No one is going to deny that we live in very complicated world. Most of us live very busy lives, juggling work and careers with family responsibilities that keep us on out toes, and financial obligations to maintain. Stress is unavoidable, it’s caused by many different things and it can be triggered by a huge variety of situations.
Some of the most common sources of stress are:
- Survival Stress – You may have heard the phrase “fight or flight” before. This is a common response to danger in all people and animals.
- Internal Stress – Worrying about things you can do nothing about or worrying about things for no obvious reason at all?
- Environmental Stress – This is a response to things around you that cause stress, such as noise, crowding, and pressure from work or family.
- Fatigue and Overwork – This kind of stress builds up over a long time and it is the most punishing on your body. It can be caused by working too much or too hard at your job(s), school, or home. It can also be caused by not knowing how to manage your time well or neglecting to take time out for rest and relaxation.
Allen Elkin director of the Stress Management Counseling Center in New York City says
Stress is a fact of life, but being stressed out is not. We don’t always have control over what happens to us and yet, that doesn’t mean we have to react to a difficult, challenging situation by becoming frazzled or feeling overwhelmed or distraught.
That is very true, however for many people stress can cause frightening physical symptoms (such as stomach aches and feeling of fear ) and bring emotional symptoms (such as worry, fretting, insomnia, obsessive thoughts, headaches and more).
Recently I came across a very useful online resource via The Readers Digest that explains the causes of stress and how to manage them so I thought I’d share them with you here.
It is an impressive article entitled “37 Stress Management Tips from the Experts” by Michael Castleman. This article brings us a massive list of tips and techniques on how to decrease your stress levels and relax into Life again. Many of the tips contain contact information about stress relief products, practitioners and organisations which I found incredibly useful.
A useful stress management reminder for me is number 7. Stop Gritting Your Teeth. And I love number 15. Take a Whiff (hint its about the soothing properties of certain essential oils). best of all though is number 37. Tiptoe Through the Tulips as I find there is nothing more balancing and grounding as pruning the roses and getting my hands into the dirt.
This really is a great read. Well worth the 10 minutes you’ll need to read through it ( I recommend making a cup of catnip, passionflower, skullcap or kava kava herbal tea before you start – Tip 25)
Read more about the article here. Do let us know that you think, which tips work for you and share any other tips on alleviating stress and anxiety that you have used. We really to value your input ~ thanks.
Additional Resources
Understanding and dealing with stress
Essential Oils for stress relief
Why gardening is good for your health
Wow! Great to find a post knonkicg my socks off!