“Stress and worry, they solve nothing. What they do is block creativity. You are not even able to think about the solutions. Every problem has a solution.”  Susan L. Taylor

Despite all the conveniences available to us in this technologically advanced age, stress is still part of the overall scheme of our lives. Luckily, stress management provides comfort and release from these problems that tend to affect our physical, mental and emotional health.

What is Stress Management?

Stress management is tools, procedures, and methods that allow us to take control of our problems and make sure that they don’t affect our daily routine. Problems that lead to stress that are specific in nature have different stress management techniques that can be applied to keep you in balance and harmony.

Relax your mind and body with meditation, exercise (including breathing exercises), and journal writing.

Meditation is a great way to achieve stress management, which deals more on the mental than in the physical. This is where the old adage “Mind Over Body” kicks in. Meditation allows your mind to relax and focus on a single thought and let others drift away to nothing.

Physical exercise is another great way to help melt the stress away as well as get in shape. For some people, physical exercise can even help in other ways. Exercising, as a whole, can not only help you with your body but also your mind and emotions. It’s another way to get you to focus on your action or reaction to stress. For example, personally, I like to utilize a punching bag or something like that when I feel stressed or upset. When I am finished with my session I feel refreshed and my mind is focused on what I need to accomplish.

Breathing exercises help big time!

Our body tends to react during times of stress; irregular breathing, sweating, aches and pains, slow metabolism and so on. Since these are all physical in nature, we have to deal with it in a physical way. One method is through breathing exercises which can affect your body in a profound way. Simply speaking, these exercises controls the flow of oxygen in your body, as well as its distribution to different parts of your anatomy.

One way to do this is to count your breathing. Breath slow and deep, relax your stomach as you do so. Try to keep a rhythm and follow it all throughout the duration of the exercise. With enough practice, you can control your breathing instantly during times of stress which can help you relax and alleviate some of the negative effects in your body.

Another way to help relieve stress is journal writing. Grab a notebook (whatever kind you want) and start writing down everything. What are your thoughts and feelings about the situation that has you stressed? Why is it stressing you out? Who does this affects? Where is it coming from? How long has it been going on? What are the solutions? Sometimes you just need someone or something to talk to vent it all out. This method has helped me out on numerous occasions. This can be quite challenging at first but can be accomplished through continued writing.

Seek professional help if it is more of a detrimental issue.

A psychiatrist or psychologist can be a great help during times stress. The specialist will help you accept your problems and in turn find possible solutions without letting fear and worry seep into your mind. They can help find the trouble areas and help you arrive at solutions which you might be hard-pressed to realize on your own.

Dealing with stress can be stress in itself. But with a relaxed mind, body, and the proper techniques, you could take control of your life and not let stress control you.