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“What are the five best stress management techniques?”

“What are the five best stress management techniques?”

by admin | January 16, 2023 | Lets Be Aware | 2 comments

“What are the five best stress management techniques?”

There are two angles from which to approach stress. One is to get rid of the pressures already pent up in our bodies and minds from poor lifestyles. The other is changing our lifestyles to prevent new tensions from piling up. But simple as that sounds, we always find it very difficult to manage anxiety, don’t we?

Life around us has become demanding partly because of the advent of technology that challenges us to handle and manage its complexity. The other contributing factor is the expectations we burden ourselves with – like unrealistic goals, impossible deadlines, and unfeasible commitments.

But, as medical scientists and psychologists agree, existing under this kind of constant overload is no way to live. It may be a busy life, but it isn’t richly rewarding. Tension taken to extremes can result in ill health of body and mind and becomes challenging to detangle from.

So, what are the ways to really reduce being weighed down in our lives? Read on.

 

First, let’s examine what happens to us when we acquire stress

In the days of our ancestors, humans used a valuable instinct called “the fight or flight response.” This was to safeguard from the dangers lurking in the wild. The natural reaction of humans was to either fight the foe or flee from that place as fast as possible.

According to Cleveland Clinic, in this state of “fight or flight,” the body gets driven by its sympathetic nervous system and is triggered to release an overload of hormones. Your heart rate and blood pressure increase. Your blood flow gets redirected, so your hands and feet become cold and clammy. You look pale or have flushed skin, with your pupils dilated to see better. You’re on edge, tense, or trembling. Your memory closes down. Digestion and body repair are all temporarily stalled. You’re ready to use all your energy to take on or run from the “enemy.”

These days we have started treating everything in our lives as silent enemies. Our work, competitiveness, family responsibilities, economic conditions, unreliable devices … the list of things we fear is endless.

This lingering state of heightened distress erodes all our vital organs and leaves us with degraded health … unless we take remedial measures.

 

5 best techniques to eliminate strain from our lives

The ideas below can go a long way, provided you try to do them gradually. Ease into your new lifestyle by adopting one idea at a time.

 

1. Get onto the path of physical exercise and good nutrition

When we live sedentary lives, there is no outlet for the accumulated energy residing in our nervous systems. We, therefore, need to find an exercise routine we can do, given our age and condition, and with due advice from our doctors and sports specialists.

According to Mayo Health Clinic, one of the simplest forms of regular exercise is walking (preferably in the fresh outdoors) for at least half an hour daily. Follow up the walking with slow yoga asanas that stretch the tensed-up muscles of the body.

A healthful eating regimen is equally essential, again with a sound nutritional plan drawn up by your doctor and a qualified dietician. Slowly eliminate junk foods and unhealthy food choices from your diet, which only add to the overwrought feeling. A wholesome and healthy eating plan can give you more natural energy.

Eat “close to the earth” – fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and cereals, unsaturated fats, and lean protein. Use condiments and herbs in your cooking with calming value. Remember to drink plenty of water to stay well hydrated.

 

Get onto the path of physical exercise and good nutrition

 

 

2. Learn the right way to breathe – most of us do it wrong

Have you ever noticed how you breathe? According to the American Lung Association, most of us follow this pattern.

We intake a deep breath, holding our stomachs in tightly. Then when we let out a deep breath, we allow our stomachs to unclench. Consider what we are doing!

We constrict our lungs from taking in a total capacity of oxygen when we tightly tuck our stomachs in with every deep in-breath. Then when we breathe out, we let go of our stomachs and therefore don’t fully push out the stale air in our lungs.

In deep sleep, though, the exact opposite happens. When you breathe in, your stomach relaxes and is bloated to let air fully enter your lungs. Then when you breathe out, the stomach drops back in to help your lungs fully empty the carbon dioxide.

It’s time to question our reversed breathing styles when awake – and to set it right. There are many breathing classes we can attend to redress the wrong ways we have learned to do something as natural as breathing.

 

3. Try out several relaxation techniques to find your best one

There are so many techniques that can help us relax. We must try them all out to see what feels great.

We have yoga, meditation, Tai Chi, biofeedback, mindfulness practice, posture correction, massage therapy, aromatherapy, music therapy, art therapy, acupressure, detox sessions, hobbies, reading books, drinking hot green tea, or spending time with Nature. Of particular note, the Indian pranayama technique can calm the whole body by de-stressing and stabilizing the nervous system.

According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, “Relaxation techniques help bring about the body’s “relaxation response,” characterized by slower breathing, lower blood pressure, and a reduced heart rate. The relaxation response is the opposite of the stress response.”

 

Meditate for good health

 

 

 

4. Balance your digital life with real life, with awareness, every day

We cannot get away from the digital world because most of us work there. But we have to learn to balance digital life with real life. Previously we used to be concerned about “work-life balance.” But now, the focus has changed.

According to Dr. Jörn Lengsfeld, the term to use is “digital-life balance.” He holds that human activities focusing entirely on the virtual world can even lead some people to totally detach from the social, biological, and physical environment. This will adversely impact them in the long run.

Living more in real life will help balance the digital overload because reality has a way of “bringing us down to earth.”

 

5. Connecting with others can be a tremendous relief from disquiet

Humans are social beings. Finding a sense of belonging to a community of people – at work or even on a local committee – can help enormously when you are seeking relief from any form of tenseness.

Other ways to use the company of others is to bond with your near and distant family and friends and participate in get-togethers. Attend physical events and learn to make new friends in person.

Also, you can eliminate much worry if you approach and speak to experts in the medical, psychological, or naturopathy disciplines about any troubles you may have.

According to the NHS, UK, talking in real life is a form of therapy. While talking therapies do not make people’s problems disappear, they find it easier to cope with them and feel happier.

 

In summary

Stress is a contributor to serious diseases. And when it leads to problems like obesity, cholesterol, diabetes, and hypertension – through lifestyle or hereditary factors – they all have a multiplicative effect on your heart. That’s how stress and your heart are related. Be stress-free. Stay heart-healthy. Be a Zinda Dil.

 


 

References

    1. Cleveland Clinic. “What Happens to Your Body During the Fight or Flight Response?”. Accessed: January 6, 2023. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/what-happens-to-your-body-during-the-fight-or-flight-response/
    2. Mayo Clinic. “5 tips to manage stress”. Accessed: January 6, 2023. https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/5-tips-to-manage-stress
    3. American Lung Association. “Five Ways You Might Be Breathing Wrong”. Accessed: January 6, 2023. https://www.lung.org/blog/you-might-be-breathing-wrong
    4. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. “Relaxation Techniques: What You Need To Know”. Accessed: January 6, 2023. https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/relaxation-techniques-what-you-need-to-know
    5. Lengsfeld, Dr. Jörn. Joernlengsfeld.com. “Digital Life Balance”. Accessed: January 6, 2023. https://joernlengsfeld.com/en/definition/digital-life-balance/
    6. NHS, UK. “Benefits of talking therapies”. Accessed: January 6, 2023. https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/talking-therapies-medicine-treatments/talking-therapies-and-counselling/benefits-of-talking-therapies/

 

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