By Randomhead
Emotional health is directly connected to our physical health. Choosing healthy ways (exercise, meditation, centering, and deep breathing) to deal with stress go far toward our overall health. The mind-body connection is the way your body responds to how you think, feel and act.
Some of the physical signs that your body and mind may be out of connection are chest pain, headaches, back pain, extreme tiredness, high blood pressure, upset stomach, weight loss or gain, insomnia, etc. Many of these ailments may be as well treated by learning how to improve your emotions. Learn how to sort out the following emotions: anxiety, stress and sadness.
Too many of us have learned as children to stuff our feelings. The only emotional growth comes after we accept our feelings. Feelings aren’t good or bad or wrong or right. They are simply how we feel. Some people are helped by writing in a journal a short description of how they feel. After you accept your feelings, you can study healthy ways to deal with them.
Unfortunately, many people now believe that they have to continually “vent” all their feelings. In my opinion, vending feelings about the same situation does little good. If, once your feelings are known about a situation to all involved in the situation and everything stays the same, then learn new coping skills such as reframing to change the way you feel.
Remember, you can only change yourself—not others. If you still feel unable or unwilling to change—find out what your unhappiness is giving you. Holding on to old hurts only hurts us.
by lotusstressrelief
Stress is often blamed by many to be the robber of energy; however, stress can often be the perception we place on events. For many, stress occurs when we place a negative perception on a future event. When you are feeling stress, learn to use it as an indicator of how you are interpreting the events that are happening around you. Learn to make those reactions friends of yours rather than enemies. Begin to accept the conditions that you choose to not only react to but also sometimes choose to over-react to. Practice one of the following yourself when you feel engulfed by emotion:
- Is my response reasonable and appropriate?
- Do you want to invest my energy this way?
- Is someone from the past “telling” you to react this way?
- Practice shutting down your tapes from the past.
- Is anyone else encouraging you to react this way?
- Does the person who is encouraging have the courage to respond to the event honestly? Why are surrendering your power to someone else?
All stress isn’t negative. Positive stress helps to keep us focused and energized to act as a motivator for us. Negative stress drains our energy.
Make lists of things that give you energy and those things that sap your energies. On those things that sap your energy, ask yourself if anything is happening positively by your energy being drained.
Set daily habits to deal with stress:
- Play each and every day!
- Take short breaks in task that feel will never end.
- Set 2-3 priorities each day rather then 15-20. I once saw 3 filing trays that were labeled: today—tomorrow—and maybe never.
- Develop triggers to relax—maybe when you enter your car, get a drink of water, every time you look at your watch, or while waiting at a red light.
Stress is one of the 16 main topics I will be posting about. Leo Babauta at Zen Habits has these 20 Ways to Eliminate Stress From Your Life:
- Identify your stressors.
- Eliminate unnessary commitments.
- Proscrastination.
- Disorganization. late.
- Controlling.
- Multitasking.
- Eliminate energy drains.
- Avoid difficult people.
- Simplify life.
- Unschedule.
- Slow down.
- Help others.
- Relax throughout the day.
- Quit work.
- Simplify your to-do list.
- Exercise.
- Eat healthy.
- Be grateful.
- Zen-like environment.
