6 simple steps to alleviate and handle stress

“Stress has become so much a part of our everyday existence that often we don’t even notice it.” Click to Tweet There is this slightly nervous, tense, and mildly uncomfortable feeling that many just accept as normal. For some, you know you aren’t happy and satisfied, but you may not be clear as to why. Most of us today have VERY busy and often stressful lives. In this century it’s pretty hard to get away from that , we have so much to do and so much information coming at us from so many directions. Is it any wonder we don’t know how to alleviate and handle stress?

What exactly is stress?

As the American Psychological Assoiation explains it,

This automatic response developed in our ancient ancestors as a way to protect them from predators and other threats. Faced with danger, the body kicks into gear, flooding the body with hormones that elevate your heart rate, increase your blood pressure, boost your energy and prepare you to deal with the problem.

http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/stress.aspx

So what I’m saying is that we’re all subject to it. Please don’t feel like you’re the only one going through this. But the difference is in how we handle stress and learning how to alleviate stress.

6 Best Ways to Handle Stress

1. Awareness

If we just feel badly, if we feel anxious but are so accustomed to it we don’t even know there is another way then we can’t do anything about it. But, Oh, there is another way. First, awareness is the key.

You may have heard the term Observer or witness, this is your awareness guide. It’s part of you but most haven’t developed it enough to get that feedback we all need to do something about our stress. To do something immediately before we turn to alcohol, drugs, overeating or any number of other numbing substances or behaviors. I have some really helpful blogs on the subject of the Observer that will show you how to become aware enough of your feelings so that you can take better care of yourself, be happier and get more of the things you want. The Inner Critic, The Observer,

2. 4 x 4 Breath.
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This is as easy as breathing deeply, it’s free, you can do it in public, 24/7. The key is you must be aware enough to do it. You must be tuned into yourself enough to know that you are feeling stressed. Or even to know that you are going into a situation that may cause you to have to handle stress. Breathing is preventative and also curative. It helps you to avoid that panting sensation and is a simple step to handle stress.

Try this now to quiet your busy mind, reduce your stress or anxiety and bring you into the present moment.

This is a deep belly breath. Put your hand on your belly near your waist and as you breath in allow your belly to balloon out. When you breathe this way you are getting that oxygen deeply into your lungs.

Now exhale and, as you do, allow your belly to contract slightly. This removes the old stale oxygen from deep within.

1. Breathe in through your nose slowly to the count of 4
2. Hold for the count of 4
3. Breathe out through your nose or mouth for the count of 4
4. Hold with no oxygen for the count of 4

You may have to adjust this according to your ability to hold your breath and that’s perfectly fine. As you do this more and more you will be able to breathe deeper and longer quite easily. This is one of the simplest ways to handle stress as it occurs.

3. Acknowledge your feelings and feel them

Sometimes we don’t acknowledge our feelings because we worry that our emotions will be too overwhelming. Although it’s true that feeling emotional can be scary if we’re not accustomed to “feeling” you’ll quickly notice that it’s actually cathartic. It’s like a water boiling with no place for the steam to escape. Feeling the emotion allows some of the stress to diminish.

It’s not as much the “feeling” of the emotion that is scary it’s the thinking about it that frightens us. This is because the thinking comes with the what if’s. What if this happens and what if that happens? Most of those what if’s aren’t the good kind, like “what if I win the lottery? Or what if I get a raise? They are more like, “What if I lose my job and what if I get a dreaded disease?” Those thoughts are bound to bring on the stress by the boat load. To handle stress associated with those thoughts you need to become aware of your feelings.

4. Accept it

“Trying to pretend something isn’t so, or trying to ignore a feeling only pushes it under the rug.” Click to Tweet As I’ve said many times, the more we push under the rug, the more hidden obstacles there are for us to trip on. Just because you think you are hiding it doesn’t make it go away.

When you notice that you’re having a feeling say to yourself. “OK, this is the way I feel now”…and allow yourself to feel it. That does not mean over thinking it, but to feel it. A good way to do this is to find the discomfort in your body. Often going into the body instead of thinking about something is the way to handle stress and get past it and all the feelings and scary thoughts that accompany the stress. To learn more about the pain body go here.

Once accepted you’ll find that most of your stress was not from the situation itself, but from the not accepting it.

5. Get into the present moment

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You can do this with any type of plant, fruit, vegetable indoors or outdoors and get a similar result.

Notice how your mind quiets down, how your senses are delighted at the essence of this plant, whatever it is. Try it while sitting under a tree and just “being” with it. Look at the bark, the branches, the leaves. Once you try this I can almost guarantee you that you’ll never again dismiss this idea as nonsense. This also has to be one of the most pleasurable ways to handle stress!

6. Self care

When we’re feeling stressed often the last thing we want to do is to take better care of ourselves, but that is when we need it most. I’ll say it though you’ve read it and heard it many times before. Take a walk. Yes, go outside and just take a walk. The act of walking especially in nature has been proven to help alleviate and handle stress and improve our health.

Everything I have written about here is well within your control and that may be another reason why they are so effective in helping you to handle your stress. Once again, we all feel it from time to time. The difference is in how we handle stress.

Listen to my radio guest Tamara Dorris as she gives you insights into how to handle stress and get back your life.

Link to my radio show http://www.blogtalkradio.com/yourhappinessway/2014/11/14/so-youre-stressed-are-you-with-tamara-dorris

Try my wonderful meditation mp3 for peace and clarity to help you handle stress and find calm.- Just sign up for my free gifts in the form on the top right and you will receive it right away.

I would love to know what situations cause you stress and what techniques you use to handle stress in the comment box below