Stress Management and Prevention
The fact is that every person is subject to stress, stress covers us wherever we are, either at home in comfortable conditions or at work during a public meeting, at the time of emotionally strategically important negotiations, nothing is more important for us than to cope with the situation and not lose your face. Today I will bring to your attention several techniques on how to deal with stress wherever you are and in what conditions you find yourself. I share my medical experience with the fact that more than once helped our clients cope with stress.
A stressful situation caught you indoors.
1. Stand up if necessary and excuse yourself from the room. For example, you always have the opportunity to go to the toilet or some other place where you can be alone.
2. Take every chance to wet your forehead, temples, and arteries on your hands with cold water.
3. Slowly look around, even if the room you are in is familiar to you or looks quite ordinary. Looking from one object to another, mentally describe their appearance.
4. Then look out the window at the sky. Focus on what you see. When was the last time you looked at the sky like this?
5. After collecting water in a glass (in extreme cases - in the palm of your hand), slowly, concentrated, and drink it. Concentrate your attention on the sensations as the water flows down your throat.
6. Straighten up. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and as you exhale, bend over, relaxing your neck and shoulders so that your head and arms hang freely towards the floor. Breathe deeply, and watch your breath. Keep doing this for 1-2 minutes. Then slowly straighten up; be careful not to dizzy.
A stressful situation caught you outdoors.
1. Look around. Try to look at the surrounding objects from different positions, and mentally name everything you see.
2. Examine the sky in detail, naming everything you see in your mind.
3. Find some small object (leaf, branch, stone) and carefully examine it. Look at the object for at least four minutes, getting acquainted with its shape, color, and structure in such a way that you can clearly imagine it with your eyes closed.
4. If there is an opportunity to drink water, take advantage of it - drink slowly, focusing on how the liquid flows down your throat.
5. Track your breath. Breathe slowly through your nose; after inhaling, hold your breath for a while, then just as slowly, through the nose, exhale the air. With each exhalation, focus on how your shoulders relax and drop.
6. On a day when you find yourself in an acutely stressful situation, do not make any decisions. Try to do some simple activities. Moderate exercise or a walk will not hurt - in a word, any activity that requires physical activity and concentration.
Restoring emotional balance using ideomotor methods
Psychological stress relief exercises:
- Exercise number 1 - "Problem" - to remove the emotional psychological state, you should find out the problem that influenced its appearance. After eliminating or dulling the irritant, it is necessary to perform actions that help to achieve inner peace: you should take a comfortable position, relax and present your problem from the outside. An effective way in this situation is to compare the sore problem with more global catastrophes on a global scale, which will minimize it;
- Exercise number 2 - "Inner Light" - you need 5 minutes to relieve stress in this way. For this exercise, a visualization technique is used to visualize a light beam appearing at the top of the head and moving slowly from top to bottom, illuminating the face, arms, and shoulders with a pleasant warm glow. One should imagine not only light but also its beneficial effects: the disappearance of wrinkles, the fading of tension, charging with inner strength;
- Exercise number 3 - "Mood" - helps to cope with stress after quarrels for 15 minutes. To perform, you need pencils or felt-tip pens, with which you need to state your condition on paper, choosing the appropriate colors and images. After the drawing, you can express emotions in words by writing them on the back of the sheet. Having finished expressing your mood, the “masterpiece” should be broken, getting rid of negative emotions.
Anti-stress relaxation
1. Lie down (in extreme cases, sit down) comfortably in a quiet, dimly lit room; clothing should not restrict your movements.
2. Close your eyes and breathe slowly and deeply. Inhale and hold your breath for about 10 seconds. Exhale slowly, watch the relaxation, and mentally say to yourself: "Inhale and exhale, like an ebb and flow." Repeat this procedure 5-6 times. Then rest for about 20 seconds.
3. By force of will, contract individual muscles or their groups. Hold the contraction for up to 10 seconds, then relax the muscles. Thus, walk all over the body. Repeat this procedure three times, relax, give up everything, and don't think about anything.
4. Try as concretely as possible to imagine the feeling of relaxation penetrating you from your toes, through your calves, thighs, and torso of your head. repeat to yourself: “I calm down, I am pleased, and nothing disturbs me.”
5. Imagine that the feeling of relaxation pervades all parts of your body. You feel the tension leave you. You feel that your shoulders, neck, and facial muscles are relaxed (the mouth may be slightly open). Lie still like a rag doll. Enjoy the sensation you experience for about 30 seconds.
6. Count up to 10, mentally telling yourself that with each successive number, your muscles will relax more and more. Now your only concern is to enjoy the state of relaxation.
7. "Awakening" is coming. Count to 20. Say to yourself, “When I count to 20, my eyes will open and I will feel refreshed. Unpleasant tension in the limbs will disappear. This exercise is recommended to be performed 2-3 times a week. At first, it takes about a quarter of an hour, but with sufficient mastery of it, relaxation is achieved faster.
Exercises to relieve emotional stress:
Option number 1
- smooth rotation of the eyes - twice in one direction, and then twice in the other. Fix your attention on a distant object, and then switch it to an object located nearby;
- frown, straining the eye muscles, and then relax, yawn widely several times;
- relax your neck by first shaking your head and then twisting your neck from side to side.
- raise your shoulders to the level of your ears and slowly lower them;
- relax your wrists and move them, clench and unclench your fists, relax your hands;
- take three deep breaths, then gently bend the spine back and forth and from side to side;
- tighten and relax the buttocks, and then the calves of the legs;
- twist your feet to relax your ankles;
- squeeze your toes in such a way that the feet bend upwards, repeat three times.
Option number 2
- starting position - lying on your back, arms extended along the body, legs raised up and lowered behind the head, heels connected, socks stretched to the floor. In this position, it is necessary to stay from 2 to 5 minutes, depending on physical capabilities, then the legs slowly lower to the floor. It is very important to breathe evenly, calmly, and deeply;
- starting position - kneeling, hands fixed on the heels, the pelvis stretches up and forward, and the head is thrown back. It is necessary to stay in this position for 2-3 minutes, breathing should be deep and even - this way you can achieve relaxation of the whole body, which is very important for relieving stress;
- starting position - lying on the stomach, legs bent at the knees, hands fixed on the ankles. The upper body and lower legs are pulled up, arching the spine, as in the bridge pose. In this position, while not forgetting to breathe properly, you need to stay for 3-5 minutes;
- starting position - lying on your back, legs raised up at an angle of 90 °. Then the torso rises, and the arms support the lower back, resting on the elbows - this is the well-known "birch". It is important to keep the torso perpendicular to the floor, rest the chin on the chest, and breathe slowly and deeply.
Breathing exercises for stress relief:
The simplest breathing exercise for relaxation is counting.
- sit on a chair preferably with a straight back, relax your arms, legs, and neck, and breathe deeply. Start counting your inhalations and exhalations, reaching 10 - start over;
- standing or sitting in a comfortable position, inhale for 2 counts. First, inhale with your belly, then fill your chest, then exhale slowly for a count of 5. After exhaling, pause for a count of 5, and repeat several times;
- standing or sitting with a straight back put the index finger of the left hand in the middle of the forehead, and with the thumb, pinch the left nostril. The remaining fingers lie freely on the right cheek. Inhale through the right nostril and then close it with the ring finger while opening the left nostril and exhaling through it. Then inhale through the left nostril, pinch, and exhale through the right nostril. Repeat 4-5 times.
Take care of yourself and your loved ones
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