Stress Reducer Blog

I’ve been a long time advocate of taking unplugged vacations. Now the research is starting to catch up.

I’ve also been experimenting with turning the computer off earlier in the evening, and I’m finding the quality of my sleep is significantly better when I turn the computer off.

Though the research is just getting started on the impact of all this screen time, this article is worth reading.

…on a day-to-day basis, too much digital stimulation can “take people who would be functioning O.K. and put them in a range where they’re not psychologically healthy.”

Read more of Outdoors and Out of Reach, Studying the Brain

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Clearly this reporter doesn’t grasp what mindfulness really is…being present to whatever is going on, not pushing stuff to the side. Yikes!

Other than that, however, the article is quite good and makes a good case for meditation in general and mindfulness meditation specifically when it comes to stopping anxiety and reducing stress.

Read more of ‘Mindfulness therapy pushes the bad thoughts to one side‘.

Want to learn more about mindfulness meditation, get Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Full Catastrophe Living

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How are you on this fine day in October? The sun is finally coming out here in southern New England.

Recently I’ve been thinking about anxiety and stress. Well I’m always thinking about it, and therein lies the problem for many of us who are feeling stressed, overwhelmed and anxious.

To stop anxiety and stress, one of the most effective things you can do is stop thinking and start doing.

Here’s the cycle as I see it…something happens or we’re afraid of something happening and that triggers anxiety and stress.

Rather than immediately kicking into fight or flight we take a middle road…paralysis. Just like a rabbit caught in the headlights, we freeze.

In that state all we can do is ruminate about whatever it is that triggered our reaction in the first place…and we spin around and around in it. The more we think about it the more the anxiety and stress escalates. Sound familiar?

It is imperative to break the cycle, and the best way I know is to take action. In my experience it doesn’t even really matter if it’s the best action. What matters is that we DO something.

So try this to stop anxiety and reduce stress…

1. Stop

2. Don’t try to talk yourself out of it (doesn’t work and it’s counterproductive).

3. Ask yourself what small step you could take to solve or prevent the problem that’s causing stress and anxiety.

It doesn’t have to be the full solution, just one small step in the direction of a solution.

If you don’t know what direction, just take your best shot because it really doesn’t matter. In my experience even the wrong action breaks the log jam of emotion, which in turn, frees us to think more clearly and take more effective action.

4. Do it. Take action. Take that one small step.

5. Then notice how you’re feeling. Better?

Hope that helps!

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…now researchers have discovered that the sensation of being highly stressed can rewire the brain in ways that promote its sinister persistence….Happily, the stress-induced changes in behavior and brain appear to be reversible. Read More…

Certainly makes the case for taking a vacation…have you had one this summer?…and supports what I’ve said before about when you are stressed from feeling overwhelmed the best stress reducer is to stop.

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Yesterday I recommended watching comedies as a stress reducer.

Honestly I don’t know how people with no sense of humor survive. Life can be mighty hard at times. Cultivating a sense of humor in response can really lighten the load.

I’ll admit when times are tough, the humor can turn rather black but that’s the point after all. Find the humor and you alleviate the stress.

I know it’s easier said than done. When you’re feeling the most stress, it may feel impossible, but over time it can be cultivated.

Start here and see how it goes…

When you’re feeling stressed, take a breathe, then just step back for a moment and imagine your watching the situation as an outsider. With that perspective I’d bet there’s quite a lot you can see about the situation that’s humorous.

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When was the last time you had a good laugh? Or watched a funny movie?

Laugher is an essential part of our humanity. It contributes to our capacity to cope with life’s challenges. It gives us a respite from the doom and gloom that often surrounds us.

Norman Cousins closed himself in a hotel room and watched Marx Brothers movies for pain relief. Ten minutes of laughter for several hours of pain relief. Not bad eh?

In the early 1990′s I worked for hospice and during that time and for a good while after, I would only watch comedies. When life is that real, you don’t need fictionalized drama on top of it. Laughter was one of the things that allowed me to do the work without getting depressed, stressed and overwhelmed by the intense emotional pain I was dealing with on a daily basis. It allowed me to be present with an open heart to the families I met.

Now it doesn’t make all the stress disappear for good, but it does tend to lend some perspective and gives us a much needed break.

So go rent a funny movie and have a good laugh. You’ll feel better for it.

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In my last post, I talked about how staying in the present moment is a wonderful stress reducer. I have to admit it’s easier said than done, but there are 3 things that are helping me do it.

1. I am no longer listening to the repetitive fear mongering of the media. I have turned off the news and listen to no more than one news report a day. Sometimes I don’t listen to any, and you know what? I haven’t missed anything important.

2. I have meditated now for 25 years, and most meditation practice is about staying present in the moment, opening the heart and staying connected to source. Even 5 minutes of observing the breathe has a way of bringing you right back into the present moment.

3. I remind myself throughout the day that for today everything is fine. I will say that having Heidi here to remind me of that helps a lot, because for today she is fine.

What helps you stay in the present moment?

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Living in the present moment is a piece of ancient spiritual wisdom worth remembering in this discussion of uncertainty and lack of control.

Staying focused on the present is a massive stress reducer. For right now, at this moment, I am okay. For today, I have shelter, food, income, a loving family, good friends and a healthy dog.

Any of that could change tomorrow. That’s always been true, but in the normal course of most of our lives we choose to keep that awareness in the background. We don’t think about how it could all change in an instant. We expect continuity as we move into the future.

Currently we are living in a world of Chicken Littles…the sky is falling, the sky is falling…and it’s really hard to stay removed from all that catastrophizing.

I’m finding it as hard as anyone else, but I am also finding that the lesson of Heidi’s illness has been to remind me that for today she is fine and for today I am fine. And you know what? It’s enough. It’s actually more than enough to keep the stress monsters at bay.

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