Managing Stress Now » Methods

Overcome Supermom Stress

ManagingStressNow — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 07:29:17 +0000

As kids we have lived our fantasies of having the “best mom” or the “best dad”. While we grew out of it into reality, so will our kids. Its crazy to be standing at the other end, where as parents we now want to be the best of all. One can call it the “supermom syndrome” where one wants to be the do it all mom, who would have an answer to everything. There is no denying that we want what’s best for our kids, but in the process its very easy to get lost in the stresses you get exposed to. At some point, for your own good and for the benefit of your mental peace, its important to realize your limitations and know how good is good for you and your family.

Its absolutely fine to not be the perfect one. Many of us often stretch ourselves beyond the bounds of our level and hurt our ability to be a good mom or a parent. Its not just hard on yourself, but your family too. There might be times when your son despises you for missing his soccer game, but you had an important presentation at work right? There would be a next time. Its important to let things go and not be hard on self. You might want to read bedtime stories to your kids while your kitchen remains a mess for a while. Its important to lighten the mood and its ok to be a slacker at times as well. At the end of the day, you want to be a good mom, there is no such thing as the “super-mom”.

No matter how much your envy the family next door, only you can be the best judge for your children and the kind of exposure you need to provide them. Its not healthy to over burden your kids with 7 days of classes after school, be it skating or swimming or some music lessons. This over scheduling has never worked wonders for anyone. Learn to space out time with them and decide what’s healthy and most interests them. At the same time, make space for some family time or an activity they love to do, even if it involves nothing constructive or challenging. Do not let the pressures from the society, dictate your decisions and at the same time do not make their days monotonous. Its best to give them a variety to enjoy and experience, and its not always bad to allow a couple of hours in a week with their Nintendo wii.

While your kids are on it, it’s crucial that you don’t get lost in taking care of them as the only goal. Take some time off, give yourself a break, take a walk, watch your favorite show or just call some friends over. May be they have children whom your kids would love playing with too. It’s all about everyone being happy and neither getting stressed in the process. Talk to your husband; also spend time as a couple. If growing up healthy is important for kids, it’s as important for the mother to provide them a healthy environment, and it only starts in your own mind.

Assign duties; make your relationship more interactive. Award them for helping you set the table or making dinner. Involve your kids and make-work and play more fun. Don’t hesitate to become a kid yourself if you need to. Get rid of your inhibitions and think like you did when you were at their age. At times it helps to laugh like a child and enjoy like an innocent. You could be your child’s best friend and who wouldn’t want that?

Finally, don’t forget who you as a person, even before you are a wife, a mother or an employee. Your individuality would govern the way you are to your family. You won’t want to get lost in fulfilling your duties. Take up old hobbies and things you have always loved doing. Join piano classes if that’s what you enjoy doing or learn a language you have always wanted to speak. You have been blessed with a life which you rather celebrate and enjoy every moment of it. And the take home lesson is, the world starts from you. To be a good mom, you need to be good to yourself. In the eyes of your child, you already are “the super mom”

10 ways to reduce commuting stress – Part 2

ManagingStressNow — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 04:12:11 +0000

For the first part click here

5. Enjoy the ride

When on the road, everyone is in a hurry. Instead of vexing your way through over fellow riders or the long queue on traffic lights, use this time to relax and refresh yourself. Tune into your favorite morning show on FM or that album you grew old listening. The idea is to spend your time pampering your own self as this might also be your only time alone for some of you.

6. Make it a comfortable ride

Chronic backaches have become ever so common. Even for those who are free from this lower back strain, long strenuous hours at the wheel could take a toll on you. It is most important to adjust your seat to your height and a correct posture. It really helps to support your back using cushions or a tucked towel in your lumbar back area. Sitting in one position for longer period of time, tends to put pressure on your spine as it is curved outwards. Also keep adjusting your position every couple of minutes to avoid extra strain in one position, which can often cause numbness in the legs.

7. Hit the gym after work

It might sound impossible at first to be working out after you have had a long tiring day at work, but once you get in, its advantages are more than many. The fitness centre that you have always known to exist in a corner of your office, is the place for you to beat the stress, help you relax and at the same time, beat the evening hours of traffic. We know the bumper-to-bumper traffic gets on everyone’s nerves, an easy way to face it is- “avoid it”. Go for a bite, a yoga class, a gym or anything that helps you relax and before you even know, you would be all set and relaxed to speed your way home. Simple, isn’t it?

8. Take a break

It’s worthwhile to take a day off and get away from the extra pressures. Most companies allow a schedule and flexibility that would let you squeeze in a day or two when you just don’t feel you are up for it. We all deserve one or two of those.

9. Work from home

Many of us, if not all are involved in the kind of jobs that can be done by yourself even at home as effectively as from your cubicle. Ask your manager if you can get one of those days at home. Not only are you saving the precious time in travelling, it also lets you relax and space your work according to your needs. You could also enquire if there is a sister branch or office that might be closer to your home, where you could put in your work hours for some days. The idea is to explore your options and making a choice wisely.

10. Variety and change of habits

An occasional car pool, or a ride in the bus or local train might be advisable to try out every once in a while. If distance is not much, you could also try walking or biking your way to work.

Just making it to the work place every day of your life, is just the half story. What makes it complete is your state of mind, which of course is in your hands. In the age of economy crisis and cutthroat competition, it wont hurt to try a tip or two to help you relax and deal with secondary stressors that comes with the package

Hope you found some great tips to reduce your commuting stress, try a few next time you feel stressed on your drive to work. Here’s hoping for a stress free commute.

10 ways to reduce commuting stress

ManagingStressNow — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 04:05:52 +0000

How often do we wish that our offices were at a stone’s throw? Often one has wondered what they could do with that extra time we spend commuting to our place of work, not just once but twice in a day. With our growing cities and shrinking distances, we are probably left with having to drive long distances to make it to our respective work place. As if the pressure of waking up every morning and running through all day to meet deadlines was not enough already. By the time one reaches his destination, one can notice signs of anxiety and the blood pressure rising way up. Though it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out the obvious changes and impact of commuting, but studies have shown that people commuting longer distances on a daily basis are much more likely to suffer multiple physiological and biochemical changes in the body, the impact of which could be as severe as a heart attack. It is not just the stress, but environmental air pollutants could also be an added factor.

Given the demand and expectations of our current lifestyles, it is next to impossible to avoid stressful commuting for most of us. However, to deal with these negative forces is easier than we can imagine.

First important step could be to prepare yourself mentally and physically, much in advance. You always want to avoid the morning rush. The moment you wake up in the morning, worrying about small things such as preparing documents or getting the cloths ready should be the last thing on your mind. These issues are best dealt the previous night, giving you ample time and comfort zone to mentally prepare you for your journey. Not only this gives you more time to relax, but you can then focus on enjoying your breakfast or chatting with your family or reading the morning newspaper. And when you are ready, the only thing you are left to do is hit the road and beat the office rush on the freeway.

Here are some of the other common things we can take care of.

2. Sleep well and be an early riser.

It is needless the mention, the importance of a good night’s sleep. This enables your brain and your body to relax and work over your daily tensions and cumulative stress issues, which you gathered over the day. If you lose sleep, not only do you feel un-fresh but also there is a tendency for your brain to slow down of lose focus, which in turn would affect your mood and productivity at work.

3. Rotate or alternate your working hours

Not all of us are cut alike, and we definitely have our preferences. If Mr. Robin likes to be in his office at 7, does not mean he wants to work more? It is important to realize what works best for your. Depending on your work policies and schedule, one can provide some flexibility in his work timings such as doing a 7 to 3 or a 10 to 6 shift. This would not only help you plan your day better but you are also more than likely to avoid the peak traffic on the road and spend remarkably less time commuting each way.

4. Carpooling

If you are in California or Washington (or many other cities), not only will the carpooling lane on freeways help you cut down on the travelling time, it also makes you more relaxed when someone else is driving. Along with the plus of having company, you face much less pollution and road congestions. At the same time, you earn credit for being environmental friendly. It isn’t easy to coordinate your timings with another person, but isn’t it still worth it?

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Exercise as a Stress Relief tool

ManagingStressNow — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 04:14:56 +0000

Stress is a common daily struggle for millions of people around the world. These stresses stem from many things, including work, finances, taking care of the house, worrying about friends and family and just trying to keep life together as we know it. Many people who suffer from stress strive to find relief, but fall short of trying everything possible.

Sure, visits to the doctor and certain medications can help, but one form of stress relief comes from exercise. This kind of stress relief is known for soothing the body and mind, and working wonders in relieving the daily worries we as humans endure.

Types of Exercise Used for Stress Relief

Yoga is probably one of the most popular forms of exercise when it comes to relieving stress, and it’s because the methods of yoga are well known to soothe the mind by focusing all energy on relaxing and coming to peace with your surroundings. If this can be achieved, a feeling of serenity often lingers for hours after the yoga exercise.

Aerobics is also another popular form of exercise stress relief, as the fast paced exercise helps to release endorphins within the body which results in happiness and security. Getting rid of pent up energy by doing aerobics is something that will release stress within itself.

Exercise tips for Stress Relief

If you choose yoga as a stress relief exercise but don’t have the time or endurance to perform an entire yoga session, there are a couple of moves you can do on a daily basis to help keep your stress in check. The first is a series of breathing exercises, performed while laying flat on your back.

Once in position, make sure your arms are flat against your body and your head is facing straight up. Close your eyes, and breathe. Using your nose, breathe in while counting to 5. Using your mouth, breathe out while counting to 5. Continue this cycle for 20 sets, all the while clearing everything but counting and breathing from your head.

The second yoga exercise for stress relief is a little more active, but can be done before or after the breathing exercise. First you’ll want to position yourself on your hands and knees with your head facing straight down. Next, you’ll use your right leg, lift it and bring your knee in toward your face below you.

While you bring your knee in, breathe out slowly. Next, extend your leg back out behind you, while breathing in slowly. Once your leg is in mid air and stretched behind you, hold it for a count of three, along with your breath, then repeat 10 times for each leg.

These short yoga exercises for stress relief can help turn a new leaf for you in your day to day activities, and it’s something that’s easy to keep as a part of your daily routine.

Stress Balls. how do they work?

ManagingStressNow — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 13:23:28 +0000

There are many factors that can cause stress and stress is something that is inescapable from our lives. It exists regardless of what lifestyle we live or how old we are. If has many adverse effects and generally disrupts us from being just ‘normal’, relaxed and happy.

As you might have already read in the tips and techniques section, there are probably 100’s of stress relieving techniques. Some new techniques seem to come up practically daily, others are merely a evolution of previous ones. These techniques, like massages, meditation, yoga, exercise are very effective. Though they all suffer from a draw back. They are all quite time consuming, and in today’s fast paced lifestyles, finding time to relieve stress might be another stress causing factor.

A simple and quite effective alternative to these stress relief techniques is the use of a stress relief ball. These balls are made of rubber or polyurethane or soft rubber. These stress balls come in various sizes and many different shapes [hint: you can get a custom stress doll made of your bosses face ].These dolls come in various colors and different textures too. Squeezing these balls is said to have many therapeutic benefits.

The materials used in making these balls are non-toxic and these stress balls are very safe for use. Other benefits of these soft squeezable balls is by use by joint pain patients (arthritis) and its also a great way to get back to recovery after an injury (physiotherapy after a fracture). This helps blood circulation in arms and hands and its particularly beneficial to those working with computers daily.

Since there are virtually no side effects, stress balls are a popular stress relief tool used by many professionals. Using it after a long, tiring day will have a calming effect and will rejuvenate the energy lost. It can be used by practically all ages. Using this type of therapy will keep the stress related problems from getting aggravated. A lot of companies have seen the benefits of these stress balls and its not uncommon to see them being handed out during corporate events and long meetings and seminars.

These stress balls can be easily customized with your own specification of shape and size. They are a popular gift to give especially if you are an event organiser and want to make a lasting impression on your attendees, not to mention the great health benefit to them.

So go ahead and find a stress ball (We have handpicked few stress balls from Amazon and have the links ready at our store, click the link and look for them under the “stress relieving products” section) and keep it in your office desk, and give a few squeezes whenever you feel stress taking over you and feel the instant benefit.

Yoga and Meditation for Stress Management

ManagingStressNow — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 06:05:46 +0000

People undergo stress in all phase of their lives and the truth is that stress is universal. Stress is principally the outcome of lack of dealing with problems peacefully. People experience stress because of various factors such as family, work, financial troubles, school, college, exams, relationships and what not? This affects not only your mental stability but your physical health as well.

Everyone comes across various disputes in all points of their life. This does not mean that you must start worrying and get stressed and stop enjoying life. It is very essential to put an end to this thinking. Certainly it is not very simple like it sounds but it can definitely be achieved if you want to. You would definitely want to keep yourself calm if you value your life.

When you are in any kind of stress you are always in search of a stress buster. Yoga and meditation are two ways though which you can help yourself to come out of stress. Both yoga and meditation are very ancient techniques that have been followed since ages and have proved to show best results. They help you to maintain a sound body and soul and what more would anyone want? Meditation helps in guiding you to relax yourself and deal with any circumstance without having to undergo mental pressure. It relaxes totally loosens up your mind. Yoga has also shown its value in uprooting stress and worry. If you continue yoga habitually you will probably maintain a stress free life throughout.

Due to a very hectic life schedule almost everyone appear to be undergoing stress at every point of life. Almost every one is victims of stress and worry. Excessive use of prescribed medicines is not very good eventually. Therefore it is always better to go for natural remedies that show good results and that is exactly what yoga and meditation do. They relive you from stress and worry in a very natural way. Therefore they may be considered as the best stress busters.

Yoga and meditation mainly help in controlling stress and worry by making your mind calm and peaceful. You will see a great change or a transformation when you are involved in yoga and meditation. Yoga includes certain postures or asanas and some breathing exercise know as pranayams that help in getting rid of stress and loosening your body and mind. Meditation helps you to wipe out worry and teaches you how to unwind your mind.

Lack of sleep is one of the major results of stress. Since yoga and meditation excels in making you achieve a healthy mind it automatically makes you enjoy sound sleep as well. Though yoga and meditation you can overcome your emotions and frustrations in a very balanced manner. Gradually they also help you in increasing your sense of maturity. Yoga and meditation are great ways of achieving a calm mind and the best thing about them is they can be practiced anywhere. By inculcating yoga and meditation in a right way you can also end up molding your complete view of life as well. All you now have to do to lead a life without stress is practice them.

For Stress Relief, Music Is Great Prescription

ManagingStressNow — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 01:55:14 +0000

You will not find one individual who does not like music. Music is an integral part of every culture. Right music has an effective sensation on our brains, calming us down and relaxing our bodies whereas certain kinds will just make us more agitated and stressful.

Shakespeare said in Twelfth Night, “If music be the food of love, play on.” The jury is still out on whether music is the food of love or not, but it sure is food for stress relief. Music taps into our most primal emotions and can manipulate us for good or for bad. With patience and honesty, you can discover the best stress relief music for you.

One of the original functions of music may have been to express the inexpressible. Music was used for laments, for worship and for medicine. One of the oldest kinds of healer, shamans, used songs to seek assistance from the spirit realm to assist his tribe. In modern times, blues music can make you feel good by listening to songs about bad times.

Our brain often makes associastions with phases in our lives, don’t you listen to a song and suddenly remember some prior event. The trick is to explore such songs that take you to a better you, a stress free you.

Times have changed, but the need for relief from, as Shakespeare put it, “The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune”, haven’t. Between worries about basic survival, there are also worries about traffic, about how to cook a new meal or meeting your date’s parents, about why the cat won’t use her litter box, and hundreds of other straws that can make your camel’s back reach breaking point. By reducing stress, you can make yourself healthier, which can lead to being more energetic, creative and happy.

For stress relief music, you might prefer instrumentals to those with lyrics. Some people find their minds latch onto words, whether sung or not, and can’t stop thinking about the song lyrics rather than trying to relax. And then, there are some people who can only fall asleep with Metallica blasting at full volume (and they always seem to move next door, don’t they?) Music taste is a very personal thing, so stress relief music that works for one person may do nothing for you.

Bringing Sounds into Focus

Your stress relief music should remove you from your worries and fears. It is as if you are placed in a temporary cocoon hanging outside of reality. You can’t stay there all of the time, but a few minutes a day can make coming back to reality a lot easier.

Not your body’s reactions when listening to a favored piece of music. Does your pulse quicken? Then that’s not the best stress relief music for you. You want your body to calm down, not speed up. You might try tapes of classical, New Age or even songs of whales or birds to help you relax. You want to be interested enough in the music to pay attention to it, but not so much that it bores you to tears and thus cause more stress. The best stress relief music can balance between relaxing you and boring you. You’ll know it when you find it.

Relax – It’s Only Natural Stress Relief

ManagingStressNow — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 00:47:41 +0000

It should come as no surprise to anyone that it’s a stressful world out there. With family, career, bills and a hundred other daily worries, it’s only natural to get stressed. But stress is bad for your health, which can lead to more expenses and worries for you, in turn creating more stress. You can feel caught in a vicious cycle; but you don’t have to be. There are many things you can do to get lasting stress relief. So as not to stress you out even more than you already are, this article will concentrate on natural stress relief remedies rather than medications that may worry you.

Take a Breath

The easiest, quickest and most inexpensive natural stress relief you can get is to take a deep breath. A series of deep breaths not only relaxes your body, but brings more oxygen to your brain, which may help your thinking abilities. Check yourself when you are really stressed – you start to pant or hyperventilate which tenses your body up and lowers your oxygen.

Just how deep is a deep breath? Inhale to the count of five, hold it for a count of five, and then exhale to the count of five. As your body relaxes, you can gradually lengthen these counts to seven or even ten. You only need to do it for a minute or two in order to give your body a time-out. That’s all there is to it.

There are many breathing techniques that you could learn that help you instantly, a simple 5 minute breathing exercise everyday just after you get up can do wonders to your stress levels. Not to mention the calming feeling you get once done. The first and probably the most important thing they teach you in meditation and yoga, is the usefulness of correct breathing techniques. Learn a few and see how stress free your life becomes.

Wake Up and Smell the Natural Stress Relief

If you don’t get enough sleep, you will be stressed. Without enough sleep, it can very difficult to make decisions or put anything into a proper perspective. Check with your doctor to see if there’s any help he or she can give you for your sleep problems. While you wait for your appointment, here are a few things you can do to help promote better sleep.

Cut back on caffeinated drinks at least three hours before bedtime. Darken the windows, even if you have to nail a dark colored towel over it. Sounds silly, but this helps a lot of people. Use scents that promote deep breathing and relaxation. Essential oils are best, even the smell of chamomile tea can soothe. Each person reacts differently to each essential oil, but lavender and frankincense are generally proven to promote deep breathing, relaxation and a feeling of serenity. Find the scent that helps relax and comfort you.

Sounds are always proven to help sleep better, go to our soothing sounds section and listen to a few you might like. Sounds of waves crashing on rocks always de-stresses me.

Make ‘em Laugh!

Another easy and inexpensive natural stress relief remedy is to laugh. Go ahead; laugh out loud now for no reason at all. Feel better, don’t you? And you probably made passersby laugh, too, helping them to de-stress. That’s the best natural stress relief of all.

So go ahead, watch a nice comedy or read a funny book. The time spent will reflect on yourself nicely. Remember, the best investment you can make is on yourself. So live better, live stress free.

Breathing Exercises for Stress Relief

ManagingStressNow — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 02:20:21 +0000

One of the most popular ways of reducing stress is through breathing exercises. These exercises are easy-to-do and very effective. They won’t take too much of your time either. Here is a look at a couple of good breathing exercises that you can try out for stress relief.

Simple breathing Exercise – This exercise is easy. Here is how you can do this:

Be in a relaxed sitting or standing position
Inhale through your nose and while inhaling count up to five
Exhale from the mouth and while exhaling count up to ten.

Repeat this exercise ten times.

Pranayama - This yoga breathing exercise is very effective for reducing stress, tension and nervousness. Here is a very simple version of this breathing exercise.

Sit in an upright position, with your legs folded. Your hand must be placed in a relaxed way on your lap.
Take a deep breath. While you inhale, pull out your belly and heave your chest. Stomach muscles must be taut.
As you hold your breath, count up to five.
Exhale. While exhaling, relax your abdominal muscles.

Repeat this exercise after a two second gap. When your concentration levels are good, you achieve good results with this breathing exercise. You can start out by doing it in a couple of minutes, every day and then increasing the time to about 10 minutes a day.

Karate breathing Meditation – This breathing exercise is very simple and will take just a couple of minute’s time. Here is how to do this.

Sit comfortably. When doing this exercise, most karate artist follow the seiza position, which is sitting with knees out and legs tucked to the behind.
Once seated, shoulders must be relaxed, head up, and back straight. Your eyes should be focused ahead.
Take a deep breath through your nose and while doing so expand your belly. Hold your breath to the count of six.

Exhale through your mouth.

Repeat this exercise twice and then breathe normally. While breathing normally focus your attention on your breathing.

Deep Breathing – This is also a very easy breathing exercise. Here is how to do it:

Take a slow deep breath through your nostrils. While doing so, focus on your belly and imagine it to be a balloon that you are inflating with your breath.
After you have taken in air as much as you can, hold your breath for a few seconds
Exhale breath through the mouth and while doing so imagine that you are deflating your belly.

Repeat this exercise 10 times or more.

Doing simple breathing exercises is one of the best ways of reducing stress. It is just right for people who are really busy and who don’t have the time to go to work-outs or do extensive exercising to relieve daily stress. By following any one of the above-mentioned breathing exercises, you will find yourself to feel more fit, energetic and calm.

Relationship Break up Stress

ManagingStressNow — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 14:28:12 +0000

We all start dating and though we want love to stay in life forever, but it may not always come true. What when things go wrong-its time to move on. But this move on time or break-up as we call it is very stressful and sometimes life threatening too. It is because it results into a physical loss and means physical removal of someone special from your life. With separations, divorces or break ups you are abandoned purposefully. It is like you have been cast aside and rejected. Even though your loved one is alive somewhere but you know that that love was intentionally withdrawn from you and has opted to leave you.

May be you have tended and nurtured your relationship and may be molded it the way you wanted it. But suddenly you no longer have their presence nor care. No one wants you anymore and you are at the receiving end and have little or no control over the situation. You morally break due to a feeling of loss of your own sense of value, and self worth, your pride, your ego, your dreams, your hopes, your security and your feeling of being loved. You feel taken for granted and this clouds and clogs your thinking. Life just turns topsy-turvy and from being the world to someone we suddenly turn to nothing.

It feels unbelievable and the pain is unbearable. But falling a prey to it would only degrade you and wreck you emotionally. You need to overcome this painful time.

First and foremost you need to accept the truth and push yourself to think positive. Feel it as a good thing to have happened-though I know it is difficult. Try to engage yourself in work or recreation. Remember friends are always there by you, whatever may happen. If you want to get over the feeling stay and go out with your friend and celebrate the time together. You need to get over your past memories as well as memoirs-you don’t need them anymore.

Vent out your feelings either by writhing or by screaming out loud. Rediscover your smile and learn to laugh out at things of past. Find and quote some words of wisdom for yourself. Read it everyday and start believing in yourself. Go out for shopping and splurge on yourself. Start pampering yourself. Go for a complete make over. This would give a change to you and your personality. Don’t be ashamed about what you felt or what your feelings are. Don’t wear a fake mask. If you feel you are not fine, then mourn at your loss. Deeply grieving is actually soothing for the mind because you are accepting your problem, instead of denying it. It saves you up from bottled emotions and emotions which reflect out elsewhere in a confused and unhappy way.

Once this phase is over you would realize that this phase has actually enriched you with an experience that you may take as learning for the rest of your life. The sooner you get over a relationship and move on with your life, the faster the stress of a breakup will vanish. There are tons of things one can do to get over a breakup. Family and friends do help, but when they are not around, a hobby or a enjoyable pastime sure would help. Breakup Stress effects thousands of people, and it’s very simple to get relieved from that.

Also read : Breakup Stress – Tips to avoid it during holidays