Five Easy-To-Use Stress Management Techniques

Feeling stressed?  Find yourself suffering through the Monday blues week after week?  

Practice these Stress Management techniques and feel your stress begin to melt away.

1. Meditate/Guided Imagery 

To incorporate this Stress Management technique into your daily schedule, aim for at least 5-10 minutes per day.  Find a comfortable and quiet environment.  Close your eyes.  Focus your attention on a calm/safe place.  Use all of your senses to notice how your calm/safe place looks, smells, feels, and what it sounds like.  Feel yourself relax.  Another way to focus is to repeat a positive mantra over and over.  For example, try repeating the words “I am calm” or “I am relaxed."  Let go of any stress or tension and feel yourself relax.

2. Breathe Deeply 

Diaphragmatic Breathing is a fantastic Stress Management exercise that work wonders to help you relax.  Take a 5-minute break to focus on your breathing.  Sit up straight, eyes closed, with a hand on your belly.  Slowly inhale through your nose, feeling the breath start in your abdomen and work its way to the top of your head.  Reverse the process as you exhale through your mouth. Deep breathing is great to lower blood pressure and heart rate if you are feeling stressed.

3. Be Mindful or Fully Present in the Moment

This Stress Management exercise reminds you to stop multi-tasking.  Stop and focus on your environment.  Pay attention to all of your surroundings.  Focus all 5 senses on the one activity that you are engaging in.  Being mindful means being in the present moment and doing one thing at a time.  When you spend time in the moment and focus on your senses, you should feel stress begin to melt away.

4. Tune In to Your Body With Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Do a mental body scan to see where you are holding tension.  Do you have a headache?  Tension in your shoulders?  Like many others, you are likely holding onto stress, which can wreak havoc on your body. Another great Stress Management technique is to practice Progressive Muscle Relaxation at least 10 minutes per day.  Lie on your back, or sit with your feet on the floor.  Start at your toes and tense and relax each muscle group.  Continue doing this until you work your way up to your scalp.

5. Remember to Laugh

Use laughter as a daily Stress Management technique.  Call a friend.  Watch a funny show.  Engaging in activities that will make you laugh will keep you feeling light-hearted.  Feel your mind start to focus on things outside of your stressors.  Remember sometimes laughter really is the best medicine!!

For more information on Stress Management techniques visit http://www.helpguide.org