The unhealthy affects of stress can be evidenced in physical as well as mental and emotional health problems. Besides heart and digestive problems, stress can contribute to overall muscle aches, stiffness and even pain.
Relaxation techniques can help manage the affects of stress on the body as well as the mind. There are various techniques one can use to experience a state of relaxation and calmness, which require little time or effort on the part of the individual seeking to benefit from them.
Here is one relaxation technique that many people have found beneficial in managing the level of stress they experience.
Stair Step Relaxation Technique
Begin with a series of deep, cleansing breaths. Feel your body relax, as you slowly breath in and out. It can be helpful to imagine the tension and stress leaving your body as you exhale, while peace and calm fill you, as you inhale clean, fresh air.
Once you have done this for a period of two to three minutes, begin to experience the tension leaving your muscles, one at a time.
Once you are ready, picture yourself at the top of a flight of 10 stairs. Take one step down this set of stairs, and imagine that your body, your mind, and your spirit feel more relaxed, and more at ease as you reach this step. Say the number "One" as you descend.
With each succeeding step you can experience a deeper and deeper state of calm and relaxation. As you descend upon each step say the corresponding number of the step you are on.
When you reach 10, which is at the bottom of this set of steps, you will be entirely calm and relaxed. Any problems or worries you had will have vanished, and you will feel totally at peace.
Once you have experienced this state for a moment or two, you will be ready to come back up the set of stairs. With each step that you climb, you will become a little more awake and alert to your surroundings.
Your body and mind will remain at calm and at peace even after you return to the final step. You will feel renewed energy, and a renewed sense of purpose and joy, as you return to the top of the stairs.
Part of a good Stress Management plan simply involves identifying the areas of stress in an individual’s life. Taking an objective look at circumstances and situations that may seem unmanageable, can be a helpful first step in dealing with stress.
Once the areas that are causing the most stress have been identified, a plan to reduce the level of stress produced by each situation can begin to be formulated.
Often situations which create a large amount of stress can be eliminated completely. For those stressors which cannot be entirely eliminated, a plan to better manage the situation, so that the amount of stress produced is decreased significantly, is often helpful in relieving the overall amount of stress the person is feeling.
One of the most common sources of stress, for many people, is the habit that they have of not setting healthy limits on the amount of commitments they enter into.
Overextending oneself creates undue stress, and generally leads to exhaustion, burn out, and inevitably, "failure" to fulfill many of ones obligations. This "failure" is often perceived by the individual as a personal "failure", creating feelings of guilt, shame and poor self-esteem; feelings which inevitably contribute to the amount of stress the person experiences.
An individual who has a tendency to over-commit may also be driven by a desire to "prove" themselves, or to "live up to" a certain standard which they have imposed upon themselves.
Having rigid ideas about "success" and "failure" and demanding too much of oneself, contributes to the overall stress in the person’s life. Many times an individual has such a deep fear of failure, or a desperate need to "live up" that they refuse to set limits on their time, until health problems or other life events force them to do so.
If an individual has a difficult time making necessary changes in their routine, or setting healthy limits for themselves, underlying causes of the behavior should be addressed. Consider what constitutes "success" and "failure." How can ones point of view be altered, to allow some relief from the "rigid taskmaster" of self?
What limits can be set comfortably? What obligations and commitments can be let go of? Simple questions such as these can go a long way toward helping identify the sources of stress, and creating a plan to reduce the affects of stress that stress a person’s life.
"Only you know your limits, go for YOUR BALANCE... Listen to Your Inner Self... Take another's advise with a grain of salt. Don't Give Up The Ship! Cheers!" Check out Life Coach at DebStGeorge.com
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