Smart Stress Management Tools for coping in a stressful world

Relaxation And Stress Management

Posted on November 19, 2008

relaxation and stress management
relaxation and stress management
What is the best way to approach organisations to offer Relaxation & Stress Management training?

I offer training in Relaxation and Stress Management and have worked for several organisations through word of mouth from my one-to-one sessions and found it very rewarding. I'd be interested to find out what you think is the best way to approach organisations for this type of work.

You know what, I think this is a very easy question to answer.
Go to companies that are fairly medium to large size, and ask them if they would be interested in letting you host a session on stress. Maybe you could call it, stress in the workplace, or something like that. I have visited some of these at my job I have been at for 10 years, and they are helpful, and many people do show up. Otherwise, find out if you can partner with an insurance provider who provides insurance to businesses. They may be able to partner you in, and keep you permanently, and then you could work for them, and they could tell you where to go to do your sessions.
Good luck to you. ps...I just read an article on Tyler Perry, where he went from being homeless to a millionaire. He was determined to become successful, with his playwrights and he suffered for it, but he finally made it to the top. It is not about winning, it is about doing as much as you can for yourself on your own, with God's help, and making it. I believe He blesses you for your hard work.

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Stress Management Training

Posted on October 8, 2007

stress management training

Every health and lifestyle magazine contains articles claiming stress is bad for us. They list dozens of ways to relieve stress, from exercise to eating healthy foods. A wide range of relaxation techniques have also been proven to help manage stress in our crazy-busy world, especially for people who take care of others and tend to neglect themselves.

But stress is not always as bad as these cautionary articles insist. In fact, some stress is actually necessary to keep us going and growing.

Our individual responses to different types and levels of stress can either drain or energize us. It is how we perceive and process both ongoing and unexpected stressors that intensifies or reduces their impact on our bodies, minds and emotions.

The term "stress" was first used in the mid-1950s by endocrinologist Dr. Hans Selye in his book "The Stress of Life." In his research experiments, Selye discovered that we experience stress not only when we hear bad news but also when we receive good news. He differentiated these two types of stressors by calling negative stress "distress" and positive stress "eustress" (the Greek prefix "eu" means well or good).

The idea that we naturally feel stressed by positive experiences -- like getting married, having a baby, graduations, promotions, winning awards or races -- is echoed in the Social Readjustment Ratings Scale. Devised by University of Washington medical researchers Holmes and Rahe, the SRRS ranks the impact of good stress-events as well as bad stressors like death, divorce or losing a job.

They discovered it is the accumulation of minor plus major changes over a period of time that increases one's chances of developing stress-related ailments like heart disease, cancer or a weakened immune system. Stress effects also intensify when several changes occur without enough time between them to recharge our physical and mental resources.

When dealing with normal life changes, Holmes and Rahe also concluded that a single event is rarely stressful enough to cause significant illness if we have some control over the situation and are able to view it as a challenge or opportunity instead of a threat.

So stress is not always bad or unhealthy. It can actually keep us from becoming complacent or staying too long in jobs, relationships or environments which are not good for us. When bad stress builds to the "breaking point," it usually forces us to make choices and change our behavior or environment with positive and healthier results.

Stress is also necessary to keep us moving forward while working toward a goal -- like a creative or business project -- or training for athletic events like championship games or marathons. This type of eustress prevents us from slowing down or giving up too soon and helps us build momentum in the early stages to empower us to reach the "finish line."

So positive stress management can actually give us a Competitive Edge via increased focus and drive. As we move forward on what researchers call the Performance Stress Curve, eustress helps us make choices, take actions and communicate more clearly.

When it comes to managing stress, there are two basic approaches: Defensive or Offensive. If we take a Defensive approach, we subconsciously distort reality by hoping the situation will change without having to do anything about it. But this keeps us in a state of denial and often amplifies the internal impact of distress, contributing to disease or depression.

Taking an Offensive approach, however, enables us to manage stress by using it to our advantage. By consciously changing or adapting, we adjust to life-changes organically and can view things in perspective that at first feel like problems. Then we can reframe these "problems" as opportunities or challenges and take appropriate action.

Offensive ways to manage stress include:
1.Changing our situation whenever possible
2.Increasing our ability to cope with the situation as it is
3.Changing our perception so the situation looks and feels different
4.Changing our behavior, as this is truly where we have the most control

Whenever we feel stressed, it can be useful to first determine whether it's Distress or Eustress. Then we can decide whether to become Offensive by utilizing or adjusting it, or remain Defensive and wait to see if the situation changes on its own. Sometimes choosing to live with stress is appropriate, like when it energizes our Competitive Edge.

We can also balance our stress levels to avoid being thrown off-center too easily or often. Ongoing stress management techniques for creating balance include sleeping well, eating healthy foods, exercising, meditating &/or focusing on the positive things in our lives. These are simple and inexpensive ways to relieve pressure, especially when we're faced with unexpected events or must manage stress over a long period of time.

While the bad news is that it's nearly impossible to avoid stress in our crazy-busy world, the good news is that using stress management techniques and being mindful can actually make stress empowering instead of draining. This puts us in control of the stressors in our lives so they can't stop us from continuing to go forward and grow more joyfully empowered every day.

About the Author:

Barbara Schiffman, C.Ht., is SelfGrowth.com's Official Guide to Stress Management, a Life Balance Coach, Certified Hypnotherapist and NLP Practitioner. For a list of her favorite stress relief books/resources, send her an email request for "The Eustress List" with your name and city/state to eustress@balanceradio.info or visit www.hypnosynergy.com

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - The Good News About Stress Management: How "good" Stress Keeps Us Going & Growing

Management Stress

Posted on August 26, 2007

management stress

There are two ways of managing stress in your life: taking your mind off your problems, and dealing with your problems directly. You must use both of these methods to have a happy and normal life; everybody uses these tactics to manage stress, probably without realizing it, but a closer look can help you to decide how to balance these strategies to stay as relaxed as possible.

It is absolutely necessary to find something that helps you to relax and take your mind off your problems. This can something as simple as just watching television, reading a book or playing video games.

However, many experts also recommend exercise as a stress relief tool. Not only does exercise give you something to focus on, it causes your brain to release certain chemicals that make you feel happy and better about yourself.

It can also provide a healthy outlet for aggressive energy that builds up in all of us. Getting a hobby is also an excellent way to relieve stress. What you do to relax is not nearly as important as doing something that relieves you of the worries you accumulate throughout the day.

It is not even required that you completely remove yourself from whatever issues are bothering you. Many people will examine their problems and find ways to deal with them as they are working out or enjoying their hobbies. However, at some point you do need to forget about your worries and just enjoy yourself.

Avoiding settling an issue or problem will only increase the stress level you'll feel about the situation. Over time, problems tend to increase in size, often augmented by our own perception that is usually blown out of proportion.

Dealing with situations as they occur instead of putting them to one side, even to avoid feeling uncomfortable or resolving something unpleasant, only leads to more stress down the road. The best way to get a problem off your mind is to solve it once and for all. Making a plan about how you'd like to deal with the situation can often help ease the tension you feel and help you resolve the issue more efficiently.

There will always be something in your life that is going to cause stress. It's impossible to eliminate all stress, but you shouldn't be spending all your time trying to solve your problems.

Of course, you can't escape all your problem, so finding a way to try and balance problem-solving with coping, as well as settling into routines of things to do that keep you feeling relaxed, will go a long way towards making life more enjoyable.

About the Author:

Mike Selvon's portal will expand your knowledge about managing stress in your life. Visit us and leave a comment at our stress management training blog where a free gift awaits you.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - How To Go About Managing Stress In Your Life

Stress Management Course

Posted on May 18, 2007

stress management course

Since we've all come to realize that stress is a part of our lives, finding techniques to manage and regulate it is very important to stay healthy in both mind and body. There are plenty of ways to minimize and manage stress levels, but the important thing to realize is that there isn't a perfect technique and that stress is unavoidable. Finding the best ways to keep yours at a level you can manage is important.

Your time, budget, lifestyle, personality type, and many other factors will play a part in determining what stress management techniques are best for you. Many physicians recommend exercise as an excellent way to relieve it. The exercise does not have to be intense or grueling to be a good stress relief, as long as you do something physical to burn some energy.

This can be something as simple as going for a walk, although many people enjoy running, weight lifting, and various team sports like softball or basketball. Many people enjoy team sports because of the interaction team sports provide. Aerobics clubs and other workout groups can also be very rewarding.

Not only do you get to be around other people who are trying to be healthy, you get to see people with at least one similar interest. The group aspect of these activities also motivates some people to continue to participate on days they might skip if it were an individual activity.

However, exercise is not the only activity for managing it. Anything you enjoy and find rewarding can be a great stress relief. Again, you will want to find different non-physical stress management techniques depending on your personality, lifestyle, and budget.

Of course, if we were all independently wealthy, it would be much easier to maintain a low stress level, since we would have all the time and money you need to relax properly. However, for us in the real world, we have to find reasonable ways to relax when we get a chance.

It's necessary to give your brain a rest too, so while being physical is a good thing, having a mental distraction will bring you to a balance of combined stress relief techniques. Reading is a popular activity and doesn't need to take up a lot of time or cost much money. Finally trying out that hobby you've always been attracted to, such as painting, learning an instrument, or building model trains is another way to relax.

Many people enjoy crafts or woodworking and some prefer getting outdoors, taking up fishing. Having a companion or a friend with the same interest can be good, as two people tend to relax more together than one person alone.

Finding activities you can do on a regular basis is important and the best way to have a continual outlet for the pressures that build up inside you. What you choose to do for those activities is up to you, but there are tons of things to do that don't cost a lot or that are close to home. Experimentation and trying different things out can also end up being a lot of fun.

About the Author:

Mike Selvon's portal will expand your knowledge about stress management techniques. Visit us and leave a comment at our stress management training blog where a free gift awaits you.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Reviewing Stress Management Techniques