Anxiety and Stress Forum - How to Overcome Stress

The most important thing to realize about stress is that in most cases its not what happens that’s the problem, its how u react to it.

Being on a roller coaster is a good example. There are some ppl who would close their eyes, clench their fists and pray for it to be over. Others would be screaming in delight and look forward to the next ride. And some people are in between, quite indifferent to the experience.

They are all having exactly the same experience, but are reacting to it differently. bad stress, good stress, and no stress.

some tips on how to reduce (negative) stress:

change the way you think. Be optimistic. Try to see the positive sides of every experience.
think about something else. Distracting urself is a good way to let the stress blow over.
take a mental vacation. Visualize urself in a comforting and relaxing environment, whether it be on a beach with warm sunshine, or in a secluded forest etc.
use affirmations. Simply repeating “i can handle this” can make u feel calmer in a situation.
count to ten or take deep breaths. It gives a feeling of control.
get up and leave. Or look away. This gives u a chance to get a handle of the situation.
yell or cry. It can provide a release for emotions.
stretch. It reduces the sensation of stress.
massage muscles. Stress produces adrenaline, which produces muscle tension, which produces more adrenaline and so on. Therefore decreasing muscle tension by massaging ur muscles, will, in turn, decrease stress.
relax all over. Concentrate on clenching and unclenching each part of ur body.
take a hot bath.
move around. Exercise burns off some of the stress chemicals tension produces. Also, a tired muscle is a relaxed muscle.
listen to a relaxation tape/ your favourite music. Music is extremely powerful. It soothes, relaxes, and inspires.

if anyone has any other tips/ techniques/comments on how to ‘de-stress’ feel free to post them here. Smile