In the hustle bustle of our daily lives we seem to be constantly surrounded by Stress. It is like Stress has become a permanent feature of our lives. As we learn to accept it, we also have to learn to deal with it and not let stress take over our lives. In a lot of instances we may not realize how when we let our stresses take over we make ourselves vulnerable to a lot of physical and emotional ailments. These could be anything from chronic pains to lack of proper sleep, to emotional problems, like anxiety. Whatever the cause and effect of stress we need to realize that there are ways of reducing and handling stress. There are a variety of programs offering stress relief techniques and strategies. Here are a few that would help with Stress:
1) Breathing Exercises – Needless to say, Oxygen is the most essential necessity for our lives. When we are under stress we forget to breathe right, and restrict the benefits of oxygen flow in our body. Breathing Exercises enable the flow of oxygen through our entire body.
2) Regular Exercise/Yoga –Exercise and Yoga not only keeps your body in shape but also relax our mind and regulate blood circulation in our body. Being in constant stress blocks the circulation of blood to our brain, which in turn blocks our problem solving abilities. Good circulation of blood to the whole body and especially to the brain will put our mind at ease and in turn enhance our problem solving/handling ability.
3) Meditation – Stress puts a big strain on our mind. When the mind is not in control we cannot control our emotions either. Meditation is a very effective technique which aims at controlling the mind and relieving it of stress. A well controlled and balanced mind results in well controlled emotions.
4) Massage – Massage relaxes and releases the stiffness and aches in our body.
5) Food – There are certain foods that help with stress relief. There are a variety of Teas, especially Green Tea, which contain anti-oxidants and anti-toxins that help reduce stress.
6) Escape – Escape doesn’t necessarily imply escaping from the situation or problems. We don’t have to solve all our problems, and not all at the same time. Taking some time off from our routine and problems will give us thinking space, to organize our thoughts and actions. Something as simple as watching a favorite movie that makes us feel good, can give the much needed escape for the mind.
While dealing with our routine problems and stress we have to remember one very important thing; we cannot control what happens around us, but we can control how we react to the happenings around us. Keeping our mind and body in harmony and control empowers us to handle stress better enjoy all of life’s little joys.

By,
Mary-Ann Roche

Stress is almost always a part of work. However, there are some occupations that are naturally more stressful than others, due to the type of service or the industry to which they belong.

If you are subjected to these stressors on a daily basis, you simply must implement ways to reduce the amount of stress you have to cope with.

In reducing your exposure to stress, you will become more productive in your chosen occupation. 

Medical Care Professions

Doctors, nurses, social workers, or medical assistants have particularly stressful jobs. The nature of the job in itself is quite difficult, given that the health and well-being of others are at stake,  and there is always that added pressure of your action potentially resulting in a negative impact to one’s health. Effectively. this means there is no room for error, making these occupations ones with especially high stress levels.

To learn tp deal with stress you must first identify its source, in order to find the appropriate coping mechanism to employ. If a Doctor or other medical professional is able to do this, it certainly reduces the possibility of making what could be, a fatal mistake in their work. 

Law Enforcement Jobs

As with the medical profession, there is undoubtly an enormous amount of stress in law enforcement. It is, after all, their responsibility to protect the community and maintain peace and order.The amount of personal risk can be enormous as law enforcement officers are forced to put themselves in extremely dangerous and highly stressful situations. 

You can reduce stress in your profession by giving yourself timely breaks which allows the body and mind to recuperate and rejuvinate. As law enforcers typically have a lot of work on their plate, having proper time management and organizational skills will also assist in dealing with stress.

Teaching Professions

While many enjoy the teaching profession, often people in this field will tell you that there is a high level of stress involved, as they deal with many children who can be difficult. Inner city teachers find their jobs particularly stressful due to high levels of crime in the area and often the children they are teaching have been exposed to violence and crime, and as a result do sometimes have behavioral problems that a teacher must also cope with, in addition to actually educating the child. Teachers are also often under close scrutiny by the community at large.

Teachers can deal with these stressors by trying these strategies:

• Try to be patient and calm, particularly with those students who are more difficult than others.  Perhaps over time with patience, you can develop a deeper emotional relationship with these children.
• Set realistic goals. When you aim to teach your students something, understand not every child will learn at the same pace. Some will take longer than others, so your schedule to have something in particular taught in one day may well blow out to two days.  Rather than get frustrated, try to factor this into your planning from the outset.

 
• Take care of yourself, whether physically or mentally.

Jobs Involving Sales

Sales roles can be very stressful as your livelihood is often dependent upon your ability to produce sales. Jobs involving sales therefore require you to meet high levels of standards and often require you to deal with the public and their demands. Since most of the stress involved in this job is associated with the results, learn how to set your goal and then forget it. Get on with using your skills and creativity to sell the service or product in your own unique way. Nobody likes a salesman with a hard sell approach and if you are constantly worried about meeting your target then you may well become one of these salesman and thwart your efforts in the process! 

Telecommuting Jobs

Can be a stressful occupation, what with having to meet deadlines, to taking care of multiple clients and their inquiries. One way to reduce stress in this instance is to examine ways in which you can become more organised. Organise your day in such a way that you can accomplish what you set out to do, however with proper breaks built into your day so that stress if reduced. Make sure in this type of occupation, that distractions are kept to a minimum as these impact greatly on your ability to produce, and hence, cause more stress.

Whenever you feel stressed out, give yourself a break and do some deep breathing. Try to slow down, take 20 minutes out of your day to meditate, and you will amazed at how less stressful you will be. Bottom line is the lessed stressed you are in the workplace the more productive you are.

By MaryAnn Roche

Christmas is almost upon us, and along with it comes too much stress! How do you cope at Christmas? I guess every year I tend to change my strategy. Being an Australian we are faced with the challenge of Christmas in the heat! Hot lunches tend to be a thing of the past for many Australians, preferring to savour or wonder seafood (which we are renowned for) with salads and nice light refreshing food. The most important thing before and during Christmas is to try to avoid the heat and thus reduce our stress levels!

Last year Christmas shopping for me was done by a girlfriend of mine. I was living and working in Las Vegas with adult children living in Australia, so my good friend attended to all my shopping the week before, did all the wrapping and delivered my gifts to my children Christmas morning! That’s probably the least stressed and most organised I have ever been with my Christmas shopping! I promise myself every year I will start early in the year, but somehow I never get to it and before you know it Christmas is upon us and I’m out time!

Here are some unique stories from Five New Jersey residents on how they manage stress throughout the holiday.

Anne Gadsden says that she handles Christmas shopping the “new fashioned” way. She puts on a CD of classical music such as Pachelbel’s Canon in D, logs on to the internet, and starts surfing. The Newark mother of three says, “I’ve already done the going to the mall thing and now its time for me to get gifts for family members who don’t live in New Jersey. I visit Amazon and Buy.com; between the two companies I usually find something that I need. Besides, shipping is free if I spend at least $25 and let’s face it that isnt hard to do!

 Tasha Crimson says that she shops very early in the year. “I shop all summer long starting after July 4th all the way up to Labor Day. That’s when I’m done. I don’t have to put up with the rush or the crowds, I shop at my own pace, and I don’t have to freeze running from my car to the store!,” the East Orange grandmother of eight chuckled.

In Wanaque, Bob Caprioti has his own unique style of shopping. Or not. He simply has his wife pick up everything for her family, his family and for their three children. “She knows I hate to shop. Fortunately, Rita loves to shop; so I figure why not let her do what she wants to do and let me do what I want to do?” So, does Rita buy gifts for herself and mark them from Bob? “No, I won’t go that far. My mother loves to shop so I go out with her and we find what I need for Rita. Mom knows what my wife likes and makes it as painless as possible for me.

Angela Rodriguez of Fair Lawn laughs when asked about her shopping methods. “I don’t begin to shop until the day after Christmas. My family is from Peru and we celebrate the Feast of the Three Wise Men when we get together in early January. We are scattered all over the place and it is too difficult to meet up on Christmas. So, instead of shopping ahead of time, I wait ’til after Christmas and get all the markdowns.” When asked what she does on Christmas Angela replied, “I’m single and work in New York. I hang out with friends and co-workers who are by themselves for the holidays. Then, on New Year’s Day I fly to Florida for a week to be with my family. I ship everything out ahead of time, so I’m not lugging all the stuff through the airport.

Tamara Williams loves to shop, especially in crowds. The Hackensack resident replied, “I do a little bit in early December, but I really don’t get going until a few days before Christmas. The best prices can be found then and it just seems more like Christmas.” When asked how close to Christmas she shops Tamara answered, “I usually don’t finish up ’til Christmas Eve. One year, while I was working at Stern’s at the Bergen Mall I got off at 2 p.m. and began my shopping. When the store closed at 6 p.m. I made my final purchase and went home! I was working at the store and attending college full time. My finals were done only the day before, so my first opportunity to shop was on Christmas Eve. I start late, but not that late anymore!”

By MaryAnn Roche

The Power of Affirmations

For me, daily affirmations are a must! They really do affect me by lifting my spirit and keeping me going when things get tough, and sometimes that can be more than once a day! Daily affirmations keep me on track and help me to remain postive about life.

Affirmations work for me when I take the time to write them myself,  this makes them personal to me and are specific to some situations or circumstances.

Some tips for writing your own affirmations:

1. Make sure when you write them you use the word “I”. These are personal to you remember.

2. Use the present tense. Affirmations are built on the here and now, which is why at any point in time when you want to be positive you can say something like “I am strong and in control right now”.

3. Use your own writing style and be concise with each affirmation, really think through what you want to say.

4. Be short. Affirmations are meant to be simple and clear. If you can, make them a one-liner. If its too wordy you wont repeat your affirmation daily.

5. Affirmations are positive statements, so be sure not to include any negative words in the sentence.

6. Make them believable. Your affirmation has to be something you will take seriously and something your subconscious will believe. In my experience, affirmations have helped cure illness and certainly helped me to remain in control during the most trying of situations.

Take the time to sit down, write out your affirmations according to how you are feeling then double check and check your list to ensure it meets the above criteria. Remember to read your affirmations at least once a day. I read them in the morning before I get out of bed and again before I fall asleep, so discover what works for you.

Some people write their affirmations as notes and stick them to the ceilling and walls, others keep them in a small notebook they carry around with them, or you could put them on dvd and keep the dvd in your car! Affirmations will ensure you reach your goals, and daily practice will ensure that you very quickly begin to notice subtle differences in your life.

By MaryAnn Roche

7 Ways to a Happy & Stress Free Home

If what I am about to explain sounds like a typical evening at your place, then read on. The baby is on your hip, whilst you hurriedly put the Take Away out for dinner, the cat is throwing up on the bathroom mat, the hubby’s feet are up and TV on full-blast, and your teenager just angrily slammed his bedroom door because his washing is still on the line….

Sadly, this is not an exclusive club. However, the good news is that we don’t necessarily have to live this way. There are, in fact, things you can do to ease this stress and create a more harmonious home life so that you and your family can look forward to and enjoy being all home together.

A certain degree of stress is inherent as you deal with the varying phases of your precious-yes they are precious, family members. You must strive to uphold a core set of values and go with the flow to a degree. This ensures you can maintain a happy and healthy home.

There are some specific ways though that you can reduce stress, in turn creating harmony at home:

1. Be organized. Life can quickly become chaotic when you do not maintain organization. An organized home just flows, but disorganization will be full of ebbs and very little flow.

* A good tip is to start small, trying to organize the whole house at once becomes overwhelmingly difficult to achieve. Start small, one room at a time, and see how pleasing the task becomes.

2. Communicate. Your family will find it extremely beneficial to be actively working on communication skills. When you fail to do this effectively, you may not get what you want and may even lead to upsetting misunderstandings. Working on communication skills will in turn, allow all family members to feel loved and appreciated, create harmony and allow the household to run efficiently.

3. Always have your evening meal together. Everyone in your family likely has a full agenda of their own. You may even start to realize that you have no idea what’s going on with your spouse or child. When you make the time to have dinner together, you really start to relax and open up to each other, despite all having a busy lifestyle.

4. Enjoy each other’s company. It is important to schedule time to have fun together as a family, even starting with one night a week. This will take some advance planning, choosing an activity. You need to allow each family member a chance to pick an activity to their liking.

5. Show unconditional love, fill each other’s cup of love to the brim! Be sure to encourage unconditional love with your family. This leads to secure attachments and will in turn keep all of your family happy and stress-free.

* We all need to know that, when we make mistakes,which we all do at times,we have a loving family who will back us up and forgive us, no matter what.

6. Show support and go out of your way for your family members. It might not be your idea on a Friday night to go to your daughter’s ballet concert but just think of how she will feel when she sees your smiling face, knowing that she has your love and support. Express your love and support by really being there , no matter what or how difficult it seems. They can not read your mind, so just thinking about how much you love them is not enough!

7.Every family needs rules. Having a set of family rules will help with keeping organization, letting everyone know what is expected of them to create harmony for all.

* You will need to plan a family meeting to establish the house rules. Let everyone have a chance to participate and share his or her concerns. You will more than likely find a compromise that allows everyone a chance to feel happy and satisfied.

A home that is built on love will be happy and stress free. Don’t be too hard on yourself and others, and you will have the foundations for creating an excellent home life.

By MaryAnn Roche.