Stress management for better living » meditation

Stress and burnout

David — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 18:24:33 +0000

You have become numb from all the problems in your daily life. Your job is terrible and in jeopardy, your home life isn’t much better. You constantly worry about your money situation. Stress has eaten you alive and you feel that you can’t even muster up enough strength to fight it. You are a victim of burnout caused by the unrelenting stress that has taken over your life.

Is stress and burnout the same?

While stress and burnout are closely aligned with each other there is a difference between the two. Stress should be understood first because it can lead to burnout.

Stress is a term that seems to encompass many meanings. But when we think about stress we think about a reaction to something that is happening around us or to us. The idea of “fight or flight” is closely related to stress and how we react. Stress brings on physical reactions such as the increase of adrenaline that enables the body to become heightened and on alert for danger. If the stress goes on too long our body gives out.

Now imagine constant stress over a long period of time. You are at the point where you can’t fight or flight. The exhaustion is too great and you just give up because you have nothing left to give. You are experiencing burnout.

Burnout like depression puts you a place of no hope, of helplessness and general despair. You go through the motions at home and at work, your productivity sinks.

What can you do?

Acknowledge that there is a problem and you need to fix it
Try relaxation techniques such as meditation, deep breathing and yoga
Take a rest, a vacation, just get away from it all and see if that helps.
If taking a rest isn’t effective then seek help from a Doctor or a counselor, someone who deals with these issues all the time.

Don’t let stress and burnout control your life.

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Stop stress eating

David — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 15:37:16 +0000

How do you handle stress? Do you exercise on a regular basis or do you meditate when the pressures of life get to be too much? Exercise and meditation are two good ways to keep stress under control but unfortunately some people handle stress in a less than healthy way, such as eating when they get stressed.
Eating when you feel stressed out is the only bad habit that you can use as a crutch, smoking is also bad. However with smoking you can give it up entirely (although it can be very difficult) you can’t give up eating entirely. And how long does the stress eating give you any relief? It’s not very long before you start to feel bad again and reach for some more junk food. If you fruit when you were stressed out it won’t be a problem unfortunately fruit doesn’t have the caffeine and sugar in it that makes you feel good.
What to do about stress eating?

Start exercising on a regular basis; this would definitely help relieve some of the stress that is bothering you.
Meditation can be done almost anywhere and the sessions can be any length of time. A short meditation might stop you from eating the wrong thing.
Get into the habit of eating healthy snacks. This is a tough one, but you can eat an apple instead of a candy bar if you try.
Don’t keep the tempting junk food around the house.

You just don’t need the junk food to fight stress, there are other ways.

Different types of meditation

David — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 01:48:57 +0000

Meditation can be an effective tool in controlling stress. Meditation helps to clear the mind of extraneous thoughts that clutter the mind and prevents clear and focused thought.

When the subject of meditation is discussed the image of a lone monk in the wilderness sitting in a trance for hours on end comes to some minds. But meditation is used by millions of peoples through out the world. Meditation comes in many different forms but all with the same purpose to open the mind and clear it of negativity and stress.

Some of the different forms of meditation are:

Buddhist meditation, which concentrates on exploring the mind and seeking enlightenment.
Hinduism strives for relaxed contemplation and reflection where the mind is cleared of all thought.
Taoism meditation is reaching a state of stillness and of emptying the mind of all thought
New Age is mix of eastern philosophies and new ideas. Transcendental Meditation is probably the most popular form of new age meditation

Stress Reduction tips

David — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 03:01:34 +0000

Since stress seems to occur on a daily basis then you must be prepared to deal with on a daily basis. With practice you can control stress before it controls you. There are many things that you can do to reduce stress, here are just a few of them.

Talk out your situations with friends. Sometimes it helps just to communicate your problems with some one who will listen.
Stop negative thoughts from your mind. It takes a lot of practice to stop being negative especially if you have been someone who doesn’t see the positive in anything. Start now and eliminate negative thoughts.
use deep breathing techniques
use guided imagery techniques
Exercise is great for the body in general and definitely great for the mind!
music therapy
Get a massage
rent your favorite movie and watch it again
Watch what you eat and cut back on the sugar.
simple meditation can be included with tip numbers 3, 4 and 6
manage your time more wisely and always include time for yourself
Join a support group where you will find people with similar situations.

Guided Imagery Meditation

David — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 02:52:44 +0000

Everyone has been in a stressful and anxiety filled situation. How did you handle it? Did you do nothing and hoped that it would be over soon? Did you have a plan ready when the stressful moment occurred, and they always seem to occur, don’t they, usually at the wrong time. Maybe you counted to ten or twenty or keep counting till you forgot what you were worried about. That doesn’t work does it? There are some folks who close their eyes and imagine they are in a peaceful place away from stress and strain. Their image of this place is so strong that the stress is controlled as well as the anxiety filled situation.

Do you think that you could do that? You sure could.

Before you get into that bad situation where you feel that your head is going to explode. You need to practice for a few minutes everyday Guided imagery meditation.

Find a quiet spot where you will be alone for a few minutes without interruption.
Sit in a comfortable position.
Starting at your feet, think about each part of the body and how relaxed it is till you reach the top of your head. This takes practice so don’t get discouraged.
After going through step 3 at least one time, close your eyes and think about the most peaceful place on the earth. It doesn’t have to be a place that you have been. It just has to a perception of yours that it is peaceful and tranquil.
As you mind moves around this tranquil place, be aware of your breathing. Is it steady? It should be.
Give yourself a few minutes to engulf your emotions into this place in your mind. You should feel light and relaxed, maybe not right away, but with practice it will come.

Now when that stressful moment arrives and you feel like everything is going wrong, you should step away from the situation for just a moment. Find a quiet location where you can close your eyes and visit your ‘place’. With practice stress wouldn’t have a chance.