How Can We Cope With Stress ?

Regain health and happiness in your life....

Stress isn't real....

An interesting thing about stress is that you can't measure it with a ruler, weigh it with a scale, or color it with a crayon. Oh, yes, stress is all around us and we must interact with it almost constantly, but it still isn't REAL as if it were made of wood or metal or plastic. Our reaction to stress is in our mind. This doesn't mean that physical stress such as being out in the cold winter or dropping the book on our foot isn't real - but almost all of the stress we perceive is just that - in our minds. When the boss yells at us, when our partner says something inappropriate to us, when credit card debt becomes more than our budget allows, it is our interpretation of that event that can become stressful, not the event itself. Below are some examples of how we can cope with stress in our life so we can continue to enjoy health, happiness, and personal growth, no matter how bad things seem to be.

Ways of coping with stress:

Removing Stress

Changing our Point of View

Managing Stress Reactions

Removing Stress

If something is really causing a lot of stress for us, one very effective way of dealing with it is to get rid of it. Sound too simple? Of course, it isn't always possible to do this, but it is important to at least look at the possibility. First, locate the source of the stress - it might not always be obvious. A stressful job? Work with the boss to find ways to reduce the stress. Impossible? Then consider finding another, less stressful job. After all, isn't happiness and health the most important aspect of our lives? Difficult marriage? Look into counseling, and if that doesn't work, consider leaving.

Lousy commute? Find alternative roads, or carpool, move, or change jobs. We do have choices in life, but often we dismiss them without serious consideration. Financial problems? Learn budgeting, look into restructuring your credit. Negative news from around the world getting you down? Stop watching those TV news programs that concentrate on negativity. Turn off the TV and read a book or play a game of Scrabble. You can always catch up on the news once a week by reading a weekly news magazine.

Changing our Point of View

If our reactions to stress are mostly in our mind, then we can change our reactions to be more positive, more accepting of what goes on around us and in our life without letting it "stress us out." We can be more accepting of the "way things are" without always being negative about it. Sometimes we have unrealistic expectations of ourselves, our partners, of the world itself. And by thinking positive thoughts as often as we can (why not do it all the time?), things just seem to automatically get better by themselves.

Manage our Reactions to Stress

If the source of our stress can't be realistically removed or changed, then we need to manage our mental/emotional reaction and our physical reaction to that stress. There are a number of very effective means to accomplish this:

Exercise

Learn relaxation techniques

Put more love in your life

Avoid anger and eliminate hatred

Sleep soundly

Manage money more effectively

Improve your nutrition

Reduce fears

Learn to enjoy life again

Learn time management skills

Set life goals

Allow us to teach you stress management skills

At The Pathway we help people get their lives back from unmanageable or unacceptable stress levels. We understand the impact of stress on happiness, health, and relationships. No matter if it is managing money more effectively, improving the quality of sleep, or feeling better about life in general, we know how to help. Through the use of hypnosis and coaching, we can help people put a plan together to get them back on their pathway through life! Call or email for further information.

Our services are available in Nashua, New Hampshire,

where we can be reached by email at:

PAD@thepathway.com

or by phone at: 603-881-8949