Cape Cod Recreation - Stress Relief

Do yourself a favor. Practice any or all of these stress busters. They can mean the difference between good health and bad.

1. Laugh. It's one of the healthiest antidotes to stress. When we laugh, even smile, blood flow to the brain is increased, endorphins (painkilling hormones that give us a sense of well-being) are released, and levels of stress hormones drop.

2. Socialize. Don't be a loner. Isolation has been tied to failure to cope adequately with stress, heightened vulnerability to illness and even premature death.

3. Get Rid of Anger. It is the single most damaging stress-related personality trait that precedes a heart attack.

4. Be Decisive. Indecision prevents you from taking action, causing a loss of a sense of control and thus intensifying stress.

5. Be Assertive. Stand up for your decisions, express your feelings, disagree with others when you feel differently, give, as well as accept, compliments.

6. Get Some Sleep. Lack of adequate sleep can make you moody, angry and more vulnerable to illness and the daily stressors that stalk you.

7. Adapt Your Environment. Color, lighting and noise are all elements that engage and influence our senses. They can work against you, adding stress -- or for you, as environmental stress reducers.

8. Encourage Yourself. If you're inclined to blame yourself for your problems -- even when they're not your fault -- you may be guilty of negative self-talk, which is a great stress maker. Those who accept mishaps as largely routine and normal occurrences in life and who talk to themselves in positive terms about these events have higher self-esteem and much lower stress levels.

9. Choose Winners. Seek the company of those who are optimistic and have high self-esteem. They tend to have low stress levels and contribute to lower stress levels to those around them.

10. Reward Yourself. Go to the movies, browse in a bookstore. Those who reward themselves by engaging in something pleasurable realize a boost in the disease-fighting quality of their immune systems for several days.

11. Establish Rituals. People who have high stress in their lives tend to live surrounded by mental and physical chaos. Establishing rituals can help prevent and reduce stress by saving time. It can be a comfort factor in times of stress when predictability and certainty reassure us that no matter how bad conditions get, some things remain constant.

12. Nurture Your Spirituality. Religious or spiritual beliefs give us a context larger than ourselves, which can provide us with perspective when we are deeply stressed. Spirituality needn't take place in a formal place of worship. It may mean no more than communing with nature or taking quiet, reflective time out of your day to contemplate something more than life's mundane stresses.

13. Take Note. Writing down your feelings in a diary may help relieve emotional stress. This is especially helpful for those who have trouble talking about problems. In a study conducted by psychologist James W. Pennebaker, Ph.D., of Southern Methodist University, participants wrote for 20 minutes a day over four consecutive days about issue or emotions that were causing them stress. Those who stuck to the exercise showed improved mental health and were better able to cope with stress.

14. Play Around. The next time you're feeling anxious or stressed, take a break and do something childish: find crayons and draw a picture, rent a favorite childhood movie, borrow some fun children's books or find a few old favorite toys.

15. Slow Down. Try moving, talking and behaving in a relaxed, slower manner and see if it doesn't let some of your stress ebb away. For instance, drive ten miles per hour slower; pause at the table before you eat; take an after-work shower; let the phone ring a few times before answering.

16. Get a Pet. Whether it's a dog, cat, bird or fish, a pet can play a vital role in stress relief. A Johns Hopkins Medical Center study found that fifty out of fifty-three people with pets were alive a year after their first heart attacks, while only seventeen of thirty-nine of those without lived a year.

17. Take Vacations. It's an ideal time to gain perspective on your day-to-day life and to put aside the stress load for a few days. It's important to get a total change of scenery, a new environment. Workers who use their vacations to work at home are not recharging nearly as well as they would if they were away from home for the same period.

18. Take Up a Hobby. If you pursue a hobby you genuinely like, you're apt to get so absorbed in it that you don't notice time passing. You'll forget stress and reach a level of total relaxation.

19. Delegate. Those who don't learn to delegate become overloaded with unfinished tasks, making them stressed, less productive and isolated by their excessive expectations.

20. Be In Control of Your Finances. A survey of 11,000 adults in Prevention magazine showed the number-one source of stress is worry over personal finances. Research also shows that people trying to maintain lifestyles they can't afford are more likely to have health problems.

21. Don't Procrastinate. It lessens productivity, not only compounding stress but also causing the stressful by-products of guilt, anger and low self-esteem. And the worse stress gets, the greater the tendency to procrastinate becomes.

22. Live by Lists. Having a daily written list of what you expect to do will help you become more realistic about your schedule and remind you of tasks you do not want to forget. By listing a task, you also relieve stress by removing the thought from your mind, which helps to lessen mental overload, a common occurrence in stressed people.

23. Eat Right. What you eat can promote or relieve stress and help or hinder the body in how it handles the physical stress response. Stay healthy and stress-resistant by taking time out for meals, eating at regular times, avoiding sugars and fats. If you are stressed out and need a break from anxiety, try foods low in fat and protein and high in complex carbohydrates for a calming effect. If you're looking to concentrate your energy to help get you through a stressful day, look for food that enhances alertness.

24. Exercise. To work away your tension and fortify yourself against the negative physical effects of stress, try these tips: squeeze something (such as a squishy ball); do an aerobic activity; take a walk; swim.

25. Relax. Breathe deeply. Visualize something pleasurable. Meditate. Concentrate on present, tangible situations. Inhale aromatic oils. Listen to soothing music.

All materials adapted from Stress: 63 Ways to Relieve Tension and Stay Healthy

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