Tag Archive for: Mental Health

Stressed? Techniques for Managing Negative Stress

One of the constants in our lives is stress. Just reading that may induce stress for you but the reality is that not all stress is negative. Stress is, most simply, your body and minds way of reacting to situations in life; both the good and the not so good situations. Stress is the elation you feel when someone you’ve been missing is suddenly right in front of you. It is also the frustration that you experience when you see a parking ticket on your windshield. The term “stress” isn’t necessarily negative but we associate it that way so much that it has become synonymous with uncomfortable feelings. Which is, for many us, the main type of stress that we experience. So, let’s take a dive into the negative stress that affect us all and what we can do about it in our lives.

The First Step

The first thing to do is to identify what exactly is causing you stress. You can’t work on a problem that you can’t put your finger on.

  • Step One: Identify the cause or causes of your stress. Look at the overall view here and keep it simple. Is it work, personal life, finances specifically, health- related issues or a combination. Any problem seem insurmountable when it’s as big as a mountain. Break it down into basic, single points to focus on. Even if you have multiple areas of stress, just the act of putting it down on paper (or a spreadsheet if that’s your comfort zone) and sorting it with a plan of action can help you see that it IS manageable; even when it feels like it is too much.
  • Step Two: Identify what you can realistically do to alleviate or eliminate the stressors. Go down your list and do a quick run and tick off of what can you have an impact on and what you can’t. This is the first step here to see what you need to work on to eliminate versus what you need to slot into the category of “to be managed” if you personally cannot affect change on the stressor. Some stressors will resolve themselves with time and there is nothing that can be done but to manage how it affects you until the situation is over. Other times, the situation will not change until YOU change it. Those differences aren’t always apparent when you are in the middle of the stress.

The Next Steps

Now that you know what is causing you negative stress and which stressors are within your range of being able to make an impact or not. Let’s look at strategies to help.

  • Eliminate or alleviate what you can: Be realistic and plot out what you need to do to make things better with the stress in your life. If you can make a difference, then make the changes needed. You will thank yourself in the end. It may not be easy but it will be worth it. Since this area is specific to each person, only you can be the one to write this list. Be honest about your needs and wants and make your plan realistic to what you can offer for energy, focus and time. Even small changes and movement in the right direction will make a huge difference in how you feel about stress right now.
  • Learn how to manage the effects of stressors that you can’t do anything about: The fact is that there are going to be things that you can’t change in your life. In these instances, you will need to look at stress management techniques that will work for you, that you can put into action.

Stress Management Techniques

Negative stress can wreak havoc on our bodies and minds. Most of us are well aware of how we feel when stressed. Racing heart, elevated blood pressure, upset stomach, nervousness, anxiety, and anger are common complaints. It can affect your entire body in ways that make day to day life difficult and uncomfortable to deal with. What works to help manage the impact of stress for each person differs greatly but some options to start the ball rolling for what to try include:

  • Taking care of your body: Eat well, and drink water; exercise in a way that you find enjoyable and feels good for your body; try to get restful sleep; explore different physical relaxation techniques such as yoga, meditation or focused breathing techniques.
  • Relax your mind and emotions with ways that work for you: Journaling or writing; listening to music; use guided imagery podcasts or similar media to help you if you find meditation a challenge; talk it out – find a friend or a therapist that can help you get some of the internal stress out in that way.

We tend to shy away from stress because it is already causing concerns in our lives and we certainly don’t want to put more attention to it, but that’s just what is needed for most of us.

With some focus and research into what is causing negative stress in your life, you can make a difference.

Check out this other great resource for more detailed information and suggestions on how to manage your stress.

Massage therapy sessions are beneficial to physical health and mental health.

Massage therapy can improve overall physical health by increasing the immune system function, decreasing heart rate, decreasing blood pressure, and lowering stress, just to name a few. Massage therapy can also provide many benefits for your emotional health.  Here are just a few of the ways massage therapy provides emotional and physical support.

The Body

  • Relieves stress and aids in relaxation
  • Relieves muscle tension, stiffness and pain. Massage reduces these symptoms by stimulating the release of endorphins
  • Improves the healing time of strained muscles and sprained ligaments; as well as reducing pain, swelling, and the formation of scar tissue
  • Improves flexibility and range of motion
  • Improves the circulation of blood and movement of lymph fluids, which supply nutrients to individual cells; while improving the cells ability to rid the body of waste materials from these cells
  • Reduces blood pressure
  • Helps relieve tension headaches
  • Enhances the health and nourishment of the skin
  • Strengthens the immune system

The Mind

  • Massage promotes calm thinking by relaxing the mind and the body; which can lead to a better and deeper sleep.  Getting adequate sleep can help to reduce irritability, fatigue, and the ability to think clearly
  • Massage promotes a more relaxed state of mental alertness; which can help to quiet the mind and enter a state of  total relaxation
  • Helps relieve mental stress and reduces anxiety levels by producing endorphin’s such as serotonin and dopamine which help with depression
  • Satisfies the need for touch, which fosters a feeling of well-being.  Negative emotions like anxiety, and depression will manifest as physical symptoms, such as increased aggression, anxiety, depression, and fatigue

Stress and the challenges of daily life can influence our mind-body connection, which is a complex relationship between our thoughts, emotions and our bodies. Regular massage therapy can help alleviate many symptoms that  block your recovery.

headacheWritten by: Alexandra Sifferlin @acsifferlin

Here’s how to take care of your mind this new year

When it comes to New Year’s resolutions, our self-improvement efforts often focus on getting a better body. And we ignore that other, equally important part of our well being: our mental health.

Certain health hazards come with warnings, like cigarettes or alcohol, but less obvious ones, like loneliness and rejection, can take just as great toll, says psychologist Guy Winch, author of Emotional First Aid: Healing Rejection, Guilt, Failure and Other Everyday Hurts. Research shows social isolation is linked to shorter lifespans, yet we often ignore our emotional hygiene. “If our dental hygiene were as poor as our emotional hygiene, we’d be all gums and no teeth,” says Winch.

This year, prioritize your mind as well as your body, and make a resolution for better mental health. Here are some of Winch’s tips for prioritizing your emotional hygiene in the new year (and all year long).

  1. Pay attention to emotional pain. Psychological pain is much like physical pain—if something hurts for more than a few days, you need to do something about it. If you experience rejection, failure, or have a bad mood that lingers too long, don’t ignore it.
  2. Take action when you feel lonely. Chronic loneliness is devastating to your emotional and physical health because it increases your chances of an early death by 14%. Therefore, when you feel lonely, actions like reaching out to family members, connecting with friends or joining a dating website can help. Make a list of people who you’ve been close to in the past (use your phone book, social media friends, and email contacts) and reach out to one of them each day to chat or to make plans. It will feel scary and risky to take those kinds of steps, but that’s what you need to do to break the cycle of disconnection and end your emotional isolation.
  3. Stop your emotional bleeding. Psychological wounds tend to create vicious cycles that get worse with time. Failure can lead to feelings of helplessness that in turn can make you more likely to fail again in the future. To break the negative cycle of failure, find ways to gain control of the situation. Our minds are not as reliable as we tend to think, so ignore misleading feelings from your gut that tell you to give up, and focus on the aspects within your control, such as your preparation, planning, effort and execution.
  4. Protect your self-esteem. Your self-esteem is like an emotional immune system—it can increase your resilience and protect you from stress and anxiety. Good emotional hygiene involves monitoring your self-esteem and boosting it when it’s low. How? Avoid negative self-talk that damages it further—despite how tempting it might be to indulge these kinds of thoughts at times.
  5. 5. Revive your self-worth after a rejection. It’s very common to be self-critical after you get rejected. It’s an unfortunate reaction, since that’s when your self-esteem is already hurting. You’re most likely to call yourself names, list all your faults and shortcomings and generally kick yourself when you’re already down. The most important thing you can do after getting rejected is to treat yourself with the same compassion you would treat a good friend. Make sure your inner voice is kind, understanding and supportive.
  6. Battle negative thinking. When something upsetting happens, it’s natural to brood over it. But replaying the scene over and over in your mind will not give you much insight or closure. The best way to break a brooding cycle is to distract yourself with a task that requires concentration, like a game on your cell phone, a quick run or a crossword puzzle.
  7. Be informed on the impact of common psychological wounds and how to treat them. You know how to treat a cut or a cold, so you should also know how to treat rejection, failure, loneliness, guilt and other common emotional wounds. By becoming mindful about your psychological health and adopting habits of good emotional hygiene, you will not only heal your psychological injuries when you sustain them, but you will elevate your entire quality of life.