Contents
Three easy techniques to relax when you are overwhelmed
Psychology
With the “Anti-stress notebook” manual you will learn to manage stress and calm yourself in difficult situations
Finding a moment of calm in the middle of the hectic life we lead can be difficult, so much so that sometimes we are not able to have a single minute to ourselves. And the accumulation of this lack of pauses, physical and mental, usually leads to something that is already old known: stress.
According to the VII Study of CinfaSalud “Perception and habits of the Spanish population around stress”, 53,3% of Spaniards suffer from stress on a recurring and continuous basis. This «epidemic», which we often naturalize, since it seems that we all have stress and deep down «it is not so bad», can affect our daily performance, as well as our physical and mental health.
As a result of this problem and in search of an effective solution to learn to self-manage stress and little by little learn to live with it in a healthy way, it is published «Anti-stress notebook», a practical book brimming with exercises to calm the body and mind. The psychologists Martha Davis and Matthew McKay and the social worker Elizabeth Robbins Eshelman make this manual to try that everyone, little by little, learn to leave stress behind and have a better day to day.
If you feel … very nervous and need to calm down quickly
If you have a peak of stress and need to learn to manage your nerves at a specific time, with this exercise you can return to a state of tranquility in a few minutes.
1. Get into a chair, put your arms on your lap and plant your feet flat on the floor. Take a deep breath and hold your breath for a moment. Focus on expelling the worries of the day while gently releasing the air through your mouth. Empty your lungs and feel your abdomen and chest relax.
2. Now relax your whole body part by part. Focus on each part for a moment. When you feel your body relaxed, focus on the breath.
3. Stay like this for several minutes, while you repeat the affirmations to yourself “Take a breath” and “relax”. Focus your attention on the words in your head and the process of breathing. Feel your muscles relax more and more with each breath of air, and let the word “relax” overcome any other thought.
If you feel … very overwhelmed in the workplace
The causes of work stress can be diverse: work overload, unfair treatment, hostile colleagues, unpleasant work environment, lack of orientation on priorities … If you notice that the source of stress is at workYou can spend a few days analyzing the situation in order to reach a solution.
1. You need to identify how you respond to stressors specific to your job. It is important that for a short period of time you observe how you react to the small (and large) stresses of your work.
2. Next, you should set goals to respond more effectively to these job stressors. By doing this, you may be able to avoid them altogether, or at least be better prepared when they occur.
3. We must modify our thoughts. Work stress occurs, in part, because our thoughts activate a painful emotional reaction. The recommendation is to make a realistic assessment of what happens to us and avoid projecting and blaming others for our stress.
4. It is also important, when we face a labor dispute, to negotiate. That is why it is interesting to have a small assertive training to be able to express opinions, feelings and wishes without difficulty and correctly while negotiating changes.
5. Once the problems have been identified and the resources found to solve them, we must strive to carry them out and maintain a balance between work and the rest of our lives.
If you feel… frustrated about not being able to sleep
This exercise is very useful if you need to transport yourself to a pleasant state before going to sleep.
1. First you must relax your muscles progressively: clench your fists and tense your biceps. Then relax them. Scrunch your forehead and take a deep breath and then relax. Do the same with your back, legs and feet.
2. Reflect on the things that have happened to you throughout the day and choose three for which you feel grateful. Take a few minutes to relive and enjoy these experiences.
3. Keep thinking about how your day has gone. Refocus on the moments that made you feel good. They don’t have to be big things, just do something you wanted to do, take time to exercise, and feel good about saying no to something you didn’t want to do. Take a few minutes to re-experience those positive moments.