Dealing With Stress - The Hardest Thing in the World?

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Title: Dealing With Stress - The Hardest Thing in the World?

Word Count: 810

Author: Trevor Dumbleton

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Dealing With Stress - The Hardest Thing in the World?

Copyright 2005 Trevor Dumbleton

When you are stressed, the hardest thing in the world is

dealing with stress. After all, it's already there and

stress is not the sort of thing that is dealt with very

easily. It tends to consume the mind, cause fatigue,

prevent concentration, and can even cause memory problems.

It is as though the brain is so wrapped up in its stress

that it does not have room for anything else. Thus, in

order to stay alert, aware and clear-headed, it is

necessary to have a strategy for dealing with stress.

The best method for dealing with stress is, of course, to

prevent it in the first place. This is best done by

staying focused on what you are doing rather than worrying

about everything that needs to be done. By concentrating

on, let's say, the work you are doing, you can avoid work

stress. It is a simple matter of focus. By simply staying

in the moment and letting each moment move you forward,

your stress levels will stay low. However, when you step

back and look at the big picture and think to yourself,

" How the heck am I going to get all this done? " you will

not be helping yourself. Instead of working to get things

done, you will instead be thinking about how you will never

get it done and you will create your own, self-fulfilling

prophecy! This, needless to say, is bad. Concentrate on

what you are doing and the work will take care of itself.

However, supposing that you are already wrapped up in

stress, it is already too late to try to keep it away.

Thus, you need to get relief. The best thing you can do in

this situation is to walk away. That's right, get up, go

someplace else and let everything sit for a bit. Think

about something else, worry about how to make a decent

sandwich, pour yourself a nice cup of coffee and watch the

fluid fill the cup. Take a look out the window and watch

the people, cars or ducks go by. Just notice something

else and concentrate on that. By doing this, you will be

able to clear your mind of stress and worry instead about

something entirely mundane that is not a source of stress

at all. And wouldn't that be a nice change of pace?

Another method of dealing with stress is through a quick

round of meditation. This is easily done by simply sitting

down, closing your eyes, and concentrating on your

breathing. Take a deep breath and notice the air coming

into your lungs. Then push all that air out and feel it

wafting through your nose or mouth. With a few of these

deep breaths, you can quickly clear your mind of its

concerns and start with a clean slate. Then, once you open

your eyes, you will feel very refreshed. If this didn't

work at first, then do it again and see if it makes a

difference. Obviously, it takes some practice to master

this quick method of meditation, but many people find quick

relief from stress by performing this simple breathing

exercise. Just keep trying it and, eventually, you will

master this technique of dealing with stress.

Another great method for dealing with stress is through

exercise. Keeping in shape has excellent benefits for the

body and mind, as exercise fills your body with the

hormones that it needs to relax. Fortunately, these

hormones stay in your body even after you are done with

your workout and they will help you to stave off stress.

And the more you exercise, the fitter you will be and the

better you will feel every day.

One vital method of dealing with stress is to get plenty of

sleep every night. Most people do not get enough sleep

and, as a result, they feel fatigued during the day.

Unfortunately, fatigue tends to cloud the mind and it makes

people anxious, nervous, and unable to concentrate. Thus,

the mind is not able to cope with stress and, when it

arrives, it tends to stay in the mind. Thus, dealing with

stress properly requires a solid eight hours of rest every

night. So avoid caffeine and alcohol before you go bed,

and you will feel much better the following morning.

Dealing with stress is not difficult, but it does take

practice. No one has ever mastered any skill in a short

period of time and dealing with stress is no different.

Just be sure to exercise, get plenty of sleep, learn to

concentrate and, if need be, meditate so that you can

either keep stress away or deal with it when it arrives.

Then, once you have mastered these methods and techniques

of dealing with stress, you will feel better, be more

effective and you will be much happier every day.

About the Author:

LowerYourStress.com: for everything to do with stress. Get

a free ebook to help with your stress levels:

http://www.loweryourstress.com/stress-book.html