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Stress – Part 2
By Gilbert Griffiths
“WHATEVER THE MIND OF MAN CAN CONCEIVE AND BELIEVE, IT CAN ACHIEVE.” - Napoleon Hill in Think and Grow Rich In today’s hectic paced life, stress is an ever present threat to your well being. I’m going to give you several tips to help you manage your stress level. My favourite method of relieving stress is through breathing: Find a quiet spot and either sit up straight or stand up straight. Tip your head back just a little and close your eyes. Take a deep breath in through your nose and release it through your mouth. Concentrate on the sound of your breathing don’t let any other thoughts enter your mind. Take a total of 10 deep breaths then open your eyes and return to what you were doing. I find doing this three times a day most beneficial. Once before you start work for the day, once after lunch, before you start work for the afternoon and once when you finish work, but before you start your commute home. This is a variation of the first method. In this variation instead of concentrating on the sound of your breathing, recall a place you have been where you really enjoyed yourself. Picture it vividly with all the smells and sounds of the place. My favourite place is the lower water fall of Cougar Smith Creek, in Fanny Bay, British Columbia, with the sound of the water splashing over the small water fall and the smell of fresh water and heavy coastal vegetation. Ten deep breaths with this vivid picture in my mind takes away all my tension and irritation. This is a slightly different version, and according to a recent study published in the American Journal of Hypertension, it can also lower your blood pressure. So, the next time you feel the effects of stress, try inhaling deeply as you slowly raise your shoulders up to your ears. As you exhale, let your shoulders slowly go back down. Repeat at least five times and feel yourself relax. My son-in-law uses humour to relieve his stress. He watches a funny video or a comedy on television. He always has jokes on his computer and he and his friends send them back and forth via e-mail. After a few minutes of laughter his stress level is much lower. According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, laughter is your body’s natural stress release mechanism. Do the stress stretch. Note, if you notice any pain or if you have had any injuries to your back, neck or jaw, check with your doctor before trying these stretches. Take a few minutes to GENTLY and SLOWLY move your head from front to back, side to side and in a full circle. Do two or three repetitions. For your jaw, stretch your mouth open and SLOWLY move your lower jaw from side to side and front to back. Do two or three repetitions. Walk away your stress. Instead of sitting and having a cup of coffee for your coffee break, take a walk around the block. Before you return to work after lunch, walk around the block a couple of times. Note, this is a leisurely walk to relieve your stress, not a vigorous weight reducing walk. Watch your diet! Alcohol, caffeine, sugar, fats and tobacco all put a strain on your body’s ability to cope with stress. A balanced diet with lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and foods high in protein but low in fat, will create the health required to allow your body to cope more easily with stress. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, if you do neck strengthening exercises not only will you relieve the neck pains caused by stress, you may even prevent neck pains from coming back. They suggest that you lie on your back and then gently and slowly lift your head off the floor as far as you can (make sure your shoulders remain flat on the floor) then slowly lower your head to the floor. Do three sets of 20 repetitions at least three times a week.. The best time to stop stress is before it starts. According to a study at Kansas State University, women who kept brightly coloured flowers on or near their desk had less stress than women who had green plants or no plants at all. Researchers surmised that the brightly coloured flowers caught the attention of the owners giving them a quick mental break from the negative feelings of stress. They recommend Gerbera daisies or other brightly coloured flowers or a plant pot containing African violets or chrysanthemums. If none of these tips work out for you, then I suggest that you check out the American Institute of Stress web site at http://www.stress.org or the Canadian Mental Health web site at http://www.cmha.ca/english/coping_with_stress/ You should also make an appointment to see your family doctor to ensure that stress hasn’t caused a disease to set in. (end of part 2)
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Contributor's Note
My note at the bottom of the first part of this Intel certainly got results, but not the type I was expecting. I guess I shouldn't have used a picture of me in my uniform. I got several phone calls...one from the casino reminding me that I had signed a confidentiality agreement, so could not devulge anything I learned there and a couple of calls from slot machine manufacturers reminding me that information about their internal machine codes and software was proprietory and that I would be sued if I wrote anything about it. So...I guess I'll have to forget about that Intel. And, just to be on the safe side, I think I'll have a chat with my lawyer.
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American Institute of Stress
| Canadian Mental Health
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