TENSE? IRRITABLE? DEPRESSED? (A REFRESHER)
By award-winning author and stress-relief expert Susie Mantell
As many of you know, my first suggestions for stress-relief will always include:
1) Identify the source of your stress and if possible, eliminate it.
(Wish it were that easy,huh? OK, read on..)
2) Take a look at the roles of caffeine, sugar and alcohol in your life. "Sugar Blues" can be confused with being stressed-out, or with a common ailment known as "crabbiness."All 3 can exacerbate stress symptoms in some.
3) Utilize a variety of coping tools. Include pleasurable exercise, mindfulness & meditation, breathwork, gentle touch, mindful nutrition, counseling, journaling, play and laughter, creativity, personally meaningful spiritual practice, healthy relationships, and balance tough days with some nice activities just for you.
4) Reassess goals: "Is this really necessary NOW? Is there an easier way to get the job done?" Explore options and discuss ways to diminish stress, ask for help, share responsibility.
5) If at all possible, reframe the problem from a more positive or productive perspective. Find something meaningful in your predicament or create meaning.
(e.g. Snow cancellations? Cozy in, catch up on rest, magazines, organize closets and donate to a shelter. Loved one ill? Help out, but care for your own health too, contribute to a related charity.)
6) Do something kind for someone else every day without telling a soul.
7) When all else fails: Go to bed. Deep, restful sleep can work wonders.
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Award-winning stress-relief expert Susie Mantell ...is the author of the deeply soothing relaxation CD, "Your Present: A Half-Hour of Peace,” clinically approved for symptoms associated with stress and sleeplessness, depression and grief, anxiety, P.T.S.D., Fibromyalgia, caregiver stress, cancer, pain, divorce and addiction recovery. Featured in The Los Angeles Times, NBC, ABC, CBS-TV, Town & Country, The American Pain Society, Hazelden and The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, listeners include The Mayo Clinic, Memorial Sloan-Kettering, The Betty Ford Center, V.A. Hospitals,and Canyon Ranch (#1 Spa.) Customizing stress-reduction for Fortune 500 companies, distinguished hospitals and spas, Mantell has facilitated thousands in relieving health-related, work-related, chronic or traumatic stress. Her multi-sensory, mind-body techniques appear in national media, medical and corporate publications. Susie Mantell's Stress-Relief & Wellness Tips are intended as an adjunct to, not a substitute for, professional health care. Order “Your Present: A Half-Hour of Peace” and find more of Mantell’s stress-relief tips at www.relaxintuit.com