Under Pressure!!

Aside from being an AWESOME Queen and David Bowie song, being "under pressure" is a drag and, unfortunately, it's part of everyone's life at some time. Pressures at home, work and school can have a detrimental effect on your health. Luckily, there are ways to manage the stress in your life (because, let's face it, there is ALWAYS going to be SOME stress no matter how hard we try to eliminate it). The best place to start is at the beginning - what is causing your stress?
Once you figure that out, you will be able to learn healthy ways to reduce and alleviate stress.
Sometimes it's pretty clear where stress is coming from. Major life changes (the death of a loved one, marriage, the arrival of a new baby) can bring on stress and tension. Prolonged stress can wreak havoc on your body causing rapid heartbeats, headaches, stiff neck/shoulders, back pain, stomach upset and may lead to a weakened immune system, high blood pressure and a list of other detrimental health problems. We all know the signs of being stressed out but do you know how to manage or relieve your stress? Here are a few ways that I personally have found to be effective:

• Keep a journal. Write down those negative thoughts to get them out of your head! Imagine the stress traveling from your mind, down your arm and through your pen onto the paper. Once it's on the paper, let the stressful thoughts go and do your best to not revisit them.
• Exercise regularly. Even taking a quick 20 minute walk around your neighborhood can do WONDERS for improving your overall sense of well-being. Give this one a try - it's quick, easy and really helps.
• Do something you enjoy. Doing volunteer work, gardening, painting, coloring in a coloring book or partaking in any hobby that makes you smile is a great way to reduce stress.
• Let the feelings out! Talk, laugh or cry with someone you trust.
• Ask for help. Sometimes we take on too many things and don't like to say no to people and this causes us to feel overwhelmed and stressed. If you have too much on your plate, ask for help.
  
• Speak up. Not talking about your concerns and/or needs creates stress. Learn to express yourself in a thoughtful manner so that those concerns are released instead of keeping them bottled up.
  
• Learn to relax. Activities like yoga, tai chi and meditation are known to lower blood pressure and reduce stress. Can't hurt to try, right?
• And lastly, when all else fails......LAUGH!!! In the end, sweating over the small things just bogs us down. Why not laugh them away? Put on a silly movie, get a friend to tell you a funny joke or remember a time when you did something sooooo silly that you can't help but laugh. Laughter IS the best medicine!

Hope you will give these pointers a try next time you are feeling some tension in your world. Until next time, keep it clean and don't forget to LAUGH!