Stress 2: starting to make changes
It is impossible to be physically both stressed and relaxed
at the same time. A fairly obvious
statement but it gives a crucial indicator as to the best starting point for
reducing stress in the moment. When we are stressed our breathing is often
rapid and shallow. Try to slow your breathing and to take deep breaths. Most
importantly ensure you exhale fully. When we breathe rapidly our lungs get
filled with too much oxygen and this can cause many of the other unpleasant
physical symptoms of stress. Changing your breathing pattern can be a very
effective and rapid way of coping in the moment. Then move your attention to
the places in your body that feel physically tense and try to move your limbs
or muscles to allow them to release slightly. One way of attempting this is to
visualise breathing out through the tense body part, or to engage in some
physical activity. There are many online resources to talk you through these
strategies in more detail.
In addition to these ideas, if the amount of time in the day
that you feel stressed has increased then you need to increase the number of
relaxing activities you engage in to counterbalance this. Think what helps you
to relax, whether it is talking to people, exercising, taking a bath, walking,
being outdoors, reading etc, and schedule in as many of these different
activities each day as you can and keep a healthy diet. Don’t expect any one
activity to be a miracle cure but hopefully the accumulative effect will help
counteract the impact of the stress.
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