We all suffer from stress to one degree or another, but for some their stress level is over the top…if you have lost control in the battle to manage stress, then let’s put the control of your health and happiness back in your hands.
Before we go on, I want to mention that my personal battle with stress, outlined in detail inside Attracting Greatness, impacted me severely in the past…not only my emotions but my ability to function daily and my health were a total mess!
The good news is that I found a way out, and to this day still rely heavily on the discoveries I was lucky enough to find then.
I wanted to share with you the 3 most powerful techniques I have found to beat stress, take back control over my life and improve my health and wellness.
Feel free to use these immediately in your own life and by all means, share any others that you have found work for you by leaving us a comment…
KNOW YOUR SIGNS OF STRESS
For many people, they figure out they are suffering from chronic stress too late…they find themselves wrapped up in addiction, ending a highly valued relationship, stuck in a rut in their life, depressed or even with a chronic or critical health situation such as heart disease or cancer.
The truth is that, left unchecked, stress has proven to wear away at nearly every healthy body function interrupting normal operation of your immune system, lympthatic system, digestive system and circulatory system not to mention the toll it takes on your emotions.
The challenge is though that it sneaks up on you and little by little takes over your life.
Another challenge is that stress impacts each person differently. For some, it causes their muscles to tighten, their immune system to be compromized, for others it impacts their mind to such an extent that they become addicted or violent…very different effects from the same underlying cause.
What you want to begin doing IMMEDIATELY is learning to recognize the signs of stress on YOU right away so you can learn what triggers stress in your life, how your body reacts to that stress and can understand when you begin to recover from being chronically stressed.
Here are some common stress reactions we have experienced or observed…
- Stomach titens up and digestion “locks up” resulting in heartburn, acid reflux, stomach cramping or “nervous stomach”
- High blood pressure
- Propensity to eat or drink the wrong things…when do you reach for junk foods, extra alcohol or tobacco?
- Anxiety…a feeling of overwhelm, sweaty palms, extreme nervousness, a dread of being somewhere or doing something
- Dizzy or “foggy” brain – this can often be due to a yeast or parasite overgrowth supported by bacterial imbalances encouraged by chronic stress
- Frequent propensity to catch colds, viruses or flu’s – stress has one of the toughest impacts on a healthy immune system
- Behavioral changes such as temper, violant, mean, withdrawn, anti-social behavior
- Inability to relax when you do take a break, vacation or otherwise try to get away from stress…you find out you can’t!
Which one of these do you recognize the most?
For me it was definitely digestive symptoms…when I let stress get the better of me, my digestion turns into a mess…but the impact for you can be completely different.
MEDITATION
Meditation is not as scary or hopeless as it may sound to you.
For years I had tremendous challenges with meditation…I put all kinds of pressure on myself and could never quite seem to experience the “letting go” associated with effective meditation.
If this is the case with you…try these tips that made meditation a breeze for me…
- Find your oasis. For meditation to work you simply need a repetitive stimulus that is or is closely aligned to your ultimate oasis. For me, the sound of ocean waves is my oasis, so listening to a repetetive sound of ocean waves crashing on the beach is the perfect “mantra” that helps me effectively meditate. For years I tried to listen to voices (guided meditation), but that only led to more stress for me. For others, utter silence is enough, still others like the sound of their own breathing…for me it was water. ANYTHING you find relaxing AND that repeats is ok as your trigger to meditate effectively
- Reserve 20-minutes twice each day for yourself. Do no compromise or feel guilty. This is YOUR time, and by improving yourself you are better able to help everyone around you so it needs to become as important as sleeping and breathing is to your life
- Don’t push it…let meditation come. The first several times you try meditation you may be overwhelmed with more thoughts than when you are NOT meditating…that’s ok, acknowledge those thoughts but then push them aside and get back to focusing on your repetitive stimulus. Have faith, eventually you will zone out and be meditating…but you can’t force it.
- Give it at least 2-3 weeks (twice daily) to make it a habit…it will become easier as you repeat and suddenly you will realize that you can’t live without it!
HAVE A PLAN – AND EXECUTE
One of the biggest challenges people have in their lives is that a) They don’t have a plan, which means someone else is controlling your life and b) They don’t execute – procrastination sets in and you beat yourself up for this.
By definition, the #1 cause of stress is NOT being in control.
This has been demonstrated again and again with animals in captivity that end up mutiliating themselves because they do not control their environment.
It’s no wonder that someone who feels they have lost control of their career, financial condition, relationships and overall social situation is chronically stressed.
To beat stress you want to take back control, identify your purpose in life, set a plan in motion and even if it takes you years to accomplish your plan, you will have taken back control enough to beat stress.
Go ahead, use these stress management techniques in your life…not only will you be happier, your health will improve too. With these 3 simple techniques you can completely change your life in a few short weeks.
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