How balanced our lives are has a direct correlation for most people with their resilience and ability to cope with work pressures.

The following  exercise is a great stress reduction  and anxiety control exercise and will aid you to observe exactly what changes you should make in your life to attain your work  life  balance.

Draw a circle and then consider 6 to 8 really necessary parts in your life and also draw one line or spoke for each of these as well as label it. Firstly, think of exactly what significance, time and also focus these spots of your life would definitely take if you had your life in an excellent balance. You might wan tot relabel a couple of the spokes to match your  own life.

Nigel Marsh How to make work-life balance work

Make a  mark on each of the “spokes” of the wheel. The closer to the outsides, the more you value that place as well as the more important it is for you. The reduced relevance this area has , the closer your  mark is going to be to the center of the circle.
Draw a line in between the spokes to join up your marks. You should have a diagram looking something like a  simple cobweb.

Next step is to duplicate the activity with a different color, but this time place your mark on the line that demonstrates  how much time, relevance as well as importance that this area is currently receiving in your life. This time you are evaluating just what is happening right now! Again join up these marks and you should now have 2 cobwebs in different colors , one showing the ideal picture and the second one the “As is ” picture. You will definitely have an overall assessment from your 2nd plans of the ‘form’ of your life, and some idea l of the overall balance you have actually already established.

A considerable ‘indentation’ in the shape of your tire perhaps indicates a location where brand-new, even more fulfilling activities might be included, or unprofitable activities dropped.
If you have a relatively round– however extremely tiny figure, you are quite possibly receiving a bit as tiny compensations in all categories. If this holds true, you might want to set up modest goals for each area showed in the chart in order to raise your general fulfillment with your life.
Where there are gaps in between exactly what you need as the best balance your life, (your very first figure) and also just what you presently have, (your second figure), you may have indeed determined some origins of anxiety for you. To enhance matters you can set up yourself goals to assist you obtain a far better balance.
Select the facets you would like to develop further to sustain you through your worry administration and also foreseeable future modification.

Stress Management

Related Stress Reduction and Life Work Balance Resources

Stress May Be Tougher on Women’s Hearts Than Men’s Study

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Technorati Tags: life work balance, stress reduction, stress reduction at work, stress reduction exercises, stress reduction kit, stress reduction program, stress reduction tips stress reduction techniques stress reduction activities

Stress is classified into two categories – acute and chronic.

Acute (short-term) stress is caused when the body’s instinct is to defend itself from a dangerous or threatening situation. The body’s physiological reaction reacts to the sudden danger by producing the appropriate hormones, adrenaline and cortisol changes necessary for the task at hand. This is known as the fight or flight response. This is usually short-lived and the body then returns to its normal physiological state.

Chronic (long-term) stress is when your body spends more time in the hyped-up fight or flight state. This type of prolonged exposure to stress can lead to problems such as anxiety, depression, fatigue, burnout and other medical disorders.

Chronic stress can often be a result from events such as ending a relationship, illness, death, and loss of employment, divorce or financial hardship. These stressors tend to take more time and support to overcome as they place more strain on the entire body.

The following are some symptoms and signs of stress: trouble sleeping, waking up in the middle of the night, lack of energy, feeling listless or apathetic, fatigue, headaches, stiff neck, upset stomach, nausea, high blood pressure.

Awareness is the first step in stress management. Observe your behaviors for any of these or other stress-related symptoms.  I have listed some stress management techniques below.

anxiety reduction

1-Learn to say “no” or “ I don’t have time right now” to outside obligations that cause you stress. Set boundaries at home and at work. If possible, act to change situations that trouble you; know when to face up to the things that are causing stress and when to let them go. Ask for support if needed.

2-Surround your self with positive uplifting people.

3-Visualize a safe haven to go to in times of stress. (Except when driving of course). Example: close your eyes and visualize a place in your mind that is peaceful or relaxing. While at this place notice what you see, what you hear and what you smell. If it’s the beach it could be the smell of the salt water or sun tan lotion. You may hear the waves slapping up on the shore, or hear the seagulls. Now take a deep breath with this visualization in mind. Stay there and continue to notice what comes up and how your body sensation feels. Is it relaxed, calm, and peaceful? This is the body sensation you are looking for. Do this visualization as often as you can.

4-Identify which tasks in your day you enjoy doing and mix them with more mundane tasks.

5-Distinguish between high and low priority tasks and eliminate less important ones.

6-Delegate any tasks you can that are less important.

7-Stop “perfectionism” it breeds unnecessary stress-and perfectionism is a myth anyway.

8-Practice relaxation exercises, for example: belly breathing. This is a powerful and simple technique. You will learn to breathe slowly from the diaphragm or your belly. This will relax you and help to relieve stress.

Lie comfortably on your back, place one hand on your belly, and inhale while you slowly count to four. Expand your belly as much as you can like a balloon. Then exhale from your mouth to a slow count of four while letting all the air out of the balloon. Feel yourself releasing the tension. Repeat about 3 times and try to build up to 5. You can do this before feeling stress, as it is a good prevention tool.

9- Do something nurturing and beneficial everyday for yourself. I have listed some suggestions.

*Pamper and nurture yourself.

*Spend some time laughing with a friend. Watch comedies and read humorous books.

*Exercise.

*Get outdoors-regular exposure to outside light combined with fresh air can be beneficial.

*Express your creativity-painting, drawing plant flowers or journal fond memories.

*Learn how to meditate-calming your mind is another great stress reducer.

*Get a Massage-massage therapy is an excellent stress reducer. It relieves tense muscles and also evokes the opposite of the fight or flight response.

*Spend some time with your pets-they help keep us in the present moment.

It is extremely important to keep areas of work, personal leisure, and relationships with others in balance. It is sometimes difficult to keep all areas of life in harmony at the same time. However, if you consciously make an effort to strive toward this it will help you decrease stressors and help lead you to a more complete life.

In peace and happiness!

Mary South Florida Gay News

Stress Management Articles 

Stress can be good or bad but moderation is the key The Scribe

Stress can be good or bad but moderation is the key. The Scribe. By Aaron Collett It should come as no surprise that this time of the year tends to be the most stressful for us students. Spring finals are coming up quickly seniors are preparing for graduation and everyone has a list of assignments that are due.…

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Women and Stress The Reiki Stress Management Activities

You would think that with all the articles on how to cope with stress in popular magazines newspapers and medical literature that we would have a better handle on it. Yet the annual survey on stress in America conducted in.…

No Is The New Yes Stress Management  Tips

Productivity and stress management isn’t about figuring out how to do more it’s about deleting what doesn’t fit. Tips from wellness speaker Eliz Greene.…

Stress Management

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Relaxation—m khajoo (Flickr.com)

Stress Management and Relaxation Techniques

People have been practicing yoga for thousands of years — people  count the rosary, do tai chi and meditate”  Herbert Benson from the best selling book “The Relaxation Response” said.

“What they were doing was using relaxation techniques they believed sustained health and well being — and they were correct.”

Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital MHG believe the use of a virtual environment to teach mind body relaxation techniques can improve access for a variety of individuals

Benson said the relaxation response is best done in the morning before work. He warned against cutting corners — less than 10 minutes a day.

“It can’t be quick and dirty,” Benson said. “The more you do it, the more changes will occur.”

There is a time and a place for relaxation techniques but the best relaxation technique of them all is to be more disciplined about what and how you think.

We have talked about mindfulness forefoot on this blog but here are a few reminders that you might find  helpful.

Here are three  habits and traits you need to build to improve your mindfulness and improve your relaxation.

Stress Management

Be curious: Research has found that curiosity and social anxiety are incompatible. Curiosity opens your attention and anxiety narrows it. So it is likely that if you can increase your curiosity at the right time, this will help you manage your anxiety.

• Tip: Be curious about your anxiety. Take notice of what you are not seeing (what is your “tunnel vision” preventing you from seeing?). When anxiety arises, instead of taking an approach of, “Oh no, not again!” consider saying, “That’s interesting. I wonder what’s going on here?

Relaxation Session for Stress Relief

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• Be Brave : When you are ready to face your anxiety, you should do so with coping skills. Undoubtedly, you’ll need to rally any personal courage that you’d previously been underusing.

• Tip: Focus on the outcome of using your bravery – how will you feel about yourself after you face your anxiety? How will your behavior impact others?

• Manage Your Emotional State: When you practice being aware of the present moment, you are taking control of your attention. When your mind wanders to past problems or to future worries and you bring your focus back to your breath (or to the present moment), you are taking control of your attention (in other words, you are self-regulating your attention).

• Tip: Don’t try to override panic or intense anxiety by learning relaxation techniques. I love these techniques but there’s a time and a place. Research shows learning relaxation techniques for panic can actually be harmful since you cannot override your fight-or-flight response when it’s fully activated in panic. Instead, train yourself to take better control of your attention through regular mindfulness practice.

Related Resources for Relaxation Techniques and Stress Relief

Shinrinyoku Why You Should Do It Wellness Intel

It is a Japanese term for walking in the woods and since the early 1980s the activity has been recognized as a form of relaxation and stress management by an agency of the Japanese government

Podcast Stress Management and Relaxation Techniques Meditation MP3 Audio

Relaxation and stress management help our physical well-being our emotional well-being and improve the quality of our lives. 80 of visits to doctors are due to stress-related issues.

Relaxation Techniques to Achieve Stress Relief How To Relieve Stress Easily

Discover different methods of relaxation your can try to help you to relieve stress

anxiety reduction

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Mindfulness Practice 1: Deep Breathing

It as simple as breathing really. By focusing on your breathing and breathing deeply from your lower abdomen can calm you down and really focus you on the moment . It is a simple technique that can be used anywhere.

 Mindfulness Practice 2 Meditation

There is no surprise that our top CEO’s in our biggest companies are flocking to mediation to help them deal with their many pressures. Meditation builds a degree of mental discipline and over time allows yo to better direct your thoughts  and become detached from your worries. It has a  huge range of health benefits on blood pressure etc..

Mindfulness Exercise 3: Observing Your Thoughts

Our worries generally focus on what has already happened “I’m worried about what others think of me following my outburst in the meeting”  or what might happen in the future “ What will my Boss think when he hears?”  Sometimes holding off the onslaughts of thoughts can be difficult. It can be like trying to cross a fast moving river sometimes the current is too strong and yo get swept along. Of this sounds a little lie yo then the habit of mindfulness might be worth trying for you. So what you do is listen and sit back to your inner dialogue “your thoughts in your head”  You observe them rather than be absorbed by them as you practice this detachment technique you may find your thinking starts to quieten down a little . If you want to accelerate this process write down yor main thoughts in a journal and then reflect upon them afterwards.

Useful blogs on mindfulness

How Mindfulness Transforms Ordinary into Extraordinary Goodlife Zen

When the mind is neither in the past or the future and we are completely present, our experience changes in a significant way.

Suddenly life seems more spacious and more peaceful.

The Mindfulness Path

Mindfulness is the practice of moment by moment awareness. This practice is a careful and continual observation, where we directly experience the changing nature of the mind/body process

Why We Need To Teach Mindfulness In A Digital Age

Think of sitting quietly in a spartan room. There are no TVs, computers, smartphones, books, magazines or music. If you’re like most people, this probably sounds like a recipe for boredom. In our culture, we avoid moments of “not-doing” because we don’t associate boredom with having any value.

anxiety reduction

Reducing anxiety, Sowing and Growing—NazarethCollege (Flickr.com)

Here are a few practical  tips to help you reduce your anxiety and better manage your stress

Every one gets nervous on occasion but its only when those nerves seem to grow and we feel powerless to control that normal nerves becomes a a acute or chronic level of anxiety .

We are not for a second saying that some our experiences can be challenging and that life has a habit of putting us under loads of pressure at times.

Pressure and worries are very real but it is what you deal wit them afterwards that matters and we simply differ in our response to these pressures which of course impacts on how well we deal with them in our everyday life.

A key cognitive technique that can be very helpful in anxiety reduction is mindfulness. It is particularity helpful when you have to be able to perform at a high level but are feeling anxious. The video below talks about test and exam based anxiety times when you definitely need to be thinking straight! but the concepts apply to a host of potentially anxiety inducing situations.  So what do we mean by mindfulness?

Lets take the test based anxiety as an example:

Anxiety in a test condition can result in “going blank” Mindfulness is about paying attention to the current moment . The current moment we mean how your body is feeling, the noises, sounds and smells going on right now. Sentimentally we distract our brains for worry and ruminating by bringing our thought back to the present. We anchor it there by focusing our attention in an emotionally detached way on the present experience. This may seem strange but trust me this is a powerful technique that improves greatly with some practice and is great for reducing anxiety.

So how can you practice mindfulness?

We’ll talk more about that in our next blog entry .

In the meantime here are some useful links to anxiety reduction and stress management blogs

anxiety reduction

 2 Things You Can Do Right Now to Decrease Anxiety

Stress, anxiety and depression are often consequences of the combination of uncertainty and pressure.In one study focused on reducing anxiety and depression in college students, physical exercise and relaxation techniques were found to be valuable remedies for depression and anxiety (Cai, 2000).

When Reducing Anxiety Perfect Solutions Don’t Exist

The distorted stories we tell ourselves can amplify our anxiety — which, ironically can occur when we’re trying to reduce the worry, jitters and angst. One of the most damaging of distortions is the desire for perfection.

Quality Advice On Reducing Panic Attacks Dealing With Anxiety

Try to be aware of the feelings that signify that an attack is imminent, so that you can try to ward it off. Knowing what types of situations elicit anxiety can help you find methods for dealing with them.

Technorati Tags: anxiety rdcuction, dealing with anxiety, Mindfulness, reducing anxiety

Step 1. Be Aware of Your Stress Symptoms

Chnage especially if imposed by an organization can be difficult and it is very common for many to have a natural resistance to change. In changin times like now this continual restructuring is a constant source  of pressure for many. If you are a driving results orintated sort of person it is quite easy to be in denail about your stress levels. We all have an individualised  response to stress so learning to monitor these signs in yourself be it feeling fatigued, not being able to switch off or constantly waking up at night, or even  over eating or drinking. If you become self aware and notice your signs you can guage your stress levels and then  do something about it.

Step 2. Strive to Have a Healthy Lifestyle

The best stress management happens when we are not stressed. By making helathy lifestyle choices we strengthen our capavity to cope.  I am including here things like:

•       Taking part in  exercise and keeping fit

•       Eating regular meals and healthy foods

•       Limiting smoking and alcohol

•       Being with people who you enjoy being with

•       Taking time out for yourself for your favourite past times

Step 3.      Make Sure you have a Good  Support Network

Humans are social animals and being able to connect with others is for most of us is a basic human need. If your default behavior under pressure is to cut yourself off and throw yourself into work then this is only a short term option and is not sustainable. Talking with others can really help us  to regain a sense of perspective and priorities. 2sensible strategies here include :

•             Build a support network in and out of work

•            Have a frustration outlet (one that doesn’t harm others!)

Step 4. Pay Attention to Your Thinking

Reserach indicates that  pressure is real but stress is at least partly optional. Stress is generated from our own thinking which can get negative when we are tired and emotional we tend to creating catastrophes  with a loss of  perspective.  Situations are not usually totally good or totally bad they usually contain a mixture. However we select what we conentrate on. here are some practical change management strategies:

•            Do not lose your sense of humour

•             Use positive self-talk

•             Use relaxation exercises

•             Congratulate  yourself when you do well

Step 5.      Skill Yourself Up on Fostering Resilience and Dealing With Change

Look to read as much as you can on change and resilience, talk to experienced managers  think about a training programme. Leading yourself through change is a critical and defining career skill and one all managers and leaders should seek to develop.

Back to stress management

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This continues our Cognitive approach to stress management . First step was to develop thought awareness

The second step is what we call Rational Thinking
The next step in dealing with negative thinking is to challenge the negative thoughts that you identified using the Thought Awareness technique. Look at every thought you wrote down and rationally challenge it. Ask yourself whether the thought is reasonable: Does it stand up to fair scrutiny?

As an example, by analysing your Stress Diary you might identify that you have frequently had the following negative thoughts or patterns, themes

• Feelings of inadequacy
• Worries that your performance in your job will not be good enough
• An anxiety that things outside your control will undermine your efforts
•  Worries about other people’s reactions to your work

Starting with these, you might challenge these negative thoughts in the ways shown:

• Feelings of inadequacy: Have you trained and educated yourself as well as you reasonably should to do the job? Do you have the experience and resources you need to do it? Have you planned, prepared and rehearsed appropriately? If you have done all of these, are you setting yourself unattainably high standards for doing the job?

• Worries about performance: Do you have the training that a reasonable person would think is needed to do a good job? Have you planned appropriately? Do you have the information and resources you need? Have you cleared the time you need and cued up your support team appropriately? Have you prepared appropriately? If you have not, then you need to do these things quickly. If you have, then you are well positioned to give the best performance that you can.

• Problems with issues outside your control: Have you conducted appropriate contingency planning? Have you thought through and managed all likely risks and contingencies appropriately? If so, you will be well prepared to handle potential problems.

• Worry about other people’s reactions: If you have put in good preparation, and you do the best you can, then that is all that you need to know. If you perform as well as you reasonably can, then fair people are likely to respond well. If people are not fair, then this is something outside your control.

When you challenge negative thoughts rationally, you will be able to see quickly whether the thoughts are wrong or whether they have some substance to them. Where there is some substance, take appropriate action. In these cases, negative thinking has been an early warning system showing where you need to direct your attention.

Back to stress managment

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Socialmoms.com by Kirsten on managing the stress of getting kids back to school. Different seasons bring varying stresses but the daily demands of moms never change. There is no doubt that women have more pressure on.…

Over the last 25 years there has been a growing awareness of the importance of stress management in the workplace. Going back before this and few people would even recognize it let alone admit to feeling stressed. A situation fairly similar to the developing world where diagnosis of stress is more rare even though life may be much harder. Nowadays it is recognized that stress can be a killer and that many of the illnesses we suffer in modern life may in fact be stress related.

To e an effective manager you must be able to manage yourself as well as your time.  When managers are stressed they don’t perform well as managers and don’t make good decisions and are unable to offer support to their teams.

We believe in the workplace that stress is often related to how you use your time. For example if you spend excessive hours at work you are much more likely to suffer from stress. If you know of colleagues or friends who manage more balanced lives and get more exercise then you may instinctively know this bolsters resilience to stress.

If there is such a thing as stress management then it must start with learning how to recognize very quickly that pressure has become “distress”. It  is easy to get tunnel vision when we are under pressure (in fact it is how our brain functions during fight or flight our peripheral vision is lost)

Learning to manage your time can certainly reduce one source of stress work overload. There may be other factors and stress management requires you to carefully analyze your situation and see what particular factors are affecting you . You need to be aware of these factors if you are to manage them..

Related Stress management Tips Resources

Canuckclicks Article Directory Find Out How to Manage Stress

Start to manage stress by not to over committing yourself. There are times when you have too much to do and not enough time to do it with all of the other responsibilities of raising your autistic child.

8 Ways Busy Moms Can Manage Stress Pure Home and Body LLC

Socialmoms.com by Kirsten on managing the stress of getting kids back to school. Different seasons bring varying stresses but the daily demands of moms never change. There is no doubt that women have more pressure on.…

Learn More About Managing Your Stress

Facebook Twitter. April is Stress Awareness Month so it is a great time to learn more about how to manage stress. Students often deal with stress from a variety of sources including academic deadlines financial concerns.…

3 Stress Management Tips You Need To Know

It’s important to your health for you to be able to manage all of the stress you cannot avoid these days. Stress doesn’t have to be a normal part of your life if you have the techniques for managing it effectively. No matter what.…

Back to stress management anxiety reduction

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Rapid breakthrough taught by Mr. Sanders at MIT for easily lowering blood pressure and easing stress for enhanced mental potentials and greater happiness (as presented by Mr. Sanders at Massachusetts Institute of Technology). More information at www.freesoul.net and in Mr. Sanders book – You Are Psychic!

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By raising your awareness it empowers you to decide how and in what ways to act.

For example we tend to worry about the future “What might happen” and the past “What has already happened”

Experienced worriers tend to spend a lot of time worrying about things beyond their control and influence.

Worrying can be mental habit as we tend to keep going over and over the same things in our heads without really achieving anything.

A key cognitive strategy to help alleviate worry is to practice being a lot more present in your day to day life.
By focusing more on your present experience you will start to spend less time worrying.
A useful strategy is to pick a memorable image that allows you to stop as your mind starts to drift into worry. It could be a large stop sign or hand raised or whatever works for you.
When you notice yourself starting to worry then use this mental image to gain back a little control. With a little practice it will become a lot easier.

The second key strategy is to look for small practical things to do to make some progress in the area of worry.

If there is nothing practical you can do then use strategy 1 to try and spend a little less time focusing your attention on your worries.

It is not always a solution in itself but these simple ideas can be very helpful with a bit of attention.

Back to stress management anxiety reduction home.

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Videos for Insomniacs to help you relax and fall asleep. Better than sleeping pills.Lay down and turn the music low and watch about 4 of these FULL SCREEN on autoplay and you will fall to sleep and have beautiful dreams. I made these for myself as I have trouble falling asleep and they work every time and thought I would share them with others who are Insomniacs or just need to chill and relax after a stressful day. Relaxation, Meditation, Stress Relief.

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Anger management is about trying to harness your emotion and anger in a more constructive manner.
Anger can be a real source of commitment and motivation to do something practical.
But it has to be balanced and be based on the right decisions that work for others as well.

Part 4 of 6. John Schinnerer Ph.D. on free online anger management class. For FREE 216 pg. book on managing anger, visit www.siteproweb.com

So anger management can be learnt

• Learn to forgive yourself and others
• Learn to visualize what you want in terms of an outcomes
• Use techniques to control your emotional responses like breathing and relaxation.

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Simple yet effective yoga movements that can be done in the chair. Great for wheelchair-bound people as wel! Thank you Dr. Jeanine Austin for suggesting this

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