Reducing Stress

Motivation to reduce stress

Understand more about stress

Why?

Stress occurs when we think the pressure we are under is more than we can cope with.

This may occur when we are facing:

• General overload – too many things to do or think about.
• A new or challenging situation – such as an interview, unfamiliar task, new experience or specific fear.

• An unhappy event – such as a big bill, argument with a partner or friend or poor exam result.
• A crisis – like a relationship break up, divorce, death of a loved one or redundancy.

The benefits of feeling calmer

What would feeling calmer mean to you?

Developing an alternative to sustained anxiety and tension can deliver a number of benefits:

• Regular calmness and well-being.
• Improved physical health.
• Extra energy and motivation.
• Resistance to infection.

• Increased concentration and attention.
• Better communication and relationships.
• Success with work and life goals.

Set your Goals

What would you like to do?

Taken from the book Active Steps to Reducing Stress
click here for more information »

Thinking to reduce stress

Think Positively

Recognise your everyday successes

Do you realise that each day you achieve many different things?

Don’t forget what you have done for yourself and for others. Every now and then take a little time to remind yourself of all the good things you have done in the past (this morning, yesterday, last week…). Whilst you don’t want to dwell there too much, these things are all successes, no matter how small:

• Completing the washing up.
• Doing a food shop.
• Sending an email.

• Phoning a friend.
• Going for a walk or jog.
• Smiling at someone in the street.

Thinking logically

I am what I am (and that’s OK)

Q: It is your 60th birthday – what do you think? (NB for 60 substitute your age!)
A 1: Oh no, 60 years old! I hate being this old!
A 2: Let’s celebrate! I've had lots of good times and I will have lots more, including today!

It is healthy to feel good about yourself as a person and to accept who you are.
It’s also healthy to want to change certain aspects of yourself.
We all want to learn and grow.

Imagine calmness

Use coping imagery

Practice Mindfulness

Appreciate your senses

See… taste… hear… touch… and smell…

We often miss ‘the now’. We tend to think about the recent past (what’s happened yesterday) and the approaching future (tomorrow’s schedule).
We miss what we are experiencing at this present moment; opportunities to feel relaxed and contented with all the amazing things that are happening all around us.

Practise focussing your senses on ‘the now’ wherever you are.



Taken from the book Active Steps to Reducing Stress
click here for more information »

Lifestyle

Get active

Have an active lifestyle

Take a more energetic option to get from A to B, increasing your general activity levels.

• Walk instead of drive to the shops.
• Cycle to work.
• Walk briskly between offices or office buildings.

• Use the stairs instead of the lift.
• Go for a stroll before bedtime.
• Go for a long walk each weekend.

Eat and drink healthily

Eat slowly: eat less

Eat to live. Some people live to eat rather than eat to live, wanting a feeling of fullness by racing through their meal as quickly as possible.

Take things a little slower. This is also an indication of the modern day rush - always needing to get somewhere soon, which can make it difficult to stop and enjoy taking things slower, such as our food.

How can I eat a bit slower?

Relax and take time - Try and make it a time at home or at work to
recharge your batteries.

Enjoy each mouthful - Get to know the different flavours and
textures in your mouth and appreciate them fully.

Eat less - Try eating from a smaller plate and don’t fill yourself up to
the brim.

Enjoy good company - Be sociable and talk about what you have
been doing. It’s good to talk!

Create a calm home

Enjoy some greenery

Make your home feel a calmer place with some greenery.

This will make a change from electrical items and cold, lifeless objects.

Plants are alive, and can help you feel so too, just a little bit more.

Balance your lifestyle

Getting into good sleeping patterns

How can I get into a good sleeping pattern?

• Get into a routine of going to sleep and getting up at the same times each day.
• Go for a walk or jog in the evening before bed.
• Have a warm, milky drink before bed (rather than alcohol or caffeine).
• Write down any thoughts you have or things to do tomorrow (so your mind is clear).

• Relax for an hour before bed with a good book (rather than watching TV or surfing the web).
• Make sure your bed is comfortable and clean.
• Get the temperature and the lighting right in your bedroom.

Taken from the book Active Steps to Reducing Stress
click here for more information »

Communication

Communicate clearly

Make initial connections

This involves:

• Looking at people.
• Smiling appropriately.

• Saying something briefly like, ‘Hello’, ‘How are you’, or ‘It’s a nice day, isn’t it?’.

Most people will acknowledge you and return the compliment by making the same comment or even just smiling back.

This will make you feel more relaxed and confident. Think about when you could start this ball rolling. Here are some examples:

• Leaving your flat or house and walking down the road.
• At your newsagents.
• Walking into school or the office.

• Getting on a bus or train.
• With someone working at a
  coffee shop, restaurant or bar.
• Smile when you make a
  telephone call.

Exchange positivity and warmth

Seek support

Talk about it.

Don’t isolate yourself. When we have a problem and feel stressed, there is a tendency in all of us to keep this to ourselves. It is not healthy to keep stress in – doing this can make us feel isolated and silly. Stress can feed on itself and, mentally, we make it bigger than it needs to be.

Seek support. When you feel stressed, angry or upset, contact someone you feel happy talking to and find an appropriate way to tell them you’re not feeling great. They will usually show interest, make helpful suggestions and provide you with support and comfort.




Taken from the book Active Steps to Reducing Stress
click here for more information »

Behaviour

Relax more

Instant relaxation

This method takes 10 seconds or less. It can be used anywhere and in any position.
This is how you do it:

• Use a trigger word such as ‘relax’ to make you pause and think about relaxing.
• Take a deep breath and let it out slowly and then repeat this process.
• Get physically comfortable, stretch your shoulders, take several more deep breaths and think calming thoughts.
• Count slowly from 1 to 10.

Handle your finances

Put a bit away

Save up for something special or for a rainy day.

You could consider saving some money in a separate account from your current account. You can set up a savings account for a number of reasons:

• For tax if you are self employed
• For a holiday

• For Christmas time gifts and celebrations.
• For a rainy day or unexpected bill.

What are the Active Steps to doing this?

• Just set up a new account.
• Work out an affordable weekly or monthly amount to be transferred across.
• This could be as little as £5 a month.
• As well as or instead of this, you could have a piggy bank at home to save up your loose change.

Organise your systems

Create a filing system

Include everything.

Here are the Active Steps you can take:

• Separate paperwork: include bills, instruction booklets, correspondence with particular companies or individuals, research and personal material.
• Use different envelope files per ‘topic’.
• Label them clearly: this will make the files easier to read and file, and increase your motivation to maintain the system. If you want, you can use printed labels (you can buy label printers from most stationers).
• File them neatly in a filing cabinet.
• Review regularly and have a yearly clear out of all bills (into a folder or box file to be stored per company per year) and material you no longer think you need.

Mange your time

Prepare more

Don’t let big tasks creep up on you.

Taken from the book Active Steps to Reducing Stress
click here for more information »