Stress relief

Stress relief

Coping with Stress

In the last piece on Stress Management, I discussed the various factors that can lead to stress and how to recognise triggers that cause you to become stressed. We looked at ways of limiting your exposure to these triggers and where necessary ways to change your expectations of people or situations to reduce the negative impact on you. In this article I will discuss coping methods to minimise your stress response and thus reduce all the negative health impacts of tension on you. For those of you that are suffering the effects of stress, such as IBS, Headache, neck & shoulder tension, PMT, Irritability, Panic attacks, anxiety, insomnia or depression look at doing a course of acupuncture to treat the problem directly and then look at developing coping mechanisms for the future.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture, will quickly address the symptoms you are experiencing and treat them so that you are emotionally and physically healthy again. When you are able to sleep properly and you are pain free your situation will take on a new perspective and you will be better able to cope with external triggers for your stress. Acupuncture will also treat the underlying root cause of your symptoms i.e. what organs are primarily affected by the stress. It will treat these organs so that they are once again in balance so that you are strong and can prioritise your life so that you can deal with your situation without it causing you ill health. At Dan-tien we use different methods including abdominal acupuncture which is gentle yet powerful at treating all painful, emotional and digestive issues. We also use Dr. Tan’s Global Balancing techniques which are powerful and use fewer points in a way that each needle is balancing and re-enforcing the therapeutic effect of the others. We also use traditional Chinese acupuncture and other micro forms (ear, etc.,) of acupuncture to guarantee the best results for you. We can teach you coping methods for stress which combines various techniques such as Buteyko breathing, meditation, mindfulness, EFT, acupressure and more.

Be Happy

Smile, Laugh …. Enjoy the simple pleasures in life, smiling releases lots of those lovely feel good endorphins, which reduce negative stress hormones. Even fake smiles can trigger the release of these endorphins. Smiles & laughter are contagious, they make others feel good too which can have a cascade effect and improve the general mood. Smiling shows you have confidence and good coping skills (which can benefit your career prospects), it also makes you more attractive (which has numerous benefits). Smiling and being nice to people you have problems with will make them less likely to be continuously nasty to you, so share the love! Watch your favourite comedy shows to get you laughing, laughter stimulates the lungs and improves blood oxygen, and has similar benefits to exercise.

Exercise

20 minutes of exercise per day, enough to break a gentle sweat, get your heart pumping, a brisk walk or cycle or whatever takes your fancy. Exercise regularly and reduce the risks of most major diseases by 50% or more,

  • up to a 35% lower risk of coronary heart disease and stroke
  • up to a 50% lower risk of type 2 diabetes
  • up to a 50% lower risk of colon cancer
  • up to a 20% lower risk of breast cancer
  • a 30% lower risk of early death
  • up to an 83% lower risk of osteoarthritis
  • up to a 68% lower risk of hip fracture
  • a 30% lower risk of falls (among older adults)
  • up to a 30% lower risk of depression
  • up to a 30% lower risk of dementia

so get out there and remember a little exercise will also improve your waist line as well as your mood.

Take a Break

Take a lunch break, ideally away from the office and switch off from work for 40 minutes to a hour. Take a walk in the park / Nature, notice all the colours the autumn leaves changing colours, look at the natural beauty rather than the dog sh** in the park! Use different senses on days to explore & observe spaces in a different way, particularly if you only have a small open space in the city. One day you could use your ears primarily to hear the sounds of the birds, children playing etc. On another day you might use your sense of smell, or your sense of touch, feel the wind in your hair or on your scalp (if you have no hair), take off your shoes and walk bare foot on the grass feel the sensations of the soft moist grass underfoot. Using different senses helps to give you a different insight into the world and is good a way of removing yourself from your day to day troubles, it can be meditative and it makes the same space very different.

De- Clutter

Become more organised, if you are constantly getting irritated by clutter then de-clutter, it is amazing how liberating it can be to make your home or office less busy, so that your mind can focus on the real issues at hand. If your sleep is difficult it will improve by making your bed room clutter free.

In my next article I will deal more with specific means of reducing stress such as Breathing, Qi Gong, Tai Qi and more.