“When we’re stressed out, we destroy our present moment experience, create tension in our relationships, and ultimately, shorten our lifespan,” said Carolyn Dickman, Education Director of the Midwest Center for Stress & Anxiety. “Stress is a part of life. And over reacting to stressful situations can become a habitual behavior, an automatic response. Each time you choose to be reactive to stress in a negative way you’re going to pay for it. Over a lifetime this can have serious health ramifications; ulcers, high blood pressure, backaches, headaches, fatigue, insomnia, even depression and anxiety can develop.”
Carolyn Dickman offers these 5-steps to de-stress in 2009.
- Develop Healthy Addictions. “So much of our stress and our ability to cope are directly related to our health; particularly our diet choices and level of daily physical activity. The good news is, you can train yourself to develop healthy addictions. But the secret is to start with small, baby steps. A series of consistent, small steps will build the momentum you need to develop healthy habits,” said Carolyn Dickman. She cites the example of a co-worker who completely transformed his daily diet by taking small, measured steps, initially focusing on eating a healthier lunch. “He used to leave every lunch hour to grab a sandwich somewhere in town. In an effort to drop a few pounds, he decided that for just one month, he would eat nothing but a salad everyday for lunch. That was five years ago… to this day his lunch consists of a salad with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. This little success has built on itself exponentially over the years. A habitual breakfast skipper he now has a healthy bowl of Cheerios or Total with soy milk every morning with his cup of green tea!”
She said the same is true for exercise. Begin, for example, by making a conscious decision to walk one mile everyday for a month. The health benefits you will experience coupled with the sense of personal empowerment and pride you will develop for sticking to your goal for the month will drive your determination to walk two miles everyday. Then three. Who knows where this could lead. - Get Real. Carolyn explains that we have a tendency to overreach when making constructive lifestyle changes. “If you want to lose weight, you don’t want to start out with a goal to lose 50 pounds in three months. That’s not very realistic for most people and is bound to set you up for failure and disappointment which eventually leads to, ‘why do I even try?, I’m a failure...” said Dickman. She suggested keeping daily goals that are well focused, specific and most importantly, realistic.
- Connect with your spirit. Practice meditation, relaxation techniques, yoga, Tai Chi. Or, develop a hobby that allows you to tune out and tune in to your inner self. The secret is finding a stress-relieving activity that you enjoy and does not require a lot of mental activity and lose yourself in the experience. Stress cannot exist in a quiet mind.
- Get Selfish. Learn to get comfortable saying no. You cannot be all things to all people; you must meet your needs before you can truly give of yourself to others. There are people that will take advantage of you and your time if you let them. We all have those people in our lives that seem to demand more than their share of our attention. When you say no to things you don’t really care to do, when you set healthy limits and boundaries, you free up your time and energy for the things that you choose to do. As a parent and spouse, this can be difficult. But you can find the right balance.
- Play! Play is a terrific stress reliever. Look for ways to get simple; to laugh and have fun. Children are very good teachers and pets willing participants. Playing allows you to loosen up, relax and be yourself and always leaves you feeling positive and refreshed.
