Shoo Stress!

Managing stress in your life can help you to take hold of your long term health. The unfortunate truth is that in this day and age, it is almost impossible to eliminate stress from our lives completely. Instead, try these strategies to curb it starting with a 5 minute fix to changing your mind-set to achieve mental bliss.


IMMEDIATELY: tickle your fingers with a hand massage

Your hands hold a lot of tension whether you are punching away at the keyboard, manipulating people's body parts or chopping away at onions. Take a break from what you are doing when you are starting to feel frazzled and take a couple moments to indulge in a hand massage.



1. Rub some light moisturizer on your hands.
   
2. Begin at the base of your right thumb using your left thumb to produce circular motions along the muscles.
   
3. Stroke each finger down to the tip.
   
4. Next draw your attention to the palms, stroking along the length of each bone to the point where the fingers join.
   
5. Repeat with opposite hand.
   

FOR THE REST OF THE DAY: put yourself in a time-out


Interrupt your stressful moments with periods of calm. Breaking the cycle of stress can help to cut down on its long term effect on your health and help you manage the situation in a more productive way.



1. Commit to AT LEAST 10 minutes of solitude (More if you need it, depending on the specific situation).
   
2. Try square breathing to help you center yourself.
   
3. Focus your attention on clearing your mind of everything.
   
4. If you have a difficult time doing this, focus on a positive thought such as, "I have the power to achieve anything I wish."
   

LONG TERM: empower yourself


Sources of stress are often times the result of a feeling of loss of power over a situation. Empowering yourself over any situation can help you to jump many hurdles that come your way in the future.



1. Write down your thoughts about what stresses you out.
   
2. In it, include your solutions for how to handle these things most effectively.
   
3. Next, write down 5 positive statements about how you handled it.
   
4. Practice this exercise every time a stressful situation pops up and re-visit these positive statements if similar situations crop up!
   



How are your stress levels? Do you pay enough attention to yourself and how connected your mind is to your body?