Tips for Relieving Stress

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Tips for Relieving Stress by Eisla Sebastian http://www.disaboom.com

Stress symptoms can manifest in many ways. It can appear as a

migraine headache, as muscle pain, as anxiety or as depression. If

you have a disability then you have more stress in your life than the

average person simply because you have more obstacles and challenges

to deal with in your life. Because of this, it is very important that

you learn how to relieve stress through the REACH process: Relax,

Exercise, Alter your environment, Create a support system and ask for

Help when you need it.

Stress Management Tip No. 1: Relax

Relaxation techniques can be very helpful for relieving stress.

Stretching is a great way to release the tension in your muscles and

help your body and mind to relax. Deep breathing exercises are also

very effective for helping you to relax. Aromatherapy, reflexology

and massage therapy treatments are other options that you have for

helping you to relax.

Stress Management Tip No. 2: Exercise

Exercise is a very important part of a stress management program.

Even if you have limited mobility, you can still find exercises that

will release the energy stored up in your muscles and in turn help

your body to relax. Exercise also helps your brain to produce happy

chemicals like adrenaline and epinephrine which will reduce negative

emotions associated with stress like anxiety and depression.

Stress Management Tip No. 3: Alter Your Environment

Stress can be caused by many external factors like traffic and even

clutter. An easy way to reduce the amount of stress in your life is

to alter your environment so that you have limited exposure to

external stressors. For example, if your living room is cluttered

with papers, furniture, knick-knacks and other items, then get rid of

the things you don't need or want and reorganize the things you want

to keep so that the living area is less cluttered and so that it has

more open space.

Stress Management Tip No. 4: Create a Support System

Creating a support system is another important element of a stress

management program, especially when you have a disability. Your

support system can be made up of friends, family members, your case

worker (if you have one) and the medical professionals that you work

with. This support system will help you to deal more effectively with

stressors in your life.

Stress Management Tip No. 5: Ask for Help When You Need It

Stress is difficult to deal with alone and the symptoms of stress can

be compounded when you feel overwhelmed. To reduce the amount of

stress you experience you need to learn to ask for help when you need

it. Help can take the form of asking a friend to take you to the

grocery store, hiring a care aid to help you with housework or

working with a counselor to help you deal with issues and stress that

are impacting your life. Once adopted, this technique can be very

effective at relieving stress.