Stress makes muscles tense. In turn, tense muscles send alarm signals to the brain. So, one gets into a vicious circle: tense muscles send danger signals to the brain, anxious thoughts arise in the mind, which lead to new tension in the body, which leads to chronic stress and exhaustion.

Evolutionarily, humans relieved muscle tension from stress through inevitable physical activity: running away or confronting danger. In the modern human body, stress often finds no release and remains in the body in the form of muscle tension for a long time.

Norbu App have added a new exercise «Get into Recoursegul state» part of which is based on PMR and aimed at breaking this vicious circle. The exercise imitates the evolutionary mechanism of stress relief by alternating between muscle tension and relaxation.

About Progressive Muscle Relaxation 

Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) is an anxiety-reduction technique first introduced by American physician Edmund Jacobson in the 1930s.The technique involves alternating tension and relaxation in all of the body’s major muscle groups.

If you have an anxiety disorder, such as generalized anxiety disorder or social anxiety disorder (SAD), your muscles are probably tense quite often. By practicing PMR, you will learn how a relaxed muscle feels different from a tense muscle.

If you practice this technique correctly, you may even end up falling asleep. If so, congratulate yourself on obtaining such a deep level of relaxation, and for the work that you did up to that point.

Uses for Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Progressive muscle relaxation can be helpful for a range of reasons, including:

• Anxiety
• High blood pressure
• Lower back pain
• Migraine
• Muscle tension
• Neck pain
• Stress

Chronic stress and anxiety can contribute to various health problems. Health complications linked to chronic stress include depression, diabetes, heart disease, and irritable bowel syndrome.

Progressive muscle relaxation can also be part of a toolbox of stress management techniques that can improve health and well-being in the long term.

Whole-body technique

Feet

1. Bring your attention to your feet.
2. Point your feet downward, and curl your toes under.
3. Tighten your toe muscles gently, but don’t strain.
4. Notice the tension for a few moments, then release, and notice the relaxation. Repeat.
5. Become aware of the difference between the muscles when they’re tensed and when they’re relaxed.
6. Continue to tense and relax the leg muscles from the foot to the abdominal area.

Abdomen

1. Gently tighten the muscles of your abdomen, but don’t strain.
2. Notice the tension for a few moments. Then release, and notice the relaxation. Repeat.
3. Become aware of the difference between the tensed muscles and the relaxed muscles.

Shoulders and neck

1. Very gently shrug your shoulders straight up towards your ears. Don’t strain.
2. Feel the tension for a few moments, release, and then feel the relaxation. Repeat.
3. Notice the difference between the tensed muscles and the relaxed muscles.
4. Focus on the neck muscles, first tensing and then relaxing until you feel total relaxation in this area.

You can try this practice for yourself right now in the “Get into a Resourceful State” exercise in the Norbu app

Evolutionarily, humans are better at remembering life-threatening negative events in order to avoid them in the future. Pleasant events do not affect survival and therefore are not as well remembered.

Because of this evolutionary mechanism, one may get the impression that life consists mostly of negative events.

 

However, this can be changed. It is enough to start writing down all the good events during the day to see that life gives a lot of positive emotions.The Gratitude Timer will help you look at life in a new way.Every time you hear the timer, think back to any recent pleasant event. It could be a delicious morning coffee, you got a good night’s sleep, or you met a friend.Write down and thank yourself for that event.

Over time, you will learn to notice more and more pleasurable moments and start enjoying life even more!

Try the Gratitude Timer in Norbu Stress Control app for free!

Diaphragmatic breathing is a type of a breathing exercise that helps strengthen your diaphragm, an important muscle that helps you breathe. This breathing exercise is also sometimes called belly breathing or abdominal breathing.

It has a number of benefits that affect your entire body. It’s the basis for almost all meditation or relaxation techniques, which can lower your stress levels, reduce your blood pressure, and regulate other important bodily processes.

Let’s learn more about how diaphragmatic breathing benefits you, how to get started, and what the research says about it.

Psychologist Guy Winch lays out seven useful ways to reboot your emotional health … starting right now.

You put a bandage on a cut or take antibiotics to treat an infection, right? No questions asked. In fact, questions would be asked if you didn’t apply first aid when necessary. So why isn’t the same true of our mental health? We are expected to just “get over” psychological wounds — when as anyone who’s ever ruminated over rejection or agonized over a failure knows only too well, emotional injuries can be just as crippling as physical ones. We need to learn how to practice emotional first aid. Here are 7 ways to do so:

1. Pay attention to emotional pain — recognize it when it happens and work to treat it before it feels all-encompassing.
   The body evolved the sensation of physical pain to alert us that something is wrong and we need to address it. The same is true for emotional pain. If a rejection, failure or bad mood is not getting better, it means you’ve sustained a psychological wound and you need to treat it. For example, loneliness can be devastatingly damaging to your psychological and physical health, so when you or your friend or loved one is feeling socially or emotionally isolated, you need to take action.
2. Redirect your gut reaction when you fail.
   The nature of psychological wounds makes it easy for one to lead to another. Failure can often drive you to focus on what you can’t do instead of focusing on what you can. That can then make you less likely to perform at your best, which will make you even more focused on your shortcomings, and on the cycle goes. To stop this sort of emotional spiral, learn to ignore the post-failure “gut” reaction of feeling helpless and demoralized, and make a list of factors that you can control were you to try again. For instance, think about preparation and planning, and how you might improve each of them. This kind of exercise will reduce feelings of helplessness and improve your chances of future success.
3. Monitor and protect your self-esteem. When you feel like putting yourself down, take a moment to be compassionate to yourself.
   Self-esteem is like an emotional immune system that buffers you from emotional pain and strengthens your emotional resilience. As such, it is very important to monitor it and avoid putting yourself down, particularly when you are already hurting. One way to “heal” damaged self-esteem is to practice self-compassion. When you’re feeling critical of yourself, do the following exercise: imagine a dear friend is feeling bad about him or herself for similar reasons and write an email expressing compassion and support. Then read the email. Those are the messages you should be giving yourself.
4. When negative thoughts are taking over, disrupt them with positive distraction.
   When you replay distressing events in your mind without seeking new insight or trying to solve a problem, you’re just brooding, and that, especially when it becomes habitual, can lead to deeper psychological pain. The best way to disrupt unhealthy rumination is to distract yourself by engaging in a task that requires concentration (for example, do a Sudoku, complete a crossword, try to recall the names of the kids in your fifth grade class). Studies show that even two minutes of distraction will reduce the urge to focus on the negative unhealthily.
5. Find meaning in loss.
   Loss is a part of life, but it can scar us and keep us from moving forward if we don’t treat the emotional wounds it creates. If sufficient time has passed and you’re still struggling to move forward after a loss, you need to introduce a new way of thinking about it. Specifically, the most important thing you can do to ease your pain and recover is to find meaning in the loss and derive purpose from it. It might be hard, but think of what you might have gained from the loss (for instance, “I lost my spouse but I’ve become much closer to my kids”). Consider how you might gain or help others gain a new appreciation for life, or imagine the changes you could make that will help you live a life more aligned with your values and purpose.
6. Don’t let excessive guilt linger.
   Guilt can be useful. In small doses, it alerts you to take action to mend a problem in your relationship with another person. But excessive guilt is toxic, in that it wastes your emotional and intellectual energies, distracts you from other tasks, and prevents you from enjoying life. One of the best ways to resolve lingering guilt is to offer an effective apology. Yes, you might have tried apologizing previously, but apologies are more complex than we tend to realize. The crucial ingredient that every effective apology requires — and most standard apologies lack — is an “empathy statement.” In other words, your apology should focus less on explaining why you did what you did and more on how your actions (or inactions) impacted the other person. It is much easier to forgive someone when you feel they truly understand. By apologizing (even if for a second time), the other person is much more likely to convey authentic forgiveness and help your guilt dissolve.
7. Learn what treatments for emotional wounds work for you.
   Pay attention to yourself and learn how you, personally, deal with common emotional wounds. For instance, do you shrug them off, get really upset but recover quickly, get upset and recover slowly, squelch your feelings, or …? Use this analysis to help yourself understand which emotional first aid treatments work best for you in various situations (just as you would identify which of the many pain relievers on the shelves works best for you). The same goes for building emotional resilience. Try out various techniques and figure out which are easiest for you to implement and which tend to be most effective for you. But mostly, get into the habit of taking note of your psychological health on a regular basis — and especially after a stressful, difficult, or emotionally painful situation.

Yes, practicing emotional hygiene takes a little time and effort, but it will seriously elevate your entire quality of life. I promise.

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Elon Musk handles an enormous amount of responsibility and stress. He is currently the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, which, combined, are worth over $70 billion. He is also the founder of Neuralink, The Boring Company, is working on a Hyperloop, and always has other small projects on hand.

In the past, he worked through near concurrent collapses of Tesla and SpaceX as well as a significant amount of family strife and other struggles. The fact that he has continued to persevere and is handling as much of a load as he is now is remarkable.

Here are 7 ways that Musk is able to deal with stress that you can emulate to become both a happier and more productive professional:

1. He uses it as fuel.

Musk was quoted saying, “Don’t let stress sideline you. Instead, use it as fuel to keep rocketing ahead, maybe even all the way to Mars.”

Instead of falling victim to his stress or letting it paralyze him, Musk uses it as energy. He takes the sheer enormity of responsibilities that he has, as well as the burdens on his plate, and uses them to work even harder.

He goes through his days with a sense of urgency, allowing him to be significantly more productive. If he didn’t do so, there is no way he would have made it this far.

2. He understands what he got himself into. 

Musk has no problem sharing that his life challenging. He is able to deal with that challenge and stress, though, because he made the conscious choice to take it on.

He did not accidentally end up with two huge companies or a mission to bring the human population to space. Rather, he made the decision to work on high-impact projects. This helps him because he sees his stress as his own doing. He was prepared for what he was getting himself into. Or, at least as prepared as he could be.

3. He tries to be logical.

Musk once said, “people should certainly ignore fear if it’s irrational. Even if it’s rational and the stake is worth it, it’s still worth proceeding.”

Some of the biggest praises that Elon Musk gets are his pragmatism and first-principle thinking. He looks at the world as rationally as one can. That allows him to take a step back from his situation and see the bigger picture. Being able to do so is dramatically helpful in managing stress levels because he is solution-oriented. Plus, this outlook promotes long-term thinking.

4. He doesn’t point fingers.

Elon Musk also makes no excuses. He does not spend time blaming others for his stress or the challenges that he deals with. Rather, he accepts his responsibilities. This allows him to spend more time focusing on how to become more effective and less time blaming others for his shortcomings or struggles.

5. He picked something he cares a lot about.

Maybe most importantly of all, Musk chose to work on problems that he is obsessed with solving.

He would have had no other way to sustain all that is on his plate for so long without loving what he was doing. Even in the down moments, consequently, he can remember why he is putting himself through so much. That sheer passion and desire always outweighs the voice telling him that he is in too deep.

6. He maximizes his time.

Musk has also become one of the most efficient and productive workers on the planet. With so many responsibilities and even a family, he has to be.

This skillset drastically helps him with his levels of stress. He knows what he can accomplish and how quickly he can accomplish it. Despite feeling overwhelmed by certain problems, he has the tools to tackle those situations head on. They are not always easy and he does not always have the answers, but he is as equipped as anyone to go solve them.

His personal commitment to high-output and constant improvement in that regard allows him to handle significantly more at once.

7. He does not take things personally.

One thing that adds to people’s stress is the ego. When they fall short or realize they have been going down the wrong path, many take it personally. That adds an extra layer or pressure because it means amid all else that is happening, one has to also maintain their ego.

Musk is the exact opposite. He has been quoted saying “you should take the approach that you’re wrong. Your goal is to be less wrong,” and “failure is an option here. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough.”

He questions every single thing about himself and the world. There is no way he would have been able to build rockets and electric cars so cheaply, otherwise. In regards to his stress, as well, it means he challenges himself in a productive way. He is willing to change, fail, and improve. This allows him to constantly adapt and question, widening his skill set and capability to handle diverse situations.

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When Stress Is Actually Good for You

 

We rarely hear people say, “I’m really feeling stressed. Isn’t that great?” But if we didn’t have some stress in our lives—the “good stress” variety—we’d feel rudderless and unhappy. If we define stress as anything that alters our homeostasis, then good stress, in its many forms, is vital for a healthy life. Bad stress can even turn into good stress, and vice versa.

Good Stress vs. Bad Stress

“Good stress,” or what psychologists refer to as “eustress,” is the type of stress we feel when we feel excited. Our pulse quickens and our hormones surge, but there is no threat or fear. We feel this type of stress when we ride a roller coaster, compete for a promotion, or go on a first date. There are many triggers for this good stress, and it keeps us feeling alive and excited about life.

Another type of stress is acute stress. It comes from quick surprises that need a response. Acute stress triggers the body’s stress response as well, but the triggers aren’t always happy and exciting. This is what we normally think of as “stress” (or “bad stress”). Acute stress in itself doesn’t take a heavy toll if we find ways to relax quickly. Once the stressor has been dealt with, we need to return our body to homeostasis, or its pre-stress state, to be healthy and happy.

Chronic stress is another form of bad stress. It occurs when we repeatedly face stressors that take a heavy toll and feel inescapable. A stressful job or an unhappy home life can bring chronic stress. This is what we normally think of as serious stress. Because our bodies aren’t designed for chronic stress, we can face negative health effects (both physical and emotional) if we deal with chronic stress for an extended period of time.

Yes, you can add good stress to your life! Ideally, you choose activities and set goals that make you feel good, happy, and excited. To gauge whether or not an activity is worth your time, pay attention to how the thought of it makes you feel. Do you feel excited? Is it a “want to,” or a “have to”? Be sure your “want to” activities are all things you really do want to do, and your “have to” activities are all absolutely necessary.

How Good Stress Can Become Bad Stress

Good stress can become bad for you if you experience too much of it. (Adrenaline junkies know this firsthand.) This is because your stress response is triggered either way, and if you’re adding that to chronic stress, or several other stressors, there is a cumulative effect.

Be in tune with yourself and acknowledge when you’ve had too much. You may not be able to eliminate all stress, but there are often ways that you can minimize or avoid some of the stress in your life, and this can make it easier to handle the rest.

How Bad Stress Can Become Good Stress

Not all forms of bad stress can become good stress, but it is possible to change your perception of some of the stressors in your life. This shift can change your experience of stress.

The body’s stress response reacts strongly to perceived threats. If you don’t perceive something as a threat, there is generally no threat-based stress response. If you perceive something as a challenge instead, the fear you would normally experience may turn into excitement and anticipation, or at least resolve. You can often make the shift in perception by:

• Focusing on the resources you have to meet the challenge
• Seeing the potential benefits of a situation
• Reminding yourself of your strengths
• Having a positive mindset (getting into the habit of thinking like an optimist)

As you practice looking at threats as challenges more often, it becomes more automatic, and you experience more good stress and less bad stress.

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How to cope with self-isolation and quarantine

Analysis: as thousands of us face a period of quarantine or Isolation, here’s what to expect and how to cope 

Thousands of people on this island are in or facing a period of quarantine or Isolation as a result of coronavirus risk or infection. At the best of times, staying away from loved ones, peers and colleagues would be a challenge, but adding the spectre of a life threatening infection to the mix elevates this to a high stress experience. Thankfully, psychological research during other disaster situations such as SARS, Zika virus, Ebola and the Boston Marathon bombing has delivered some instructive insights on how we react to these situations and how best to manage them.

Those who have experienced quarantine or Isolation speak of a series of burdens that take their toll on feeling of well-being. The limiting of natural social contact, the cessation of a natural daily routine and the experience of a lack of control over one’s life can be debilitating and exhausting. The consequences experienced include the following.

Fear and anxiety: Being in quarantine or Isolation means a loss of control over normal life routine. When we feel things are beyond our control our levels of fear increases because of the risk we perceive. Our anxiety is exacerbated by the worry, not just about one’s own health and well-being, but also that of family, particularly if you are a chief carer or bread winner. Can I provide the natural nurture and care for my loved ones, how do I ensure my loved ones will have the everyday essentials? What will the future hold for me, my loved ones, for my community…? The daily announcements of the bounce in numbers infected can heighten our sense of lack of control.

Boredom to depression: our work roles form an important part of our personal and social identity and purpose. Being without work, or at least not having our normal rhythm, can lead to feelings of ineffectiveness. The lack of opportunities to use our abilities can dampen moods leading to a general sense of sadness. For many, being deprived of their natural physical activity regime, be that sport or gym visits, means unfamiliar lethargy and depressed energy levels which are not positive for well-being.

Frustration and anger: enforced confinement, restricted movement and not being able to engage in everyday activities elevates frustration levels. This frustration may spillover not just to loved ones in our environs, but also to those not heeding official guidelines, or others not subject to quarantine or Isolation

Stigmatisation: being identified as being in quarantine or Isolation, whether self-imposed or not, can lead to the experience of feeling stigmatised. Guilt and fear not just about the unknown but how others might perceive us now or in the future adds to the malaise.

Thankfully psychological research offers some insights on how to cope with the feelings associated with this adversity.

(1) Take a proactive approach

Making a plan and identifying what we can control is associated with sense of purpose and progress. Sketch a daily timetable or routine and post it where you and others can see it, as doing so increases our probability of sticking to it. Ensure variety in the schedule, work, leisure, exercise, learning, etc. Consider engaging in something new – a project – that sparks your intrinsic motivation and curiosity. We can manage our moods and feelings, so try to be aware of what you are feeling, and understanding why you are experiencing these feelings is the first step to putting one back in control.

(2) Stay connected

Whether one is extrovert or introvert, we are a social species and connecting with friends and family has positive effects on our well-being. Whether it’s text, video chat, social media or phone, just staying connected keeps us centred. In particular, it is good to share what you feel. While a problem shared may not be a problem halved, there is a host of research to support that sharing concerns with trusted others has significant positive psychological benefits.

(3) Focus on your health

While obvious, we sometimes fail to control what we can with reference to our health. Quarantine and isolation s stressful and stress weakens our immune system, so being proactive about staying healthy becomes even more important. Stick to regular meals with the correct nutritional variety and avoid snacking. Anxiety can sometimes prompt us to comfort eat, so we need to manage these urges. Daily exercise will help regularise sleep patterns all of which boosts psychological health. Needless to say, the misuse of alcohol and drugs will not help longer term adjustment despite how the relaxing effect of alcohol may be appealing in a time of stress.

(4) Manage your media consumption

We have learned from the Zika virus crisis in 2016 that those who relied on social media sources such as Twitter recorded higher levels of stress and anxiety than those who depended on traditional media sources for their news updates. In fact, consuming too much media in a crisis situation is associated with increased levels of experienced stress. Restrict your consumption of news and avoid social media and depend on traditional national media with direct lines to the trustworthy medical decision-makers when accessing news.

If you are subject to quarantine or isolation, remember you are doing so not just for your own good, but that of your community. It is the ultimate act of altruism and it might be said you are among our nation’s silent heroes. We owe you and thank you!

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Pandemic and Evolution

Our Earth is a unique planet that is still on an evolutionary path, and all its inhabitants are also on the path of evolution. People are now facing a new challenge. Will mankind be able to give an adequate answer, will it change its old traditions, will it give up its usual way of life or will it take a waiting position? The answers to these questions will be found in the near future. Today this challenge affects not only people of one country, nationality or religion, but all humanity, because everyone is facing a new type of threat – coronavirus pandemics – poor, rich, eminent, rulers, politicians and just citizens.

If you try to remember situations, when the whole world was holding its breath while watching the news, the following tragic accidents appear in front of our eyes: the explosion of the twin towers in 2001, the explosion of the oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, the accident at the nuclear power plant Fukushima in 2011, the rapid fall of the Chelyabinsk meteorite in 2013. Usually, such events take people by surprise. They demonstrate the fragility and value of life by reminding us that we are all inhabitants of one planet.

Another situation 911 showed that we are not ready for changes in life, for limitations, but if we do not change and evolve, we may find ourselves on the sidelines of life, not only as individuals but also as a species.

Mankind is now in a sense at a stage of evolution that is reminiscent of how once fish were left without water on land and had to learn to breathe air rather than oxygen from water. At that time, the fish were able to get out of the water and began to master the land. To do this, new organs had to be formed – lungs instead of gills, paws instead of fins. We cannot yet understand the entire global plan of evolution for mankind, but we can already draw the first conclusions from the recent event- the coronavirus impact. We all are under stress, not only because of bad news but also because we had to change a lot in our lives and daily routine:

• We had to urgently revise our habits because some of them became death traps not only for us but also for our loved ones. A simple habit of neglecting hygiene rules (washing your hands, not sneezing openly, keeping distance, refrain from touching face and metal surfaces) became an unacceptable whim.
• Someone had to quit smoking or start doing exercises, buy a treadmill, etc.
• It became important to monitor the condition of loved ones on a daily basis, especially elderly people, teaching them new rules and helping them to adapt.
• We had to learn to exist in informational and cultural isolation (closed theatres, unavailable entertainments, isolated friends, etc.).
• We need to live without usually available services such as hairdresser visits, beauty services, etc. and accept ourselves as we are.
• All of us had to restrict movement in space.
• Some are sitting at home with children, assisting in their homeschooling, keeping them busy 24/7.
• Many of us have to cook dishes 3-4 times a day.
• We need to plan our time and activities thoroughly
• Face new fear of breathing without a mask and getting infected.

What conclusion can be drawn from what is happening to us now? We need to be internally prepared for the constant changes that will inevitably continue to happen in our lives. This is a key quality that people, like the new organ, must obtain in the course of evolution. This organ is our brain, which must learn to use its innate quality of neuroplasticity more. Neuroplasticity allows us to adapt quickly, learn and make right decisions.

Norbu’s stress management application is based on developing the quality of neuroplasticity. In the next article, we will consider how stress, adaptation and neuroplasticity are related to each other.

Author: Dmitry Dolgov

How to Adapt to a Stressful Situation

 

Often when people face a new and stressful situation—a job that’s a bit too challenging, a thorny relationship hurdle that will take a while to sort through, a change in lifestyle that feels like a step down from what they had—they feel overwhelmed at the thought that they may have to deal with this stress for an extended period of time. People who worry about this long-term stress have reason to be concerned: chronic stress, the stress type of stress that is continual and unchanging, can take the heaviest toll. People who face chronic stressors may wonder if things will get easier—if they will adapt.

The good news is that there are things that can be done to mitigate the stress of virtually any situation, even if the situation itself is there to stay for a while. If you are facing a new hurdle, a challenging life situation, or are just wondering if it gets easier and how to speed the process, the following are some stress relief strategies that can help.

Note: If you face a life crisis or overwhelming stressor, these techniques can help significantly, but seeking the help of a professional may be necessary at some point if the stress does not become manageable.

Have The Right Attitude

We can’t always control what we are facing, but we do have a choice in how we face it. We can choose the attitude we take, and whether we face each challenge as a threat or a challenge.

If you read about avoidant coping, you can see some of the problems that are associated with shutting down or avoiding your stressor. The following steps can help you to move into a more empowered frame of mind if you need to.

• Understand the Role of Attitude
  • Your attitude can help to determine how stressful a situation feels for you, and how you approach your options. In fact, attitude can affect which options you see and do not see, which can also affect your stress levels and the outcome of your actions.
• Examine Your Thought Patterns
  • Your thought patterns may feel automatic, but you can choose where your focus lies. To begin to make that choice, it helps to become aware of your habitual thinking patterns. This exercise can help you to see these patterns more clearly and can help you to relieve stress in the process.
• Practice Positive Self-Talk
  • Positive self-talk means using more optimistic language in your head, and focusing more on possibilities. It involves more than merely trying to look on the bright side, although that is part of it. Learn the specific areas where you can shift your focus and in the process, alter what is possible for you, and how stressful or stress-free your life feels.

Change What You Can

Sometimes there are certain aspects of a situation you can change, even if you cannot change the situation as a whole. For example, you may, for financial reasons, be unable to quit a job you don’t enjoy, but you can connect with co-workers more, alter your attitude while you’re at work, and use your break time for stress management activities, all of which can alter how you feel when you are at this job. The following steps can help you to make changes where you can and relieve stress as you do.

• Try Solution-Focused Coping
  • Solution-focused coping means taking action to change your life where you are able. These changes can be large in scale, or small but targeted. Change itself can bring stress, so it’s important to choose the changes that will matter the most.
• Find and Eliminate Tolerations
  • Tolerations are those nagging stressors in your lifestyle that you put up with almost without realizing it, but which bring you constant low-grade stress. The thing about tolerations is that they add up to bigger stress. Cutting out tolerations can bring stress relief so you can tolerate more of the things you can’t change.
• Create a New Life Plan
  • Knowing where you want to go, having a plan for the future, can help to minimize stress in the present. Planning changes according to your values and priorities can be helpful and inspiring, even if you can’t bring those plans to fruition for a little while longer.

Build Resilience Through Healthy Habits

If you can’t do any more to change your situation, you can still reduce the stress you feel as you manage your daily life. Certain activities can promote resilience and help you to feel less stressed overall, and less reactive to the stressors you face when they rear their ugly heads. The following are a few resilience-building activities to add to your life—the more they become an automatic habit, the less your stressors will bother you!

• Self Care
  • When we are tired, hungry, and run-down, everything feels more stressful, and we have fewer coping resources at our disposal. We tend to react to stress rather than respond to it. We let things snowball. Focus on taking care of your body, and you will have a greater ability to handle frustration and stress in your life overall.
• Exercise
  • Exercise is one of those wonderful stress relievers that can build resilience by helping you to blow off steam. Better still, regular exercise can help you to become less reactive toward stress. Because of that and the obvious health benefits of exercise, this is a powerhouse of a stress reliever that should be worked into your schedule when at all possible.
• Meditation
  • Meditation can help you to remain centered in the face of stressand can help you to regain a sense of peace when you are feeling off-balance. There are many meditation techniques that work well, so try a few and stick with a favorite technique or two that really feel right. Over time, you should find yourself reacting to stress with less intensity and more able to remain calm and peaceful.
• Positive Attitude
  • Maintaining a positive attitude is one thing you can do to make everything in your life feel easier. A positive attitude also helps you to get along better with others (which can lead to greater social support and less conflict) and can help you to remain feeling good, even when things around you are not so great.

All in all, it would be great if we could simply avoid or eliminate the stressors in our lives. Unfortunately, that’s only possible to an extent, and there will be times in life when we are all faced with unpredictable or unavoidable stressors, when we need to rely on resilience. You may not be able to change everything in your life, but these tips can help you to adapt more easily to stressful situations you may face.

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