Proven stress management techniques for a more tranquil life

As much as I’d like to think differently, I live a fast paced life. You’re probably living a fast paced life too. I’d almost bet on it. Our fast paced lives bring us stress and more stress. In fact, I believe that being under stress is fast becoming what we believe to be a ordinary way of life for everyone. So much so, that the term, ’stressed out’ is a regular part of our vernacular.

Now without a doubt there are plenty of reasons for you to be stressed out. The question then becomes how you can deal with stress. I believe that it’s necessary to first identify the type and sources of stress that plague you. You will then also need to assess the frequency and severity of the stress you regularly experience, as well as your personality type.

For example, let’s say you’re always worrying about your finances, or you put more on your plate every day than you can possibly manage to begin – let alone complete, or are just the nervous type who finds a potential disaster around every corner. All of these situations create stress in your life. Left to its own devices, this stress can and will take its toll on your health and general level of happiness.

But don’t despair! You can take back control. You can overcome your stress by applying consistent methodology and a few stress management techniques.

Now although I believe we learn most of our behaviors, there are certain types of personalities that are so laid back that it takes an earthquake to elicit a stressful response from them. There are other personalities that are so sensitive to stress factors that all it takes is a broken hair dryer or a frantic search for their car keys to put them in a panic  and stress them out completely. Mellow people seldom experience stress in a way that their life is seriously affected, while the sensitive, nervous ones are usually making themselves feel stressed out as soon as they wake up in the morning. Notice that I said “making themselves feel stressed out.”

While I have met people that remind me of Tommy Chong and, to me, are entirely too laid back, if you’re constantly stressed out, you might want to take a page from the guy or gal you have to shake to wake up during an earthquake. For you to effectively deal with stress you will need to put events and situations in the proper perspective. So, how do you do this?

One technique that I used when I was dealing with being overstressed was keeping a ’stress diary’. Instructive and effective, keeping a small, pocket sized notebook in your pocket or purse can help you begin to learn where your stress is coming from. Every time you feel that adrenalin getting out of hand, jot down a note. Are you late for work? Did you just receive an overdue bill notice? Did you and your sweetie have a disagreement? The trick is to keep track of every incident for at least a couple of weeks. Within a short while you’ll see a pattern of events that trigger your stress. Perhaps you’ll find that being late is prominent. Maybe interactions at work get you going, or maybe you’re a chronic worrier. Maybe, like me, it’s your daughter not getting home on time. Whatever it is, with a sleep diary you’ll pinpoint it.

The next step you need to take is to go through your notebook and figure out which triggers are due simply to how you prioritize your daily tasks. For example, if you’re always getting up at the last minute and rushing off to work, there’s a simple remedy. You can either get up earlier, or make preparations the night before, such as laying out your clothes or making your lunch. This will help you get out of the door on time. If you are a person who spends half an hour a day finding their keys, put them in a designated spot, every day where you can find them. Your ’stress diary’ can be quite revealing, almost embarrassingly so, on points like this. I believe that we create most of our stress purely out of habit. Using a stress diary can easily remedy these types of stress.

If you find that your stress is mainly due to worrying about finances and not having enough money at the end of the month, maybe it’s time to examine your spending habits and develop a budget. If your obligations, like nearly half of all Americans, exceed your income, a debt consolidation service might be an answer to your major stress. If you’re having loud disagreements with your sweetie every other day, maybe you should consider going to relationship counseling or get a self help book on relationships or effective communication.

You see, stress doesn’t go away by itself. Once you have identified it you need to brainstorm possible solutions and then put those solutions into action.

I’m sure you’ll be amazed at how fruitful your ’stress diary’ proves to be. You’ll also probably be amazed at how much of your stress can be eliminated quickly.

When all is said and done, your efforts in dealing with stress can be magnified simply by making time to chill out. Go do something you enjoy. Perhaps you, like me, enjoy riding your motorcycle to nowhere in particular. Maybe you like woodworking or knitting. Maybe you just like to walk barefoot in the sand at the beach. Whatever it is put it in your event filled calendar and go do it!

Another great stress reliever is exercise and, in my opinion as long as you are fit and in good health, the harder the better. Rigorous physical exercise burns off energy and stress. If you like gentler exercise programs try walking or my favorites, practicing Tai Chi and Yoga. These wonderful exercises can improve your fitness while helping you gain a more calm and relaxed demeanor.

You can also meditate. I have used meditation for years to help me relax and I know it can work for you too.

Plan for down time during the day. Take a break. I take a 15 minute nap nearly every day. The key here is to drive yourself hard enough to achieve your goals but not so hard you can’t enjoy their accomplishment.

Since I’m a hypnotist I enjoy using visualization or imaging techniques to deal with my stress. I teach my clients all the time how to put their minds to work for them to reduce their stress also. Maybe you could daydream about being on an island paradise in the beach chair with an ice cold drink in your hand. Maybe you like the mountains. It really doesn’t matter. Just let your imagination take you away from all the stress in your life!

Dealing with stress means you need to learn how to relax. Do whatever it takes to master relaxation. Remember, you’re worth it!

Wil Dieck is the founder of Total Mind Therapy and author of a Stress Relief  e-Course that you can have at absolutely no charge. Drop by http://www.beststressreliefinfosite.com/ for your copy today.