Best Ways To Deal With Stress-Lori’s Top 5

I'll be honest with you. I have been going through a stressful situation in my life. I don't think I have been handling my stress very well because it is starting to effect my health. I sprouted the worst migraine that I have ever had in my life yesterday and I realized that it was stress.

Listening to Music

You would think I would be stress free because I listen to music all day long. Yes it is on,but the true stress relief is when you plug in. What I mean by plug in, is you put on a pair of headphones and turn or your choice of music and crank it up. For me that tends to be 90's alternative music because nearly everyone of those songs you can crank loud. Or, I turn on praise and worship music to change my mood and before I know it I feel better.

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Meditation

According to About.com:

The Benefits of Meditation:

The benefits of meditation are manifold because it can reverse your stress response, thereby shielding you from the effects of chronic stress. When practicing meditation, your heart rate and breathing slow down, your blood pressure normalizes, you use oxygen more efficiently, and you sweat less. Your adrenal glands produce less cortisol, your mind ages at a slower rate, and your immune function improves. Your mind also clears and your creativity increases. People who meditate regularly find it easier to give up life-damaging habits like smoking, drinking and drugs. Meditation research is still new, but promising.

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Friendships/Relationships

Surround yourself with people you love who will spend time with you. Those people who bring positivity to your life. Those friends and family you can have a night out with to just have fun. Those friends and family who can help you out when you think you just have too much on your plate.

According to an article on portland.balance.fm:

A study from Harvard Medical School found that the more friends a woman had, the less likely they were to develop physical impairments as they aged, and the more likely they were to lead a joyful life. Not having close friends or confidants has been found to be a significant health hazard, up there with smoking or being overweight.

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Exercise

Not only does exercise help keep you physically healthy it helps keep you mentally healthy.

According to the Mayo Clinic Website:

It pumps up your endorphins. Physical activity helps to bump up the production of your brain's feel-good neurotransmitters, called endorphins. Although this function is often referred to as a runner's high, a rousing game of tennis or a nature hike also can contribute to this same feeling.

It's meditation in motion. After a fast-paced game of racquetball or several laps in the pool, you'll often find that you've forgotten the day's irritations and concentrated only on your body's movements. As you begin to regularly shed your daily tensions through movement and physical activity, you may find that this focus on a single task, and the resulting energy and optimism, can help you remain calm and clear in everything that you do.

It improves your mood. Regular exercise can increase self-confidence and lower the symptoms associated with mild depression and anxiety. Exercise also can improve your sleep, which is often disrupted by stress, depression and anxiety. All this can ease your stress levels and give you a sense of command over your body and your life.

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Pray

If you are a religious person or even if you aren't the first thing you need to do to deal with stress is drop to your knees and pray.

Phillippians 4:6-7 (NLT)

6. Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Jesus Christ.

That verse says it all for me. So I will be praying more about my stress and giving it to God.

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Filed Under: stress, tips

Categories: Amarillo News, Health