BellaOnline Forums Beauty and Self Stress Management Tips for Stress Management

Here are some tips we've come up with for stress management. Please share your own ideas as well!

* Ample sleep. The better you sleep, the better you can cope with *everything* in life. Even small improvements reap large rewards.

* Healthy food. Avoid sugars, trans-fats, and preservatives. Aim as much as you can for natural, whole, and fresh. Yes, sometimes it's more expensive. Look at eating local foods in season, stocking up when there are sales, setting up container gardens in your windows, and clipping coupons.

* Ample water. Often we don't get enough hydration in our system.

* Breathe. When we get stressed we often shallow-breathe which reinforces the stress situation to our body. In comparison, deep breathing is a sign to our body to relax. Take in long, deep breaths.

* Build a relaxing atmosphere. Wear a fragrance that relaxes you. Breathe it in. Envision a pleasant retreat in your mind. Focus on its details. Wear clothes that comfort you. Sometimes even just a bracelet or ring can remind you of what is important in life.

* Help others. Doing volunteer work can put your own troubles in context, and realize just how much you do have already.

* Journal. The more you can release worries from your mind onto paper, the more you can look at them objectively.

* Build a supportive network. Have people around you who care for your dreams and goals and who buffer the other nay-sayers in the world.

* Be gentle with yourself. We are all human, we all have challenges and mistakes and hurdles. That is OK. Life has ups and downs. That is normal. Take a deep breath, accept that you're not perfect, and be content with your efforts.

What are some other ideas?

We have a free ebook available on "Reduce Stress Instantly" which is about quick-fix situations like sitting in a dentist's office. So while it doesn't cover more long-term fixes like eating a healthy diet, it does offer some ideas for when you get that stress flare happen.

Reduce Stress Instantly - Free Ebook

What a great topic. I am a big fan of stress reduction and management. I often work for several weeks straight with not a day off, and have a lot of personalities to deal with on my team... when you know what works for you in terms of managing stress, it can really take you a long way and save your attitude from becoming sour.

TAKE A BREAK!
What really works for me when I'm stressed is to take myself out of the situation for 5 to 10 minutes. If I'm upset at my desk over something sitting in my inbox, I take my dog outside and take my iPhone with me to play a game of Scramble with Friends. If I'm feeling stressed because I don't know how to figure out a problem at work, I log into my Lumosity and play a few brain exercise games... when I come back from my 5 minute break, I feel mentally recharged.

ORGANIZE & PLAN
Another thing that really helps me when I'm stressed is to make a list. For example, if I feel that I have no time because my workload is too heavy, I'll leave my home office to sit at my kitchen table. I'll make a list of all the things that need to be done. Even though, in theory, it takes time to make this list that may have been spent doing a task, you'll amp up your productivity because all of these overwhelming tasks were IN YOUR HEAD! And now it's on paper, you don't have to think about it Then, I power through the tasks and mark off the items. It feels really good to check things off!

Dear Helene -

Those are excellent ideas! Thank you so much for sharing them!

I agree completely that taking a break can be key. Giving your mind that time away from the problem can help it regain its strength.

Some studies seem to indicate that our mind only has so much "resistance" it can put up before it wears down. So it's important to give it time to recharge and renew. We wouldn't expect our car to run on an empty gas tank!

Thanks to share . Building Relax Environment is not Easy for me as its too busy Schedule for All working with . Yes take Break and go around is better option . Thanks

Loved the idea of fragrance as an emotional soother. Breathing it in does indeed give you a moment to just "stop and smell the roses" and instantly take stress down a notch or two.

Thanks for your insight, Lisa!

Gillian - Florida Editor

Sam Friend -

I definitely understand how challenging it can to be busy! The key is to work on just ONE SMALL THING.

For example, my desk environment was stressful because it was covered with papers and junk. So I got a cardboard box and I put ALL the papers into it. Poof. Done. It took 2 minutes to do. Suddenly sitting at my desk is far less stressful. And I can put that cardboard box by the TV. When I have a three minute break, at a commercial, I can page through a few items and sort them. So the sorting gets done.

Look for something quick and easy you can do. You don't have to do the entire project at once. Just take a small start.

Dear Gillian -

I know several people who carry a small "Fragrance vial" around with them in their purse. If they get stressed or worried, they pull out the vial and breathe in the scent. Each of us connects with a different kind of scent. Some adore lavender. Some hate lavender! Some adore rose.

So whatever scent it is that YOU connect with, carry it with you. Sometimes focusing on the scent and breathing it in can have powerful effects on your level of calm.

T manage with stress and to face worse situation we should need to manage our self.Very important information for me thanks for this.

Take a deep breath when you feel nervous , forgive yourself when you make some mistakes. The most important thing is pay more attention on the present, don't think so musch about the past and future.