Stress Busters - Big Y® World Class Market®

Finding relief from everyday stress

When you are stressed, regardless of the cause, you react physically. Specifically, your heart rate, blood pressure, respiration and muscle tension increase. If left untreated, living in a constant state of stress could lead to poor digestion, sleep disturbances, psychological disorders and immune system problems. Your long-term health depends on your ability to cope with both daily stress and stressful events.

So What Can You Do?

Life happens: There’s no way around it. But how you react to it is within your control. There are a number of ways to help relieve the stressors in your life, but it all depends on your personal preferences and what works best for you. Here are some suggestions to help burn off stress, but it is in no way a complete list:

• Talk to someone. Whether it’s a counselor, psychologist, friend, family member or favorite pet, being able to express yourself verbally about difficult situations you are facing can be quite therapeutic. Plus, talking it out can help uncover answers to problems you otherwise may avoid, thus becoming even more stressed!

• Be silly and have fun. What’s the point in being uptight and serious all the time? Is your life about the journey or about the destination? If you take simple pleasures in everyday silliness, you just may find yourself enjoying life a bit more. Not sure? Try it out! What do you have to lose?

• Practice relaxing. There are many wonderful ways we can practice relaxing — breathing exercises, hypnosis, massage therapy, meditation, journaling, visualization and imagery, yoga, and tai chi are just a few!

• Dance, dance, dance! Okay, so maybe you have two left feet, but that doesn’t mean you can’t try another hobby. Hobbies such as dancing allow you to express yourself, burn off steam, or both. They’re also excellent for personal growth and stress reduction.

• Get out and build that social support network! In her song “Heal Over,” K.T. Tunstall says it best: “Everybody sails alone, but we can travel side by side.” It’s true that manyof the ideas listed above can be experienced alone. But openingyourself up to opportunities of friendship, with both old and new acquaintances, creates even more prospects for laughing, enjoying hobbies, talking, and having fun — all stress busters!

Sleep!

Constantly burning the midnight oil makes it even more difficult to cope with stress, and maintain your health! Shoot for an average of seven to nine hours of shut-eye every night to help your body unwind from the day’s events and rebuild for the next day.

Laugh!

Sometimes you just need a good laugh for relief — it’s no surprise that there’s a common saying: “If I didn’t laugh, all I could do was cry.” Attend local comedy clubs, watchfunny movies or read humorous books.