What can you do to relieve stress?

Stress affects us all differently.  What works for me may not do you any good. 

Let’s talk about different stress reducing techniques:

*Running/ Walking

*Working out with weights

*Boxing or Kick boxing (martial arts)

*Meditation

*Yoga

*Jamming out on music or listening to calming music

*Taking in nature (A walk in a park, hiking, biking trails)

Those were more of the common stress reducers that any of us can do to settle our mind and calm our physical stress.  Often its important to take our minds off what causes us to stress.  Some feel they can’t turn their minds off.  When stressors are high its harder for all of us.

What are some of the clinical strategies to relieve stress?

*Alpha-Stim (This process calms the brain immediately and has a sustained affect)

*Neurofeedback (This is a training that gradually reduces faster brain waves and calms the brain)

*Muscle tension and relaxation exercises (this creates tension and eases it to create a calm)

*Guided visual imagery (a process of guiding a person through a visually calming exercise)

*ASMR Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (reduces stress and increases positive mood.)

What causes stress?

It is our mind’s reaction to life events or perceived life events.  Have you ever met that person that has a ton of life events that are going poorly, but they are accepting it as “you have to take the good with the bad” perspective.  This is an example to cognitive reframing.  This is where you allow yourself to see the positive or just see the event from a learning or spiritual perspective and come away with a feeling of calm or clarity.

Examples of reframing:

Negative talk                         Reframe thought

My life is a mess.                  I’m not the best space right now, but it’s bound to get better.

I have no friends.                   I don’t have as many friends as I’d like to have.

Nothing ever goes my way.    Things can’t go my way all the time, but they will some of the time.

A positive or reasonable perspective coupled with some to the stress reducers listed above can keep your mind in a decent space.  The more tools we have to combat stress the better we are with coping.  Thing to remember what ever the stress, it will come to an end.