Action4Balance

Sometimes we don't realize how much stress is building up until we suddenly feel overwhelmed.

Other times, several stressful or attention-demanding events will happen at once, and we suddenly go from calm to completely overwhelmed really quickly.

However it happens, there are many ways to calm down quickly when we suddenly get ‘attacked’ by stress and feel overwhelmed.

Try these quick and easy ways to regain your quiet so you can deal with whatever situations are at hand:

Take a Walk

Exercises are a great stress reliever in itself, as it helps you lower stress hormone levels and releases endorphins. Taking a walk when stressed provides the bonus of getting you out of the stressful situation and providing some perspective so you can return in a new frame of mind. (Learn more about the benefits of exercise and walking meditation )

Take a Breath

Many times when you suddenly feel overwhelmed and stressed you are not able to leave your office. You can feel better right away by practicing breathing exercises. Getting more oxygen into your body and releasing physical tension are two ways that breathing exercises can benefit you, and you can do them anytime or anywhere, even if your demanding situation isn't letting up. (Learn more about breathing exercises here.)

Take a Mental Mini Vacation

Visualizations is a wonderful way to restore peace of mind: all it takes is a few minutes. They're easy to do, and can relax you physically as well as mentally. (Learn more about visualizations here.)

Reframe Your Situation

The way we look at stressful situations can intensify our experience. Here the reframing comes in – all you need do is to put the situation into different “frame”. This allows you to look at your situation differently; you may be able to put it into a diverse perspective--one that causes you less stress or even no stress at all! (Learn more about mental stress and self sabotage here.)

Try Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) is a technique where you tense and release all of your muscle groups, leaving your body feel more relaxed afterward. PMR can be done by just about anyone, and with practice you can fully release virtually all the tension you're feeling in your body in a matter of seconds! This can help you feel more calm and better able to handle the situations at hand. (Learn how to practice Progressive Muscle Relaxation here.)

Once you've been able to calm down, you should be in a better position to address whatever stressful situations you're experiencing.

It's also a good idea to consider making permanent changes in a way you manage stress so that you can reduce your overall stress level and experience less stress and be less bothered by the stressful situations you do encounter.

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There are many ways to reduce stress, tension and relax. I would like to give you the seven stress relievers I believe are not only most effective but are also easy to learn and practice (remember practice=action is the Master :).

1. Breathing Exercises

Deep breathing is an easy stress reliever that has numerous benefits for the body, including oxygenating the blood, which ‘wakes up’ the brain, relaxing muscles and quieting the mind. Breathing exercise are especially helpful because they can be done  anywhere, and they work quickly so you can de-stress in an instant.

2. Meditation

Meditation builds on deep breathing, and takes it a step further. When you meditate, your brain enters an area of functioning that’s similar to sleep, but carries some added benefits you can’t achieve as well in any other state, including the release of certain hormones that promote health.

3. Visualization

You can use visualization for relaxation and visualization goal setting. You can imagine yourself achieving goals like becoming healthier and more relaxed, doing well at tasks, and handling conflict in better ways and obtain optimum performance.

5. Exercise

Many people exercise to control weight and get in better physical condition to become more healthy or physically attractive, but exercise and stress management are also closely linked. Exercise provides a distraction from stressful situations, as well as an outlet for frustrations, and gives you a lift via endorphins as well. Learn more about benefits of exercise, and help you get more active in your daily life.

6. Music

Music therapy has shown numerous health benefits for people with conditions ranging from mild (like stress) to severe (like cancer). When dealing with stress, the right music can actually lower your blood pressure, relax your body and calm your mind. Check out for great music.

7. Yoga

Yoga is one of the oldest self-improvement practices around, dating back over 5 thousand years! It combines the practices of several other stress management techniques such as breathing, meditation, visualization and movement, giving you a lot of benefit for the amount of time and energy required.

Learn more about how use Yoga for Stress Relief.

Visualization is the technique of using your imagination to create what you want in your life.

Visualization is also a potent method of stress reduction, especially when combined with physical relaxation methods such as deep breathing.

The practice of positive thinking in the treatment of physical symptoms was popularized by Emil Coue, a French pharmacist. Coue declared that all of your thoughts become reality – you are what you think you are.

You can use visualization for relaxation and for goal setting.

I higly recommend you to get the book by Shakti Gawain, Creative Visualization. The book is a real Gem.

Learn how to use visualization for goal setting click here.

Beathing is a necessity of life and we tend to take it for granted.

When a person is under stress the body becomes tense and our breathing shallow.

As a result:

1. We breathe in less oxygen and breathe out less toxic waste product carbon dioxide.
2. Our muscles ache and we feel pain especially in the neck and shoulder area.

Improper breathing contributes to anxiety, panic attacks, depression, muscle tension, headaches, and fatigue.

However we can do it the other way round as well - when we relax our bodies we can effectively reduce stress.

Deep breathing is a very simple but very effective stress management method. It works well in conjunction with other relaxation techniques such as Progressive Muscular Relaxation, visualization and meditation for stress relief.

Take Action:

- Inhale through the nose slowly and deeply to count of five (Make sure that the stomach and abdomen expand but the chest does not raise up)
- Exhale through the mouth, slowly and completely, making a quite, relaxing,whooshing sound like a wind as you blow gently out. Relax your mouth,tongue and jaw; also to the count of five
- To help quiet the mind, concentrate fully on breathing and counting through each cycle
- Repeat five to ten times and make a habit of doing the exercise several times a day, even when not feeling stressed.

While a deep breathing exercise can be learned in some minutes and you will experience immediate stress relief, the profound effects of this exercise may be fully appreciated only after month of persistent practice.

TIP: Start practicing the deep breathing for stress reduction when NOT stressed. When in stressful situation you will be able to do it automatically in order to obtain the stress relief. When under pressure and stress you could find useful to use herbal remedies for stress relief to obtain feeling of balance and wellbeing.