When a friend lost gobs of hair and the only option was to wear a wig during a stressful time, I began to see how much stress can change your well-being. Most of us have no idea what damage stress does to our body. If I were to ask, you could easily tell me what usually throws you into a state of stress. You'll also be surprised at the variety of ways stress affects the human body...Stress impacts
Heart - increased beating of the heart people experience when in stressful situations is just one part of the body's response to stress, something often known as the "fight-or-flight response". Another component of the fight-or-flight response is the suppression of pain, also known as stress-induced analgesia.
Mental stress puts an added burden on the heart, too.
Immune System - stress makes people more susceptible to illness
Circulation - Negative emotions - depression, anxiety, hostility, anger - cause stress and are linked to atherosclerosis, or thickening of the inside walls of the coronary arteries. Thickening of these walls can slow or block the flow of blood to the heart and brain, which can lead to a heart attack or stroke.
Mental well-being Work stress leads to five major categories of stressors. These include exposure to critical incidents, job dissatisfaction, perceived organizational unfairness, discrimination and lack of cooperation and trust. Both perceived and actual work stress correlates with adverse psychological, physical and behavioral outcomes.
Brain Stress shuts down learning and memory.
Belly Fat Stress can lead you to eat comfort and junk food which lead to belly fat. This build-up of belly fat's dangerous to circulatory system and heart as well as your brain.
Are you running on a business treadmill as Chuck Blakeman describes? Not too surprisingly, the average person deals with at least 22 stressors in a day? More cortisol is excreted into body and brain of folks who take the brunt of stressors and Dr. Ellen Weber shows that often we often work against ourselves if we fail to work against stress daily.
Interestingly, Ellen Weber claims the best stress buster is to find ways to bring more serotonin, to your day.
Several folks on Twitter reported what works best for them to relieve stress. Not too surprisingly, each of these works to bring serotonin. You'll see several of my suggestions, too. Since there are 22 stressors in a day, it makes sense to list 22 stress busters to work against it so that you have a fully packed tool kit to work against it.
22+ Stress Busters:
Pet or play with your cat or dog - The stroking and closeness can bring a feeling of comfort. Canadian Christine says petting her cat always lowers her high blood pressure.
Take a break, go to a quiet place and palm your eyes for 60 seconds. Gina Kay says, "Palming" is a relaxation technique. "Upper part of palm goes on eyes, little finger/ring finger tips touch @ forehead middle."
Take a walk - Ulla Hennig says walking's the first thing she does when she feels stressed. She asks what made her feel stressed and what she might do to avoid it.
Get into Cardio Exercise - Brad Shorr recommends 30-40 minutes on a stationary bike, outdoor biking, swimming (Not all at the same time).
Plan for brainpower boom - Ellen Weber suggests that if we find ways to put brainpower to work to find solutions to things that stress us, we'll work with rather than against our brains.
Pray and meditate - Take time to read scriptures and pray.
Listen to Relaxing or inspiring music - Music can quickly move your brain waves to bring you calm. If you are not in a situation where you can quickly access it, whistle or hum the tune in your mind.
Grow plants Tending plants bring peace and nurture the mind. Try growing some in your office an additional benefit is that they bring more oxygen to your environment, too.
Play a game that's fun Choose a game which does not turn your competitive mode up to high or this, too can stress you. I like to play Quiddler, Set or Scrabble inside or golf every chance I get when it's nice outside. What're your favorites?
Cook something to share Cooking takes your mind off other things as you concentrate on mixing just the right ingredients. Part of the delight is seeing others enjoy the fruits of your labor. Hmm... is that banana nut bread that I smell?
Write in your journal - Pick several different environments over a months time to change your perspective each time you write
Sketch an idea - You prime creativity when you put ideas into pictures [doodles]. In this case why not doodle three stress-busters you have in mind?
Write a haiku - Honor someone you respect at work. They could use the praise and as you put the haiku together, you're concentrating on good qualities you admire.
Run from negativity - Some folks are just more negative than others. Have you noticed that when one negative is expressed, a Niagara Falls flood of them tumbles out? Best way to get yourself out of such situations is to begin to get into groups where people focus on possibilities and solutions than getting mired down in problems only.
Laugh at yourself - Take yourself less seriously and begin to laugh at your foibles, your age, your height or hair. Family of a dear friend of mine wrote me to tell of the news of her death. They mentioned that they laughed at her funeral and that she would have enjoyed that. Fact is, I have never seen anyone who had the capacity she did to laugh in dire circumstances.
Volunteer - I belong to Rotary International so that I can participate in meaningful volunteer projects for the local community and city. In this way I give of my talents to benefit others. It brings you much serotonin when you give to others.
Encourage others - Meaningful words of encouragement go a long way to boost another person's day. They boost your day too, even more than you might realize.
Smile and look others in the eye - As you intentionally smile at another person, it helps lift their spirits. It's also fun to see how many smiles you receive in return.
Ask someone to lunch - If you pick someone you don't know all that well, such as a new neighbor or colleague at work, it gives you an opportunity to get to know them in a casual environment. Try it and you'll benefit.
Read a book - a book can help you concentrate on a variety of characters or historical people in very different settings than your own. In essence, you enter a different world
Work with Financial Planner - Get some new tactics to deal with whatever situation you may find yourself.
List solutions to work problems - Brainstorm these and jot down one word for each in several circles on a paper. Select the ones you think will work best and go to or write email to appropriate manager or supervisor with your nuggets of wisdom. Possibilities are well received by leaders and they will note the leadership you take as well.
Take a role in local theatrical - preparing for a performance can boost your creative skills in unique ways. Invite friends to come and see the final production.
Sing with karaoke - By singing inspiring music such as, "I Have a Dream," your brain picks up this message through several of your intelligences. If you tend to sing off key, do it at home, but if you find you have a great voice, blossom out by having a karaoke party.
Dance to music you like - Whether tap, ballet, clogging, ballroom or line dancing, as you move your body to music you enjoy you build a lot of serotonin through both the music and exercise. If you don't currently do this, take a few lessons!
Give a loved one a hug and say you love him or her - Often we take for granted the people closest to us. Give them a nice surprise by taking just a few seconds to do this. And look them right in the eye as you do. It does much boost your own spirit.
Leave room and run up stairs - If you find yourself in a toxic meeting, excuse yourself and run up and down stairs a few times. This exercise brings oxygen to your brain quickly and gives you enough space to be able to think of a professional approach to handle what is hard to cope with as you return to the meeting.
Do you have a stress-buster tool kit? If you don't what might you suggest to bring more well-being that I might have overlooked?
