7 methods

A stress-free lifestyle has the potential to significantly reduce depression. Here are seven effective strategies for reducing stress: 1. Express Amusement And Be Happy. Laugh out loud and hard. If you dont have a sense of humor, find someone else who has. Laughter releases endorphins (happy chemicals) from the body, and it helps boost your immune system. 2. Take Charge of Your Schedule and Time. If you have a good handle on your job, relationships, and other activities, you'll be much better able to handle stress. When you are in control, you are more inclined to stay focused and calm. Plan your time wisely. Keep in mind to allow for both positive and negative unforeseen events. When rearranging your schedule, be flexible. Get up 15 minutes before sunrise. Allow an extra 15 minutes to get to all appointments. Avoid procrastinating on important or urgent tasks. Whatever needs doing, do it immediately. Do the unpleasant tasks early, so that you wont have to worry about them for the rest of the day. Keep an appointment or record book. Dont just rely on your memory. Do your tasks one thing at a time at a time. Focus your attention on the present moment, whether its the person talking to you or the job at hand. You can avoid making mistakes, which can cause more stress and anxiety. Be patient while you wait. Impatience-induced anxiety can raise blood pressure. Don't accept requests that you can't fulfill. Delegate trivial tasks. You must remember that you dont have to do it all yourself. Crack a job into separate tasks and assign them to people with the suitable skills. 3. Get Fit Strive to get some regular exercise, whether it's brisk walking, swimming, or something else that piques your interest. Play a sport youre interested in. Aerobic exercises can considerably reduce the stress factor. Exercise also helps you sleep better and gives you time to think and concentrate on other things. It also promotes the release of natural soothing chemicals in your body. Do not result to excessive exercise, however, as this may have an adverse effect and might cause more depression. 4. Search Out For A Support Group. Youll be able to manage stress much better if you have other people helping and supporting you. Did you know that people who are outgoing (always meeting with friends) and who are married experience significantly lower levels of stress in their lives? Choose positive friends who are not worriers. Anxiety will increase if you have friends who constantly criticize you or talk negative about life. Invite a good friend to help you talk out a problem and get it off your chest. An excellent form of therapy is calling an old friend across the world. Pardon others instead of holding grudges. Reduce your expectations of yourself and others. Dont expect too much. Perfectionism is not the means to happiness. Become more flexible and adaptable to your environment. Be open and honest with your boss and coworkers. Ask questions. Recite the instructions that are given to you. Clarifying directions at the start of a project can save lots of time later rectifying out misunderstandings. When you interact with other people, be sincere. Cheating and lying cause stress. 5. Take Breaths Deeply and Slowly. Calm down your muscles, escalating your stomach and chest. Exhale slowly. Do it again several times. Keep an eye on your breath as it moves in and out. Do not attempt to exert control over it. This is a great way to unwind during any activity. You can discover a breathing pattern that feels comfortable and natural to you through this practice. Make use of this yoga technique: Inhale slowly, counting to eight. Exhale through your mouth, even more slowly, counting to sixteen. Make a sighing sound as you exhale, and feel tension dissolve. Do it again 10 times. 6. Consume Healthy Foods at the Appropriate Time. Avoid skipping meals, particularly breakfast. Get time out to eat heartily no matter how busy you are. Snack on healthy treats when you go to the office or the mall. A nutritionally balanced diet is essential to your health and lifestyle. For example, researchers have found that even small deficiencies of thiamin, a B-complex vitamin, can cause anxiety symptoms. Pantothenic acid, another B-complex vitamin, is critical during times of stress. Avoid excessive sweets, alcohol, and caffeine, which can exacerbate stress symptoms. 7. Live with optimism. Count your blessings, particularly when everything seems to go wrong. Believe that many other people are living in worse conditions than you are. Dont exaggerate the complexity of your problems. Every problem has a solution. All you need to do is find that solution. Learn to be happy and to enjoy lifes blessings. Take each day as it comes.

The fear and avoidance of having to commit to anything, particularly relationships, is known as commitment phobia. Usually the sufferer will be overly critical of the other partner in the relationship. They will set out to annoy or hurt the other person, thus sabotaging the relationship even if its thought to be going well. Sometimes the commitment phobic will reject others from the word go, thus not allowing a potential relationship to develop and keeping themselves at a safe distance. Other commitment phobics can be flirtatious and affectionate and appear to want a relationship until the fear wins out and the other person is pushed away, broken hearted. Some commitment phobics genuinely want to meet Mr or Miss Right and get married, but will often have somewhat unrealistic ideals regarding possible suitors. They may fall in love with someone who they know isn't interested in a long-term relationship. They can thus choose a person who cannot or will not commit to them, protecting them from long-term commitment. The causes of this phobia are sometimes associated with a loss or trauma of some kind such as parental separation or bereavement. Maybe as a child they had poor role models or witnessed/were victims of abuse. This can have an effect on their approach to adult relationships. Often, at the heart of the fear, is the fear of rejection by others. They will reject first, put distance between themselves and others, and feel safe as a result.

Its the morning rush hour, and your blood has reached the boiling point. You only have five minutes to get to work when you come across a significant traffic jam on the freeway. You suddenly realize that you are stuck in a construction zone when you see the orange pylons. Being late to work seems like a huge stressor. Or maybe it's 5:30 p.m. and you have to rush to pick up your four-year-old from day care. A car suddenly veers in front of you and you have to slam on the brakes. You barely avoid an accident. Your stress level is rising once more, and it's hard for you to deal with it. In todays world, driving is a major cause of stress. Many of us spend countless hours stuck in traffic jams. There seem to be more cars on the road than ever before. In many American cities, traffic problems are a major public safety issue. In addition, it might appear at times that motorists are being less considerate than they have ever been. Another source of stress is the care and maintenance of your vehicle. Insurance premiums, inspection costs, rising gas prices, and basic maintenance costs are all things you must worry about. The financial stress involved in keeping a car on the road can seem tremendous. Also, you might be saddled with a car that has constant break-downs. If you feel as if your car is not secure, it can be quite a stressful experience. Driving kids around can be very stressful for parents. You might have to referee fights between children as you drive. Alternately, you might have to come up with creative ways to keep kids occupied on long car rides. It can also be very stressful to feed the kids while they are in the car. In desperation, you might pull into a drive-thru, where the wait seems intolerable. Stress while driving is common in modern life. Discourteous drivers, potholes, and irritated passengers will always exist. On your way to work, the store, or school, you will undoubtedly encounter traffic jams. You'll always have moments when you grip the wheel and wonder if you'll make it. There are ways to reduce road stress, but you can't eliminate it. You might want to think about investing in some restful CDs, for instance. Classical music can be quite soothing on a difficult driving day. You could also try listening to a CD of nature sounds as you try to maneuver through traffic. If you dont have a CD player, cassette tapes are another possibility. Also, if you cannot afford to purchase tapes or CDs at a record store, consider purchasing them at a yard sale or church bazaar. You can even borrow tapes and CDs from your local library. You'll find that you're better able to handle the stress of driving with some pleasant sounds emanating from your car stereo. You might also think about changing your route. If you always find yourself stuck in traffic on the freeway, you might want to use residential streets instead. While you might find that your commute time is longer, you might also discover that your stress is reduced considerably when your route is changed. Another technique that many drivers use is to start out five to ten minutes earlier than they need to. That way, you dont have to operate under such a time crunch. Those five or ten minutes can make quite a difference to your daily commute. In addition, you might enjoy having those extra minutes to yourself once you arrive at school or at work. For the majority of us, driving is a necessary daily chore. The trick is to make it as enjoyable as possible in order to lessen our stress levels. Investing in a comfortable seat cushion or a relaxing back rest can do wonders for our frame of mind. Singing or whistling in the car can also be a good way to reduce stress. Playing games with your children such as trying to spot out-of-state license plates can be yet another effective stress-reducing technique. Chances are you will not be able to reduce your stress level overnight. Many of us have become quite used to stress on the road. However, by trying to make our trips as pleasant as possible, we can go a long way to lessening driving-induced stress.