Stress Reduction

That's all for now

Make a list of your own, or take what you would enjoy from this list.

• Slowly sip a glass of ice cold water
• Get a dollar ice cream (Ikea or McDonalds
• Window shop
• Shred blank sheets of paper
• Go to the mall to people watch
• Read a joke book
• Let yourself cry
• Play with silly putty or modeling clay
• Seek the support of positive people
• Do a wordsearch or crossword .
• Put on fake tattoos.
• Try some aromatherapy (candle, lotion, room spray).
• Rip paper into itty-bitty pieces
• Look up new words and use them
• Smile at least five people
• Play with little kids
• Make a list of goals for the week/month/year/5 years.

Mindful Meditation

More?

Mindfulness is calm awareness of one's body functions, feelings, content of consciousness, or consciousness itself.

Mindfulness skills are the vehicles for balancing “Emotion mind” and “Reasonable mind” to achieve “Wise mind.”

Soothing

the 5 Senses

Activity: Leaves on the stream meditation.

Purpose: Notice shift from looking from your thoughts to looking at your thoughts.

As you look at your thoughts, notice you don’t need to control or change these thoughts but that

you can let these thoughts will come and go as they please, without any need to control or stop

those thoughts.

I’d like you to get comfortable as you can. Hopefully with both feet on the ground. Sit

comfortable in your chair. And, close your eyes.

As you settle into the chair, I’d like you to take 3 deep breaths. With each inhale notice how the air feels a little bit cooler, maybe a little bit cleaner as it goes in. And, with each exhale maybe the air is a little warm, filled with a little more tension that you are able to breathe out.

Ways to de-stress:

• Go For A 10 Minute Walk
• Eat A Snack (Mindfully!)
• Put On Some Music
• Treat Yourself! Eat One (ONE!) Candy
• Chew A Piece Of Gum
• Watch A Viral Video
• Craft
• Seriously, Turn Off Your Phone
• Dance in the rain or the sun
• Enjoy a staycation
• Watch fish/ go fishing
• Read inspirational quotes
• Try yoga
• Make a collage
• Play a game
• Write a poem

• Make a gratitude Journal
• Scheduling time to myself every day
• Get your hair done, Give yourself a facial.
• Daily stretching
• Watch a favorite moive
• Pray
• Garden/plant something
• Smell the flowers
• Lunch dates with good friends
• Learn to be with and accept my feelings
• Do a puzzle
• Smile
• Clean or organize a space
• Squeeze an ice cube
• Visit an animal shelter
• Sit in the sun
• Jump up and down
• Just dance
• Call a friend

• Scream into a pillow
• Jump rope, run, jog, swim, bike
• Count backwards from 200
• Get a stress ball-squeeze it
• Do a good deed
• Shoot hoops, play catch
• Write how you are feeling and why, read it 1x and put it away
• Write something positive about yourself for every letter for the alphabet
• volunteer
• Play with a balloon
• Print your favorite bible verse, or quote, put it on a card and memorize it
• Go for a nice, long drive.
• Create or build something.
• Jump on a trampoline/ skip

more?

More?

Impact of stress

Breath

Awareness of Life's Stressors

www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTCS_82.htm

• When we're stressed, hormones like cortisol flood our systems, producing the "fight or flight response" in which our heart rate goes up, we breathe more heavily (requiring more oxygen) and our blood vessels constrict.
• Most commonly accepted definition of stress (mainly attributed to Richard S Lazarus): Stress is a condition or feeling experienced when a person perceives that "demands exceed the personal and social resources the individual is able to mobilize."
• In short, it's what we feel when we think we've lost control of events.

Try it for yourself:

Abdominal Breathing Technique

How it’s done:

With one hand on the chest and the other on the belly, take a deep breath in through the nose, ensuring the diaphragm (not the chest) inflates with enough air to create a stretch in the lungs. The goal: Six to 10 deep, slow breaths per minute for 10 minutes each day to experience immediate reductions to heart rate and blood pressure, McConnell says. Keep at it for six to eight weeks, and those benefits might stick around even longer.

When it works best:

Before an exam, or any stressful event. But keep in mind, “Those who operate in a stressed state all the time might be a little shocked how hard it is to control the breath,” Pacheco says. To help train the breath, consider biofeedback tools such as McConnell’s Breathe Strong app, which can help users pace their breathing wherever they are.

www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTCS_82.htm

About Stress

Not all stress is bad, like most things in life, it can be beneficial in moderation.

Some stress helps to keep us alert, motivates us to face challenges, and drives us to solve problems.

• Acute Stress: Fight or flight. The body prepares to defend itself. It takes about 90 minutes for the metabolism to return to normal when the response is over.
• Chronic Stress: The cost of daily living: bills, kids, jobs…This is the stress we tend to ignore or push down. Left uncontrolled this stress affects your health- your body and your immune system.
• Eustress: Stress in daily life that has positive conotations

Impact of prolonged Stress

Signs of Stress

You are NOT alone! Common Facts about Stress:

• Three-fourths of the human population undergo stress in varying levels in a 2-week period. The working population is particularly subject to emotional, physical, and mental stress
• It has been estimated that 70-80% of primary care visits involve an illness that is caused or augmented by stress

• Stomach ulcers
• Heart problems
• Minor illness (allergies, skin disorders, migraines)
• Serious illness (arthritis, cancer, diabetes)
• Mental disorders (depression, anxiety)

Symptoms:

• Irritability
• Headaches
• Cold or sweaty hands and feet.
• Significant weight gain or loss.
• Illness (particularly during weekends and holidays)
• Persistent difficulty concentrating.
• Insomnia (track your sleep with Sleep cycle app)
• Tension
• Tiredness/lethargy

Other Subtle signs

Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Seek Help

Find this presentation on the Stanbridge College website!

• Working endlessly without tiring
• Having little feeling or emotion (except anger outburst)
• Increased use of alcohol, caffeine, cigarettes or other drugs
• Behavior that is 'out of character'
• An inability to relax
• Many more.....

http://www.stress.org/stress-effects/

Start with your toes and work your way up:

tighten your foot muscles as much as you can and hold. Count down from 5, then relax them.

Next your calf, thighs, abs, shoulders, hand, arms....

Make your way up, tightening and relaxing each muscle until you’ve finished with your face.

• SAP : Student assistance Program
• 800-321-2843
• Online source: http://www.stress.org/management-tips/
• Speak to me : Apeterson@stanbridge.edu
• Seek additional support; friends family, or professional services.

Stress Reduction

and

Mindful meditation