Stress is a major problem in today’s society. Americans are busy at work, busy at home, busy with children, and busy with social and religious obligations. You know the feeling. You also know that stress is one of the worst things for your health. Stress is responsible for high blood pressure, heart attacks, strokes, and diabetes and if you are experiencing stress on a day-to-day basis, you must learn how to reduce it or your health will suffer for it. This is probably nothing new to you. You know stress is bad and you know you need to reduce it, the problem is – how? Here are some tips to help you learn to reduce your stress levels and improve your health.

Avoid Stressful Situations

Some typical causes of stress are work, certain people, and certain topics.

• Odds are you are working because you need to so, as much as you would like to, avoiding your job isn’t going to be a practical solution. What you can do, however, is learn to handle the stress at work. Talk to your boss if you are unfairly overloaded. A good manager is interested in keeping valuable employees, so bring the situation to his attention.

• If co-workers are the stressors, either avoid them or discuss the issue with them and see if you can’t reach a compromise.

• For some, topics are "hot spots" and can trigger explosive reactions that raise your blood pressure. If this is the case, avoid having these discussions or talk with someone who has the same outlook or opinion.

Learn to Say "No"

A lot of stress is because of busy schedules and being overloaded, not only at work but in our personal lives. Sit down and take a look at your schedule. See what is absolutely necessary and what can be trimmed that won’t impact anything in your life in a negative way. After trimming your schedule, think before you obligate yourself to any more activities, committees, or boards. Think of your health and your family before you speak and learn to say, "No."

Management

A lot of stress is caused by being disorganized and mismanaging your time. Some people are born organizers – some people aren’t. Research organization tactics to learn to become more organized and streamline your life. Planning ahead and having everything prepared will take a great deal of pressure and stress off of you. Take one day a week and look at what is on the schedule for that week – work, family, kids, activities, appointments, travel, meetings etc. Just by being aware that these items will reduce some of the stress. Take it a step further and list what you need or any preparation you need to do for the event – buy gift, finish report, help in child’s classroom, prepare special meal, etc. Organization and time management are skills that can be learned.

By avoiding what stresses you out, learning to say "No" to too many obligations, and learning organization and time management skills, you will be reducing a lot of stress for yourself. You owe it to yourself and your family to reduce the stress to improve your health and have a happier life.

Jason Ladock

Copyrighted material; do not reprint without permission.

 

View all articles by Jason Ladock