Tips for coping with stress

Coping with stress is easier when you identify your stress triggers, manage your time well, and take steps to curb job burnout.

In small doses, stress is a good thing. It can energize and motivate you and perhaps even prevent or delay certain types of damage to your cells. But prolonged or excessive stress — the kind that overwhelms your ability to cope — can take a severe psychological and physical toll. High stress levels have been linked to depression, anxiety, cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal problems, an impaired immune system and cancer.

The following tips may help reduce your stress.

· Keep a stress journal. For one week, note which events and situations cause a negative physical, mental or emotional response. Record the day and time. Give a brief description of the situation. Where were you? Who was involved? What seemed to cause the stress? Also, describe your reaction. What were your physical symptoms? How did you feel? What did you say or do? Finally, on a scale of 1 (not very intense) to 5 (very intense), rate the intensity of your stress.

· Make a list of all the demands on your time and energy for one week. Some examples may include your job, volunteer work, driving kids to after-school activities or caring for an elderly parent. Then, on a scale of 1 (not very intense) to 5 (very intense), rate the intensity of stress that each demand causes.

Sit down and look at your stress recordings. Pay particular attention to events that you ranked as very stressful. Select one of them to work on using problem-solving techniques. That means identifying and exploring the problem, looking for ways to resolve it, and selecting and implementing a solution.
Suppose, for instance, that you're behind at work because you leave early to pick up your son from school. You might check with other parents to see if your son can ride with them. Or, you might come in early, work through your lunch hour or take work home to catch up. The best way to cope with stress is to try to find a way to change the circumstances that are causing it.

Improve your time management skills

Effective time management skills can help you identify goals, set priorities and minimize stress in your life. Use these tips to improve your time management skills and lower your stress level.

· Create realistic expectations and deadlines for yourself, and set regular progress reviews.
· Throw away unimportant papers on your desk.
· Prepare a master list of tasks. Throughout the day, scan your master list and work on tasks in priority order.
· Use a planner. Store addresses and telephone numbers there. Copy tasks from your master list onto the page for the day on which you expect to do them. Evaluate and prioritize daily.
· For especially important or difficult projects, reserve an interruption-free block of time behind closed doors.

Extinguish job burnout

Nowhere is stress more likely than in the workplace. Twenty-five percent of people say that their job is the primary stressor in their lives. And the vast majority of workers believe that on-the-job stress is worse today than it was just 10 years ago.

Job stress can affect your professional and personal relationships, your livelihood, and your health.

Here are strategies you can use:

· Identify the source of the problem. Whether it's an unrealistic workload, job insecurity, inadequate compensation, office politics or a hostile work environment, you need to figure out what's making you miserable at work and then take steps to deal with it.
· Develop friendships at work and outside the office. Sharing unsettling feelings with people you trust is the first step toward resolving them. Minimize activities with "negative" people who only reinforce bad feelings.
· Take time off. Take a vacation or a long weekend. During the workday, take short breaks.
· Set limits. When necessary, learn to say no in a friendly but firm manner.
. Choose battles wisely. Don't rush to argue every time someone disagrees with you. Keep a cool head, and save your argument for things that really matter.
· Have an outlet. Read, enjoy a hobby, exercise or get involved in some other activity that is relaxing and gets your mind off work.
· Seek help. If none of these things relieves your feelings of stress or burnout, ask a health care professional for advice.


Source : Mayo Clinic staff (MayoClinic.com)

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Stress Free Lifestyle For Single Moms - The Top 7 Tips to Diffuse Your Stress

The best gift you can give yourself as a single mom constantly juggling many balls at the same time is a stress free lifestyle. Lifestyle for single moms need not be stressful; it can be relaxing, fun and enjoyable. Here are some tips for attaining that:


Tip 1 - Take Slow, Deep Breaths - Stop what you are doing and take long, slow, deep breaths without having your mind race through the many things you need to get done all at once. Taking 1 to 2 minutes of deep breadth whenever you need to will help release stress.

Tip 2 - Clear the Tension in Your Body - Loosen up and relax any tensed muscles from the jaw to your neck, shoulder, arms, chest, hamstrings, knees, calves and ankles. Unwind your body and hang loose. You will feel more composed.

Tip 3 - Clear Your Mind - Things can get overwhelming when we try to multitask. You think you are saving time but you are not able to give careful attention to any one of the task you are multitasking. Choose one thing to work on at any one time and work your way through them one by one.

Tip 4 - Clear Your Vision - Know what is the one thing you are pursuing so you do not end up running after all the good thing you want to have. Do not allow the many good things to cloud out the one thing that you are pursuing.

Tip 5 - Clarify Your Purpose - Know why you are doing what you are doing. When your activities are aligned with your values, the activities will not seem burdensome but instead a mission and a joy which brings fulfillment.

Tip 6 - Choose Your Perspectives - Life can be heavy and monotonous while we grind through what needs to be down or it can be fun filled. What if we see each day as a chapter in a play and you the main actress? Ask how you can lighten up the stressful moments as you go about your daily tasks.

Tip 7 - Clear the Junk! - Throw away mindsets, attitudes, activities, plans that do not help contribute to the one thing you are pursuing. You will have more time and space for living and enjoying a stress free life.

Apply these tips and you can live stress free lives. Better still, be in a community with other single moms and share lessons learnt applying these tips. Being able to talk about your experiences in a safe and supportive environment itself will help releases stress. Find a community in your area and get supported.


Source : Louisa Chan (EzineArticles)

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