Eight Tips for Stress-Free Living

The following are eight ways I deal with stress:

1. I figure out what I can control. Stress for me is caused by situations that are out of my control. Even if this is the case, there is always something that I can do that is within my control. For example, I cannot control currency fluctuations but I can take actions that cause them to have less financial impact on me.

2. Stress is related to problem solving skills. I work on my problem solving by writing the problem down. Just the simple act of writing it down tends to help with the solution and also helps reduce the stress.

3. Look at what is really happening. Much stress is created in our imagination. We tend to think the problem is worse than what it is.

4. Exercise. Exercise keeps me centered. The times stress bothers me the most is when I have not balanced myself. Plain and simple exercise reduces stress and the negative reactions to stress. Even a five minute walk can make me feel calmer.

5. Take a few slow, deep breaths. It is amazing how this reduces my stress reaction.

6. Help someone less fortunate. Nothing puts things into perspective better.

7. Acceptance. If there is truly nothing I can do, then worrying only creates stress. This is easy to say but I work hard at trying to accept what I cannot control; however, not until I have done a lot of brainstorming to make sure I cannot do anything about the problem.

8. Stress tends to be closely tied to time management and most of you know I am a student of this. If I am well organized and using my time effectively, I can handle stress better.

Managing stress is a bit like white water canoeing. The water will win if you try to control it instead, work with it. Simply help guide a bit, but let the river do the work.

"If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment." --Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121 AD - 180 AD)

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What is stress?

Stress (roughly the opposite of relaxation) is a medical term for a wide range of strong external stimuli, both physiological and psychological, which can cause a physiological response called the general adaptation syndrome, first described in 1936 by Hans Selye in the journal Nature.
An emotionally disruptive or upsetting condition occurring in response to adverse external influences and capable of affecting physical health which can be characterized by increased heart rate, a rise in blood pressure, muscular tension, irritability and depression. Stress does not cause migraine but can be a migraine "trigger".
A condition in which the organism is subjected to unfavourable or unfamiliar environmental conditions, resulting in some alteration in normal physical functioning. Short-term stress can often be overcome. Long-term stress can reduce resistance to disease and parasites, inhibit self-healing processes, and reduce life-span.