Stress can wreck your day in more ways than one. In fact, stress can take its toll on your whole life. Stress affects more than just one’s mind. Feeling tension and anxiety at all times can wreak havoc on your body, too. Build an anti-anxiety zone around yourself and watch your stress level diminish in a hurry.
What is stress
When your body senses an emergency, it responds with physical symptoms of stress. You feel ready to run or fight. It’s your body’s natural way of protecting you, but when stress kicks in at inopportune moments, it can leave you feeling nervous, anxious, and wiped out.
In a true emergency, stress helps you stay focused on saving yourself or someone else. It can give you superhuman energy. It can also lead to a host of health issues, including headaches, heart attacks and even worse. Unrelieved anxiety can cause sleep disturbances, reproductive problems and digestive issues. Memory problems and skin conditions like eczema are commonly associated with stress.
The four A’s of stress relief
Avoid. Benefit from lowered stress levels when you simply avoid things that cause you tension and feelings of ill ease. Avoid traffic jams by adjusting your work schedule. If waiting for restaurant service during a short lunch break stresses you out, pack a brown bag the night before and take your own midday meal to work. Avoid coworkers who annoy you, even if doing so requires you take a few extra steps around the office, say relaxation counselors at Mayo Clinic.
Alter. Change circumstances that cause you tension. Use “I” statements to express your dissatisfaction. Learn to manage your time better and don’t be afraid to say no when asked to do something you’d rather not do.
Accept. When you can’t change something, don’t let it stress you. Accept the situation, shrug your shoulders, and move on. Learn from your mistakes and don’t worry about past failures.
Adapt. Adjust your requirements, and life may become less stressful in an instant. When you have a gloomy thought, tell it goodbye without hesitation. Chant a mantra, draw a mandala, hum to yourself and relax.
The other A word
Art. Just a few months ago, Huffington Post reported the results of a study that show art to be an amazingly effective stress reliever. Even better news is the fact that one doesn’t have to be a great artist to reap the beautiful benefits of art. Doodle on paper or install a cool Android app that offers amazing geometric mandalas and a rainbow of digital coloring tools. Coloring Book for Me is one of the lightweight, easy to use Apalon Apps for Android that can bring out your hidden art talents while providing hours and hours of stress relief. Select your favorite colors and use them to illustrate complex patterns that are known to help your body and brain relax.
Meditation, scribbling, singing and dancing are all amusing methods of stress relief. The trick is to find a relaxation technique that works for you and to practice it daily.