Managing Stress Goes Beyond Learning Relaxation Techniques
Stress is a given for everyone, as we all accept. Stress management, on the other hand, is done well by relatively few, and may take a change in the way you think about stress. A classic technique points to relaxation training, including using breathing, to calm the physical body. Exercise to release the natural endorphins is another proven technique. Attention to muscle relaxation and exercise should be at the heart of your stress management skills. However, let’s go a little further into the interactions between thoughts and emotions in order to get a more complete picture for improving stress management.
The Role Of Thoughts In Controlling Stress
The negative emotions that arise surrounding stressful events are what cause you to feel stressed. In turn, emotions are totally influenced by your thoughts. Your thinking is the major cause for you to feel stressed and overwhelmed. Try a little experiment the next time you recognize that you are feeling stressed. First, identify what is causing the stress. Then try thinking positively about that stress. If you are able to think positively, does that change your emotional reaction? It may take some practice to actually change your thinking.
Push the “change your thinking concept” a bit further. Turn emotions down a few notches by using the “so what?” test. This idea requires an honest assessment of what is truly important to you. It is not difficult to understand why stress increases when you set your sights on a goal. For example, should you recognize that an event is stressful because you are convinced that, if you don’t reach a this goal, others will think less of you. It may be very important to you that others see you as an example of success. Now ask yourself “so what?” If I fall short, does that really mean I’m a total failure? Or are there other perspectives that I need to take into account?
Some Of Your Stress Arises From You!
As we try to increase our success in meeting goals and expectations of ourselves, we come to highly value certain outcomes over others. We have given these outcomes a “must have” rating, and thinking often revolves around your judgment about whether you are succeeding. When the possibility of you falling short in the eyes of friends, family, and yourself, you intensify the pressure to succeed on yourself. Stress levels become magnified surrounding the issue of succeeding, sometimes to the point of you continually feeling pressure and anxiety. Negative emotions arise, ranging from self-anger, disappointment, loss, feeling “less than,” hopeless, and fearful. In effect, your emotions spread to encompass most waking moments.
Once you recognize where your negative feelings are centered, intervention in the form of different stress management techniques can be applied. Yes, physical relaxation is important, but “cognitive relaxation” is also primary. It is at this point that you can apply the “so what” test, not to lessen values that are important, but more to evaluate, if such stress is truly important enough to jeopardize your health and well-being!
Stress management is an a continuous flow between mental and physical tension and actively applying methods to reduce the pressure. The key to success is to view yourself as a whole person, and in the big picture, how important is it to hold your own feet to the fire when an adjustment in your thinking can take personal growth to a new level?
The least you need to know:
1. Relaxation training should always be a part of your stress management strategy.
2. Equally critical is you honoring your inner wisdom, and re-evaluating your values.
The mission, should you agree to accept, requires:
1. Identifying the causes of your stress.
2. Be willing to address stress from a cognitive perspective.
3. Be open to the answers your inner wisdom gives you.
