Scribbles, Scratches & Script

Who says you can't beat stress?
In this age of hig-tech and high productivity, life moves at a faster and faster pace. To keep up, you work harder, skip lunch, work longer hours, weekends even. You become the first and last person everyone sees in the office or at your workplace. You become no different from the xerox machine. A permanent fixture in the work environment.

But the demands never stop. The pressure builds up. In time, you find yourself too stressed out to do anything. What do you do with stress? How do you deal with it? How do you "stop the madness" short of quitting your job or escaping to the mountains?

Three ways are recommended to successfully manage stress: rest and relaxation, stress reduction through self-help techniques, and anticipation of sources of stress. Since it's impossible to do the third of these ways all the time, often enough the first two ways are all you can do.

Below are some ideas to reduce or recover from stress and keep it at bay:

Sleep
>> Insufficient sleep affects mood, energy and vigor and can increase depression and irritability. Learn to take power naps. A five to ten minute nap in the afternoon can increase your productivity.

Nutrition
>> As the saying goes, " You are what you eat." Eat a variety of low-fat, low-salt, and low-sugar foods. Reduce alcohol intake and drink lots of water. Take multivitamin supplements if you're not getting enough vitamins from your food and dietary supplements if you're sick or pregnant.

Exercise
>> Whatever is your exercise or sports, whether volleyball, basketball, tennis or swimming, the key is to do it regularly. Exercising in the afternoon can actually give you more energy.

Active and Passive Rest
>> Active rest includes yoga, Tai-chi, stretching, walking, and sex. Passive rest includes prayer, massage, meditation, reading, watching TV, and listening to music.

Remember that stress is inevitable, but it doesn't have to knock you down. you can always beat it by setting aside some time to recover from the day.