5 Techniques To Help You Enjoy Life By Successfully Managing Stress by Chris Green

Managing stress is an important skill to have in the modern world with all its demands and complexities. Here are 5 natural, effective ways to help you get stress firmly under control.

Throughout your life, you are going to have to face many trying events. There will be deaths of loved ones, job changes, relationship problems, family crises, accidents, illnesses - a wide range of issues affecting differing areas of your life. Yet all of these differing events have one thing in common: none of them, by themselves, has any meaning whatsoever. The only meanings they have are the ones you assign to them. Two people can suffer the same event - say a job loss - one will go to pieces, the other will see it as just an inconvenience. The reason is because of how they assigned a meaning. In your mind lies paradise or hell, and you have the power to choose which by carefully assigning multiple meanings to events.

Use mild language to describe how you feel. Using strong, powerful words can pour oil on the fire when it comes to stress. They intensify your feelings and increase your stress levels. So here are three examples of substituting powerful words with milder ones you can use instantly. You can then generate your own substitute words to lower the intensity and reduce stress. Instead of using the word "hate" as in "I hate this job!" use "I dislike this job." Instead of saying never, "I never get this right!" use sometimes "Sometimes I don't get this quite right." And instead of saying useless "I can't do this I'm useless!" say "I can do some things easily and some things I find more difficult." Do you see how this takes a lot of the intensity? Try it, it is a very powerful way to reduce stress.

Treat yourself to a pamper day. This is a day where you escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday living and enjoy some stress-free time. You'll also feel great and give your well being a huge boost. On this day, have a light workout, a swim, a sauna, a Jacuzzi, a steam room. A massage would be nice and if you have access to one, a Turkish baths will give you an invigorating experience. Try to do this at least once a month, it is very effective technique for managing stress.

Start and end each day in a positive way. Listen to upbeat

music, and avoid reading or watching anything too heavy. For example, starting the day by watching an hour-long news bulletin filled with images of war, crime and disasters is not a good way to brighten your mood. Instead, turn off the TV and play some easy- listening music. 70's disco works for me, as does R & B. It certainly beats watching war and violence over breakfast! Also, try not to listen to heavy music or read something heavy - a horror story for example - before you retire to bed. These are simple stress management techniques to cut down your exposure to negative influences but they are highly effective and will improve your moods very quickly.

If you're feeling under stress, here is a quick, easy technique you can use anywhere at anytime to help you find relief. It's called "square breathing" and it works like this: First, slowly inhale as deeply as you can for a count of 5 seconds. Then hold it for five seconds, then exhale slowly for 5 seconds. Pause for 5 seconds and then repeat four times.

Each of the above techniques will help with managing stress and the more you apply them, the more stress will melt away and the happier you'll feel.

Copyright Chris Green conquered 5 years of anxiety and depression without taking antidepressants. You can conquer stress, depression and anxiety permanently and naturally and you'll find more resources to help you by visiting our website.