Dealing With Stress Naturally

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Feeling stressed is a sensation most of us are familiar with. Never having enough time, financial problems, having to cope with situations beyond our control, and worries over work are often the greatest causes of day to day stress. However, big events such as death, divorce, moving house, or marriage can cause even greater stress.

How we react to stress varies; and some elements of stress are positive. Most of us know at least one person who seems to ‘thrive’ on stress. Yet this is often short term stress, where increased cortisol levels give us the energy to achieve more than usual, and get things done.

Long term stress on the other hand, can be overwhelming, and the negative aspects of stress can have effects on health, causing anything from lowered immunity, weight gain, and high blood pressure to more serious illness.


Avoiding stress in this day and age is fairly impossible unless you give up and go and live in a hut on the side of a hill, but there are some really effective ways of managing it naturally without resorting to pills or potions. Read on to find out how.

Mindfulness
Commonly associated with Buddhist teachings, mindfulness can help with stress by encouraging our ways of thinking to include awareness and acceptance of difficult situations. Mindfulness is a technique that encourages us to focus on and accept ‘the present moment’ without striving and stressing. This allows us to simply ‘be’, and accept whatever comes along as part of life’s rich tapestry.

So rather than being dominated by fearful thoughts and worries about the past or the future, you can observe what is happening with awareness, without being caught up in judgements and anxiety surrounding the situation. To discover more, there are numerous mindfulness resources online.

Meditation
Taking time out every day for a 15 minute meditation can help to restore calm and mental equilibrium, and there are many studies proving that benefits of meditation in controlling stress. A recent study in the journal Health Psychology even shows a link between the reduction of the stress hormone cortisol and mindful meditation.

* Meditation needs to be practiced to be effective, but the more you do it, the easier it becomes. To learn, you can either join a meditation group, or try a guided meditation either on CD or online.

Hypnotherapy
Studies by The British Medical Association recognise hypnotherapy as a complementary treatment rather than an ‘alternative’ one, and hypnotherapy has proven to be especially helpful for stress and anxiety. Clinical hypnotherapy undertaken by a therapist with hypnosis training, allows the client to enter a deeply relaxed state, and change their established thought processes to effect change.

The types of thoughts and anxieties associated with stress can then be far more easily managed as you become able to change your immediate responses to stress. To find a good hypnotherapist, try searching the National Council for Hypnotherapy database to find an accredited reputable therapist.

Citations:

• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/31/mindfulness-meditation-cortisol-stress-levels_n_2965197.html

Rob Rudd is now a professional writer and enjoys his job but he spent many years in a high stress marketing job before switching careers and thoroughly understands the importance of getting to grips with stress.