floodsTheyk7 Stress-Busting Rituals To Live By 7 Stress-Busting Rituals to Live ByTake a deep breath. Things are not as wrong as it feels. Nothing is worth weakening your all-important health. It’s not worth choking yourself into stress, anxiety, and despair. Do you have your stress-busting daily rituals in place? Your mind can go many directions under stress. It can be positive or negative: on or off. Where your brain will go under stress influences your emotional strength and training. Mental Health Professionals That Help You Form Stress Busting Daily RitualsOver the years, Dr. Bernard Kim and his team of highly trained mental health professionals, have analyzed and tested dozens of strategies that successful people employ when faced with stress. Still, in this article, we want to tell you about seven of the most effective strategy we’ve experienced. Some of these strategies may seem obvious at first. Then you realize the real challenge lies in recognizing when you need to use them, and having the discipline to do so despite your stress. Let’s take a look. Stress-Busting Daily RitualsManaging stress when you’re under pressure directly affects your overall performance in all walks of life. There are many scientific studies over the years have found that successful people, in various fields of education, are highly skilled at managing their emotions in times of stress to remain calm and in control. New Research On Stress And How To Relieve ItThere’s new research that shows there is a significant upside to experiencing momentary stress. The same study then reinforces how important it is to keep long-term stress under control. The recent research (From Cal Berkeley) found that the beginning stages of stress challenge the brain. The brain then grows new cells responsible for improved memory and cognitive ability. However, we see this effect when stress is temporary. As soon as the pressure continues beyond a few moments into a prolonged state, it starts to interfere with your brain’s ability to function and grow new cells. That’s kind of scary, isn’t it? And there’s more to the story too. Besides decreasing your brain cells and mental performance, this type of stress will increase your risk of things like heart disease, depression, and other ailments. Fortunately, unless a wild animal is chasing you, the bulk of your fear is unnecessary. Many successful people have well-honed coping strategies that they employ in stressful situations. They lower their stress levels regardless of what’s happening in their environment, ensuring that the stress they experience is temporary and not prolonged. We here at Pondworks have implemented many strategies that we’ve witnessed that humans use when faced with stressful situations. Here are the seven best stress-reducing rituals that successful people we know live by: Monitor And Suppress Negative Self-TalkOne big step in managing your stress involves stopping negative self-talk dead in its tracks. The more you focus on your negative thoughts, the more power you give them. And most surprising of our negative thoughts are just that – thoughts, not facts. Next time you see yourself believing the pessimistic things your subconscious mind says, stop and take a deep breath. Then ask yourself these questions: “Are these negative thoughts true? Are they facts?” Take a minute to slow down your thoughts and negative thinking, and you will be clear-headed in evaluating the reality of the situation. Eliminating this self-talk is foundational to your stress-busting daily rituals! Try And Refocus On The PositivesAt times you have to give your wandering mind a little help by consciously selecting something positive. Positive thoughts will refocus your attention to things that matter. When things go well, and you’re in a good mood, this is relatively easy. When times are tough; however, your mind floods with negative thoughts; this is a real challenge. These moments, you should think about your day and identify a positive thing that happened, no matter how tiny. Or reflect on the previous day or even another recent time that you remember. Avoid The “Should Have” And “What If” TrapsThese statements just add to the fire of needless stress and worry. Things can go in so many different directions in your life. If you spend time worrying about the missed opportunities (should have) and negative possibilities (what ifs), the less time you’ll spend on taking decisive action. The actions that will calm you down and move you forward. People know that the “should haves” and “what ifs” will only take them to an emotional state of mind they don’t want.
Reach Out To Supporters When You Need Them It’s entirely ineffective to do everything yourself, but so many of us do. If you want to reduce your stress and increase productivity, you must recognize your weaknesses and ask for others fo help, or just someone to listen to you. Something as little as talking about your fears will help you overcome them. Often its other people can see a solution that you can’t because they’re not emotionally investing in your situation. Practice Mindful Relaxation Stress Relieving RitualsYou know by now that mindful relaxation is the key to mental and physical regeneration. There are hundreds of ways to do this, but the real foundation of all of them is breathing. Something as simple as breathing is a simple but powerful way to meditate. Breath unites your body and your thoughts together. When you’re feeling stressed and down, make sure to take a ten-minute break. Then quietly and focus on your breath. Sit back in a chair and relax with your eyes closed and breathe. No distractions. Sincerely Appreciate What You HaveTake time every day to think about what you’re grateful for isn’t merely a great practice to do; it also will help you be more relaxed. Gratitude reduces the stress hormone cortisol by over 20%. Research conducted at the University of California, Davis found that those who worked daily to express their appreciation and gratitude openly experienced higher moods, energy levels, and physical energy and health. Sometimes even during bouts of stress! It’s highly likely that their lower cortisol levels played a significant role in this. Take A Walk, Take A Breath, RelaxTake a walk around Town lake – Walking while practicing ‘social distancing.’ So there you have it, seven stress-reducing rituals we’ve seen work wonders in the lives of some of the most successful people we’ve interacted with over the years. If you feel like your life has been too stressful lately, it’s time to follow in their footsteps.
The post 7 Stress Busting Daily Rituals To Live By appeared first on Pondworks Psychiatry and Psychotherapy. https://goo.gl/maps/YdEi3Km69hnComments are closed.
|
AuthorPondworks Psychiatry & Psychotherapy provides office-based, biopsychosocial mental health care for the greater Austin community. |