| |
| |
|
Faith411.com - Stress Management |
|
|
|
Vital information and articles related to Stress Management.How Stressed-Out Are YOU?
Are you feeling stressed out? Too many things to do, too little time? One more thing added to the To-Do list and you feel like you'll explode? Whoa there, no exploding allowed! You can handle it-just listen in. Listen? To what? To your self-talk. Not yourself talk, but your SELF-TALK. Listen in to the demands you're making of your time, but more importantly listen in to how you're saying them and what you're saying. Many of us don't pay particular attention to what we're saying to ourselves. We've never been taught the importance of how damaging it can be to us nor have we been shown that we can use it to feel much better. You can literally un-stress yourself by using your own self-talk. Listen in for -need-, -have-to-, -must-, type statements that you make to yourself. "First I need to drop the kids off, then I have-to go to the grocery store, then I need to stop at the bank, then I have-to get home and work on those taxes before having to go back out and pick up the kids." You've just created a lot of demands on yourself. And yes, in order for your life to continue like you want, you would prefer to do all those things exactly as you have envisioned. But you don't NEED to, HAVE-TO or MUST. By using demanding statements on yourself, you open up a lot of opportunities to say irrational things to yourself that create stress. When you use demanding statements, you then create a scenario of "what-if" in your head. And when the "what-if's" back-up, then watch out stress level! "What if I don't get it done, what if I don't get there in time to get the kids, what if this, what if that." This is when you really go into stress mode! Asking such open-ended questions is the origin much of your stress. You often answer with "that would be awful, that would be terrible" which compounds the stressful feelings even more. Since awful and terrible are labels way beyond bad, (actually labels that are beyond definition) you've created a situation in your head that ends up with you saying to yourself "?and I couldn't stand it if that happened," or "?I couldn't stand feeling that way!" It's indeed a vicious cycle of thinking that is common to all of us. Fortunately, once you know how, you can think your way out of these situations as quickly as you got in. So where do you start? First, flag such have-to, must, need-to statements in your head. Then replace the needs, musts and have-tos with preferences, desires, and wants. Then when something doesn't go according to your desires, reduce the awfuls and terribles to simply, bad. Then rest-assure yourself that you can stand it. What if you don't make it to the bank? What if you're late picking up the kids?? Well, it's not what you wanted, it may indeed even have consequences which may be bad, but in the overall scheme of things it isn't awful and you CAN stand it. A great deal of stress is caused from within by this "I-can't-stand-it-it is." Remember: whenever you hear yourself saying "need-to, have-to, got-to, etc" replace it with want-to or would like to. Substitute needs with desires; musts with preferences. And remind yourself that awful things will not happen if your desires are not met. You may not like the results if things don't go your way, but you can indeed stand the feelings. It may not be good if things don't fall into place like you want, but the world will continue to spin and you will be able to handle it. It takes some practice. Don't expect it to happen for you like magic. Pay attention to your self-talk, listen for the what-if statements, flag the must and need statements. Dispute them with wants and desires. Do it vigorously. With time it will become second nature, and you'll notice the lack of stress in your life. Dr. David L. Thomas, LMHC About The Author Dr. David Thomas is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor with a practice in Tampa, FL. He has been counseling people to feel better for over 21 years. This article is posted at www.stressgroup.com. He is also the co-author of Quit Smoking-Be Happy!-see www.quitsmoking-behappy.com to learn more. (Copyright--All rights reserved.)
MORE RESOURCES:
Stress-Management - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
8 Practical Methods to Remain Empowered During Stressful Times 1. Acknowledge that requesting support, guidance and partnership is not the same as being needy. Stress Management: How to Use the Power of Focus Here's a fun little experiment:Take a few seconds and look around you, noticing and focusing on everything you see that is blue. Just look around and notice everything that is blue. Stress Management: KYFM - Keep Your Feet Moving One of my favorite stories about change is the story called ``The Room of 10,000 Monsters.''In this room, all your worst fears, anxieties and nightmares are played out in front of you as if they were real. Do You Have Your Foot On The Pedal? Are You Overwhelmed At Work? Is your in-tray or inbox full? I don't normally check the time that emails are sent to me, but for some reason I noticed that Nadia's message had beensent at 2am. In her email she explained that she really needed some help, to deal with all the stress in her life:This morning I rushed out of the house before the kids gotup. Dealing with Workplace Stress One of the hardest forms of stress to avoid is workplace stress. After all, you need to go to work and there are plenty of things to worry about once you get there. Top Ten Ways to Reduce Your Stress at Home Top Ten Ways to Reduce Your Stress at Home1. Create a communication center on the fridge for messages, chores etc. The Art of Worrying I am worried. I have been biting my nails for weeks and now there is not much left (skin doesn't taste very good) on my hands and feet to chew on. Energy - How to Have More of It Something the successful business person needs is - lots of Energy! You need Brain Energy and you need Body Energy. However as with any other kind of energy, it's constantly being drained away and needs replacing. Waking Up Well - The Essentials Preparing for sleep the night before is the place to start. Quality sleep vs quantity is vital. Coping as a Tool of Enchantment Many of my readers write to me about the tensions of everyday life. Not only do people wonder how to relax, but people often ask, "How do I learn to better cope with what faces me? Can THE ENCHANTED SELF help with the overwhelming frenzy of everyday life? Can it help when I am really down or something really goes wrong?" Absolutely!In my newsletter, I often talk about the power of our positive memories. Reduce Stress To Maximize Efficiency The right amount of stress can be good for you, such as when an impending deadline pushes you to work faster. Too much stress, however, becomes conterproductive because you start to make mistakes, become confused and muddled, or lose concentration. No More Sleepless Nights (Insomnia) Insomnia is usually the result of the modern way of life and mental tension to which it leads. Innumerable persons suffer from insomnia. Stress Management: 3 Rules for Dealing with Difficult People Seems like more and more they are all around us. You know who I'm talking about - all those difficult people who seem to cross our path everyday. Stress Managment: Worry is the Prescription for an Ulcer Have you ever listened to someone, perhaps even to your self, talk about being worried? You'll hear things like, "I'm so worried", "I'm worried sick", or as my mom used to tell me, "You worry me to death!"Certainly makes worry sound like a very powerful force, doesn't it? And as a matter of fact, it is. Worry can make us sick, and in it's most extreme form, it can kill us. Stress & Self Esteem: Raising One by Lowering the Other In our article about Exercise & Stress, we looked at the way these two factors form a self-reinforcing cycle that can work for us. With stress and self-esteem, however, the relationship is negative - both in the technical sense of the words (i. Stress Free COBRA If you have recently lost health insurance coverage through your employer from voluntarily or invulnerably termination of employment (excluding reasons of gross misconduct), you and your dependents may be eligible to continue your coverage under COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act). Understanding the basics of how COBRA works and what your options are, can help you make better choices with less stress. Six Questions To Make Your Workplace Stress-Free Many CEOs see stress as an intractable problem which would cost too much to tackle properly -- or alternatively something that only affects 'whiners' whom their organisations would be better off without. Employee assistance programmes, corporate gym memberships and flexible hours are seen as expensive, of dubious effectiveness, and in the worst case, as mollycoddling staff. Manage Stress and Fear: Visit The Secret Garden! Recently I completed some new workshop engagements in addition to my coaching and week-long programs. I am very grateful for the opportunity to stretch and learn but am also acutely aware of the stress I am feeling taking on this new work. Stress Management: How to Take Off Those Masks We Wear The Mask of "I've Got It All Together"It's so easy to put this mask on, and then forget you are wearing it. We want to look to the outside world as if everything is fine, we've got it all handled, no problems, thank you very much. The Epidemic of the Eighties is Still Here IntroductionTime magazine called stress the "The Epidemic of the Eighties". Stress isAmerica's #1 health problem.
|
|
Stress Management Articles Home Page | Stress Management Articles Site Map | News | Faith411.com Home Page EZmatic.com | IgoJo | UpBee | Blue Ryder | Health | ZippyGo | Ken J Wagner Faith411.com - all Vital information and articles related to Stress Management. |
| © 2006 |
