better than a whole lot of people
I can do this
Its not that bad after all
I have done more difficult things before
Use mental mantra's " I will…., I can…"
I am the best and I will achieve it
I can influence my destiny
I look and feel good
I enjoy my own company
I can succeed

About specific events:


I will succeed in this presentation
People will listen to me in this meeting
I am a little nervous, but I will relax
I can make a difference
I will achieve the result I want
I can win
Now get working and see the difference it will make in your life and work. Start now and get results today, for tomorrow might be too late.

Stress Management: Thought Stopping

You've heard the old saying, 'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Modify it and you'll get, 'All stress and no relaxation makes Jack a dead guy.' Yes it's true that stress can sometimes lead to life-threatening consequences. But the brutal truth is that in today's competitive world, stress has become unavoidable.


Talking about stress always reminds me of my friend Sona. She has a tendency to get worried and anxious about every little thing. Once that happens, her mind works overtime thinking of every possible disaster that could happen. Her thoughts range from "I have to complete this work today ... or else my boss will get mad at me ... and if I loose my job it will be awful ... I wonder if my marriage would survive tough times. Times are bad ... & so on."


A recent international survey on worry showed that 40 per cent of the time we worry about things which never happen; 30 per cent about things that are over; 12 per cent are needless health worries & 10 per cent are miscellaneous worries. Only a marginal eight per cent of our worries are legitimate. However, if you are caught in the vortex of worry, there is hope. Start practicing thought stopping, part of a technique of behavioral therapy that is helpful in dealing with the problem of continuous and upsetting thoughts.

It can be practiced by doing any of the following: Say STOP aloud to yourself, wear a rubber band around your wrist pull it hard and leave it, pinch yourself unobtrusively or dig your fingernails into the palms of your hand.

Thought Stopping
This technique requires time, patience and constant practice. Thoughts don't go away easily. So as soon as you encounter a difficult thought, interrupt it constantly as this will lead to a gradual decrease in their frequency & eventually they will go away. Initially, select thoughts that are not too stressful graduate on to the more stressful ones and slowly you will master the technique. Besides thought stopping, you can practice the following steps to control your negative thoughts:

1. Imagine the forthcoming event: From your past experience you can figure out how a particular event or the person concerned affected you and in what way.
2. Specify goal: Define the problem and work out all the details. Prepare in advance how to handle criticism without getting upset.
3. Rehearse before the event: If you rehearse thoroughly you can make sure to give a faultless performance.
4. Give yourself a break with pleasurable activities: While preparing for a stressful activity take a break. Go for a walk, listen to music etc.
5. Prepare for the worst: Think of the worst that can happen and ways of coping with it.
6. Relax before the event: Just before the event relax, take a slow deep breath, unclench your jaws and fists, relax your shoulders, uncross your legs and allow your entire body to relax.
7. Expect some stress: A small amount of stress enhances performance.
8. Take time to recover: When the stressful event is over; relax completely.


Once you manage to control your negative thoughts, your life will be stress-free.

The Cycle of Stress

Human beings have an innate response to real danger. It's often referred to as the fight-or-flight response, and it triggers the secretion of certain hormones along with an increase in blood pressure, breathing rate, metabolism, and muscle tension to help us fight or flee a perceived threat.

The problem today is that our bodies can't always distinguish between real danger and the pressures of modern life, such as juggling conflicting responsibilities, meeting deadlines, or dealing with traffic. As a result, some estimate that the stress response may occur 50 times a day in the average person.

People exhibit prolonged episodic stress in a number of ways: they become anxious, irritable, angry, withdrawn, or depressed. Over time stress can contribute to a variety of chronic health problems, such as high blood pressure and irregular heart rhythms that can put people at risk for heart disease. In fact, heart disease is the leading cause of death for women. Untreated, stress can also make it more difficult for people to stop certain behaviors, such as smoking or excessive drinking, or to implement lifestyle changes such as improved eating habits or regular exercise.

There is ample evidence now that the use of stress reduction techniques can dramatically improve the body's innate ability to take care of itself. In a recent study at the UCLA School of Medicine, 22 people with high blood pressure were taught various stress reduction techniques such as biofeedback, deep breathing, and the use of relaxation tapes. Seventy-three percent were able to keep their blood pressure under control with lower levels of medication, and over half were able to safely stop taking medication altogether. In a control group of 17 people who did not learn the relaxation methods, only one-third were able to reduce their medication levels.

A major part of the program at the Mind/Body Medical Institute at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston is learning how to manage stress. In addition to practicing the relaxation techniques of meditation, deep breathing, and visualization, participants learn how to identify their automatic emotional and physical reactions to stress. Then they are taught how to break the cycle with these four steps:

• Stop: Don't let negative thoughts make the situation worse than it really is
• Breathe: Take several deep breaths to release physical tension
• Reflect: Focus your energy on the problem at hand
• Choose: Now you can choose the best way to deal with the situation

Your Physical Environment and Stress

If you are under stress, then it’s not only your personality that is to blame. It’s the physical environment of your workplace that is a significant contributor to stress. You might not be in a potentially dangerous job, but there are stressors even in buildings. Watch out for these environment stressors at your workplace:

• Closed, congested office spaces: Ever notice how uncomfortable you feel if a stranger comes too near to you while talking? This is because there is a personal space of every human being in which very few people are allowed entry. Going by the same logic, congested rooms do not allow people to have a certain level of privacy and tend to produce stress.
• An unclean environment: Messy and disorganized offices and neighborhood tend to distract from work and thus function as stressors.
• Noise pollution: Besides contributing to noise pollution, a cacophonous environment can affect your ability to concentrate and think effectively. It also causes mood swings. In fact, the higher the level of skill and speed required in a job, the more is the damage caused by the noise.
• Inappropriate lighting: If a room is either too dimly or too sharply lit, a person may suffer from headaches due to the constant screwing up of the eyes. Very little light can make you feel stressed, lethargic or bored. Low natural light causes both energy levels and morale to fall, thus affecting your work and satisfaction levels.
• Air pollution: When there is poor air circulation or improper ventilation, the stale air in the room is capable of causing stress. It can increase irritability, cause headaches and affect performance adversely. Working in a smoke-filled room can lead to claustrophobia.
• Uncomfortable temperature: While hot and humid environments make it difficult for a person to focus on the task at hand, noisy air conditioning can also be quite stressful.
• Lack of storage and filing space: In the absence of sufficient storage and filing space, files and work get piled up, collecting dust. Too much of clutter is stressful, as it distracts and annoys.
• Lack of sophisticated office equipment: It is extremely stressful to work with inadequate equipment. This multiples effort and creates dissatisfaction.
• Absence of support system: In case of failure of the computer, electrical or other systems, does your office have a support network in place? If not, then the knowledge of it is as stressful to the worker if not more, then the actual scenario of a breakdown of the machinery. A poor working environment can thus be a major cause of stress, not only because it can influence the way you work, but more importantly, because it can damage your health.

You Could Be Stressed Out Because...

Believe it or not, but stress begins at your doorstep. A difference of opinion, high expectations, death of a loved one can all contribute in some little way to causing you stress. Domestic stress can be because of personal, economic, social/religious and situational/external factors or events.

Personal Factors: that can cause stress include personality characteristics and coping skills, expectations that one has from family and oneself, understanding with spouse, emotional attachment, feeling of guilt for not being able to spend time at home, eating and sleeping habits and rigidity. If your income cannot support your family, your job prospects are low or if you have sudden expenses, you could be under stress due to economic reasons.

Situational factors: over which you may have no control, such as deaths or births, divorce, altercation with neighbours, illness or retirement, financial loss, or unsuccessful completion of daily activities could all lead to domestic stress.

Changing value systems: a lack of effective leadership, corruption, and bureaucracy affect both your economic and social lives directly, thus directly or indirectly causing stress. Increasing ambitions, growing desires and a tendency to become more and more materialistic has become the order of the day. We all want to be rich and successful and for that we struggle very hard. Beware, for this can take a toll on your health and consequently increase stress.

Your personality: can also determine how stress prone you are. If you are constantly worried about what will happen and what could happen, there will be no end to your stress. Another factor that adds to your stress is your belief systems. These affect your personality directly.
Beliefs are what you have acquired from your family and society and these affect your characteristics, behaviour and thoughts. The way you perceive stress, your lifestyle, your working style, relationship with your family, perception of others, attitude towards others and priorities all depend on your personality. Whether the stressors are environmental or social will depend upon the personality they effect.