Everything Zen - Part I
Suggested uses for personal Life Events analysis:
1. Become familiar with the different events and the amounts of stress they promote.
2. Put the list of events where your family can easily refer to it several times a day.
3. Practice recognizing the stress level when one of these events happens.
4. Think about the meaning of the event for you and identify your feelings.
5. Think about the different ways you can adjust to the event.
6. Take your time in arriving at decisions.
7. Anticipate life changes and plan for them well in advance whenever possible.
8. Pace yourself. It can be done even if you are in a hurry.
9. Look at the accomplishment of a task as a part of ongoing daily living; avoid looking at such an achievement as a stopping point. Congratulate yourself and push ahead.
10. Recognize that your internal mechanism of coping with stress is directly tied to how your health and well being will be influenced by it.
STRESS REDUCTION TECHNIQUES
Progressive Relaxation:
Progressive relaxation of your muscles reduces pulse rate and blood pressure as well as decreasing perspiration and respiration rates. Deep muscle relaxation can be used as an anti-anxiety pill. The body responds to anxiety-producing thoughts and events with muscle tension which in turn increases the anxiety. Muscle relaxation reduces tension and is incompatible with anxiety. Typically, it involves tensing individual muscle groups for several seconds and releasing the tension -- allowing the muscles to gradually relax.
Deep Breathing:
Proper breathing is essential for good mental and physical health. The next time you feel a surge of stress, try a few moments of deep breathing. Sit in a comfortable position and take deep, measured breaths, e.g., inhaling while counting up from 1 to 4; exhaling while counting down from 4 to 1. Do this 20-30 times and you=re sure to feel refreshed. Deep breathing assists in relaxation by increasing the amount of oxygen in the body.
Visualization:
If you think anxious thoughts, you become tense. In order to overcome negative feelings, you can use the power of your imagination to refocus your mind on positive, healing images. Get into a comfortable position, close your eyes and visualize a scene or place that you associate with safety and relaxation. It doesn't matter what you visualize, as long as it's calming to you. As you relax your mind, your body also relaxes.
Thought Stopping:
Thought stopping helps you overcome excessive worry, repetitive thoughts, and negative thinking, which may take the form of self-doubt, fear, and avoidance of stressful situations. Thought stopping involves concentrating on the unwanted thoughts and after a short time, suddenly stopping and emptying your mind, by using the mental command "stop" or a loud noise to interrupt negative thinking. Then, you may use thought substitution to focus on positive thoughts and outcomes. If the thoughts can be controlled, stress levels can be significantly reduced.
Assertive Skills:
Being assertive can reduce stress as you express personal thoughts and feelings. You are behaving assertively when you stand up for yourself, express your true feelings, and do not let others take advantage of you. Be specific and clear about what you want, think, and feel; deliver your message in a clear and non-blaming manner; make personal statements such as, "I want ... , I think ... , I feel ..." etc; Ask for feedback and cooperation. Being assertive means being able to express yourself openly, honestly, and directly, while being considerate of others' feelings. Being assertive increases self-satisfaction, respect from others, self-esteem and confidence.