• Stop what you are doing and take a breath, get away from the all the things that are driving you crazy. Relax, clear your head of all the stress that life has dropped on you. Try relaxation exercises like autogenic training or meditation.
• Take out a piece of paper and write down all the things that need to be done. Things might not be so taunting once you see them on paper.
• Every thing is important, but you have to prioritize. Rank all the things that have to be done in order.
• Plan how you are going to do things and how much time you will take on each item.
• Without interruption go to the first item and work on it till completed. Don’t start another thing before finishing the task that you are working on.

The key to all this is time management and staying focused on one thing at a time.

Vitamins are used by more people today than ever. There are many types of vitamins and many different uses for them. Using vitamins to help relieve stress has also found to be useful.

Which vitamins help with stress?

The vitamin b family helps with the nervous system. Vitamin B-1 has a calming effect whereas b6 helps with one’s energy. You can cover all the benefits of vitamin b by taking a vitamin complex. Vitamin b can also be found naturally in foods such as potatoes, bananas, molasses and meat like tuna and turkey.

Vitamin C has been found to be beneficial for so many things, now stress is also included. Vitamin C has been know to reduce the chemical cortisol which is released when stress occurs, unfortunately this chemical has a draining effect on energy, memory and it could cause depression.

Vitamins A and E have also been shown to help with stress reduction, but not quite as much as vitamin C and B.

The idea of emotional intelligence has been around since the 1930’s in different forms. The power of EI is to not only identify and assess your own emotions but also to be able to evaluate the emotions of others.

One of the early forms of EI was social intelligence that was the ability to understand and manage other people’s emotions.  Then understanding one’s own emotions and desires along with others emotions build a strong foundation to today’s EI.

John D. Mayer and Peter Salovey are the 2 leading researcher of emotional intelligence. They have developed a model with 4 abilities.

The ability to perceive emotions in others by looking at their faces or hearing their voices,   also to perceive one’s own emotions. This ability opens the door to the other abilities.

The ability to use your emotions to accomplish what ever you are trying to do.

The ability to understand the history of emotions and act accordingly to that.

The ability to use emotions to fulfill your own tasks

The real power in emotional intelligence is in the ability to perceive other’s emotions and to use that intelligence to your advantage.

What it all seems to come down to is to be able to guess how people are going to react to certain environments and situations. This knowledge before hand is very powerful.

Developed in 1932 by a German psychiatrist Johannes Schultz, autogenic training is a relaxation technique that can be done in just a few minutes each day. The key to this technique is visualization. If practiced on a regular basis two or three times a day autogenic training can be beneficial to relieving stress. Like hypnosis, this technique works on the power of suggestion so it is vital that you go into with an open mind.

How does autogenic training work?

This technique can be done lying down or sitting down in a comfortable position. Like progressive relaxation techniques you start out at your feet and repeat phrases to achieve relaxation. Make sure that the place that you do autogenic training is quiet and you wouldn’t be disturbed.

For example

• My feet are heavy and warm. Repeat this 3 times and move to your legs.
• When you get to your chest, concentrate on your heart and say ‘My heart is calm and serene’.
• After you have gone through all the parts of the body repeat the phrase ‘I am relaxed and stress-free”
• Repeat all the steps at least twice, three times a day.

 It is important to practice this regularly because it takes time before it is effective. Usually 2 or 3 times a day will be enough.

You have probably heard it million times that the way to relax is to do something to get your mind off your troubles. Truer words have never been spoken! Most people have hobbies or interests and don’t even think about the therapeutic value that they possess. And really it doesn’t have to be anything special. The key is that it is something that you enjoy.

I’m not talking about TV or eating but things like gardening or playing a musical instrument or painting or even anything that takes some concentration without the stress.

I don’t have any interests or hobbies!

I have heard that before and maybe you don’t, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t try and find one. Or maybe you think that every hobby has to be expensive. Reading in a library is free. That isn’t enough excitement for you. Learn to play an instrument. The internet has a wealth of information on everything from learning to play an instrument to learning just about everything.

So the adage “to get you mind off your troubles” is true and you definitely need to give it a try.

 What does this have to do with stress? Usually the person who has this type of behavior can live with it without much problem. Unfortunately the people around the passive aggressive become much stressed and they are the ones that have to convey to the passive aggressive that they can’t live that way.

 The person with passive aggressive hostility usually comes from a non-nurturing background where they felt inadequate which develops into a history of low self-esteem. They aren’t usually hostile toward other people in a confrontational manner. They work out their hostility and anger by being non productive and being unhappy in the situation that they are currently in. They have a difficult time accepting authority and just accepting advice in general. People who have passive aggressive behaviors are at a greater risk of becoming depressed as they become older.

 Healing passive aggressive behavior

 One method to help an individual overcome their passive aggressive behavior is for them to become more assertive with their feelings.

Another area that needs to be worked on is their low self-esteem.

Their negativity toward everything says more about how they feel about themselves rather than their surrounding.

Communication or lack of it is also a drawback for those with passive aggressive behavior. Learning to communicate more effectively will increase their self esteem and assertiveness.

Learning that other’s feeling toward them doesn’t have an effect on who they are, is very important.

The use of herbal remedies has been used for many centuries. Native American took advantage of native plants that had healing properties. Today many of them used to control anxiety and panic attacks. Here is listed just a few of them. The effectiveness of herbal remedies is not accepted by everyone before starting to take any forms of herbs consult your doctor.

Skullcap is a perennial that is native to North America. Its uses are for anxiety, panic attacks and insomnia among other things.  As with the other herbal remedies caution should be used when taking skullcap.

Passion Flower was used originally by Native Americans and early settlers. The Cherokee Indians used it in a drink to help with upset stomachs as well as a topical treatment for wounds and other ailments. Today it is considered to be effective for muscle tension and insomnia.

Lemon Balm has many uses such as the reduction of headaches, anxiety and it is helpful for relieving a sour stomach.  Lemon balm can be taken in a tea or put in a compress for gout.  Lemon Balm has also been used in potpourri and it has been used as a facial cleaner.

Valerian can be used for sleeping disorders as well as panic attacks, stress and anxiety. It has also been suggested that it helps with reducing tremors.

Oats or oat straw has been used for the nervous system, insomnia and skin conditions. Oats can be taken in the form of pills or eaten in the usual manner for breakfast as long as you don’t use the instant oats.

What are stress relief games?

 All games in general should be some kind of stress reducer, right? You play  games to have fun and it get your mind off of what ever is bothering you. So it makes sense to play specific games that are designed to reduce stress. They can be old fashion games like playing cards with friends or you can find online stress relief games.

 Where are the stress relief games online?

 Besides the games that come with the windows operating system like solitaire and minesweeper there are also quite a few sites online. Just make sure that they give you enough challenge to keep your mind occupied.

 Naturalbloom.com has a group of games designed for not only stress relief but it help bolster your memory.

About.com also has a list of online stress reducer games.

 Plant oils have been used since the beginning of time for therapeutic treatments and aromatherapy has been used for about the century or so. The Greeks and Egyptians were early users of fragrances as well as the Romans. The French started to use essential oils not only for therapy but also for medicinal use at the beginning of the century.

 The two basic ways to use aromatherapy are by inhalation and by applying it to the skin. Putting a few drops of essential oils on a cloth or spraying them gently into the air will do the trick or by using lotions, body oils and other products with essential oils in them.

 Aromatherapy can be very useful in the reduction of stress and anxiety as well as muscle relaxation.

Here are a few online stress test sites:

1. Suicide and Mental Health Association International the test is 25 questions and there is quite a bit of information on suicide prevention
2. Stress IQ test takes about 30 minutes
3. Healthy Place America’s Mental Health channel, good information is available
4. From Awakenings “Simple solutions to life’s problems”  Easy to use format   Test is easy and quick to take with a quick evaluation