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Stress Management Tools
100 Ways for Adults to Play and RecreateThe Center wants to help you have FUN! Download the flyer below for 100 ideas on ways to play
and recreate this year! Click here to download. 7 Stress Management Skills that can be practiced at any age:1. Breathe Deeply and Slowly: One of the first things that happens when we are stressed is that our breathing becomes more rapid. Deep breathing from our diaphragm is a signal to the body to slow down and helps to invoke the relaxation response. Over time many adults adapt a habit of breathing shallow breaths from their chest. Bringing conscious attention to your breathing and noticing whether you are breathing fast or slow, shallow or deep and from your chest or your diaphragm is the beginning of stress management. For diaphragmatic breathing, your stomach should inflate when you breathe in and when you breathe out your stomach pulls in toward your back.
2. Practice an Attitude of Gratitude: Gratitude can turn any external circumstance or event into a secondary matter. When we focus on what we have to be grateful for it helps us shift perspective on the things that are causing stress in our lives. It can also help us to connect with a larger meaning that extends beyond our current circumstances. 3. Focus your thoughts on what you can influence: Spending time thinking about matters outside of our control can be an instant stressor. First, determine whether you can change the thing that is causing you stress. For example, if you are retired and having a difficult time adjusting to life without the structure of work, you can create a routine for yourself that fits your life now. Even if we can’t change the situation, person or event that is happening in our lives, we can, with practice influence how we think about the stressor. None of us can change the fact that we are aging, but we can focus on the rewards of growing older and the unique gifts of this time in our lives. Our thoughts, feelings and behaviors are connected and when we change the way we think about something, our feelings about it and our behaviors often change too. 4. Feel your feelings: Feelings are friendly even though they may be uncomfortable. They give us information about how we are doing, how we are impacted by people and events and what is important to us. It can be tempting to avoid feelings if they are uncomfortable or painful. Feelings of loss, sadness, anger, anxiety can feel unwelcome. Stored feelings can cause a chronic stress reaction. Find a way to feel your feelings – journal, talk to someone you trust, cry, create art, do something physical. Express your feelings. 5. Move your Body: Our physical body is designed to move. Movement flushes stress related hormones out of our body and promotes healthy physiological reactions. Ten minutes a day of physical activity or exercise has been shown to lower blood pressure, body mass index and improve overall health. The sooner that you get up and move after you feel stress, the better. It is like cleaning up a spill as soon as it hits the carpet. 6. Let Go and Let God: Things in life happen that are outside our control. Acknowledging that we can’t control everything and finding meaning and purpose beyond ourselves can alleviate stress. Whatever spiritual or religious beliefs, practices and traditions you have, a connection with your spiritual life is good for your health. In addition to the wisdom of the ages, there is now a substantial amount of research that supports the health benefits of spirituality. 7. Laugh: We’ve heard that laughter is the best medicine and it does in fact, help us to relieve stress. Laughter helps us find delight, experience joy and release tension. The first documented case of humor positively affecting disease was in 1964 when Norman Cousins, published “Anatomy of an Illness”. Humor allows us to shift perspective about a situation, expresses emotions and increases respiration and circulation. Tell a joke or read a joke, watch a funny TV show, see the humor in your situation. |
Links to Other Great Resources
The following links provide online mental health care information. Addiction and Recovery Alcoholics Anonymous Alcoholics Anonymous Recovery Resources Anxiety Disorders Answers to Your Questions About Panic Disorder National Center for PTSD Obsessive Compulsive Information Center Associations & Institutes American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy American Counseling Association Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration J.Flowers Health Institute Emmaus Spirituality Center Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ADDA - Attention Deficit Disorder Association Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, NIH Born to Explore: The Other Side of ADD/ADHD Child Abuse and Domestic Violence Childhelp USA® SAMHSA's Children and Families SAMHSA's Protection and Advocacy Chronic Fatigue Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Depression Bipolar Disorder News - Pendulum.org Depression and How Therapy Can Help Developmental Disorders Asperger's Disorder NeuroWeb Pervasive Developmental Disorders Eating Disorders American Dietetic Association Something Fishy Personality Disorders Mental Help Net - Personality Disorders Personality Disorders - Focus Adolescent Counselor Services Stepfamilies National Stepfamily Resource Center Suicide Awareness and Hotlines SAMHSA's Suicide Suicide Awareness Voices of Education Suicide: Read This First |
