Best Ways to Deal with Stress-Best Ways to Relax-Alcohol, Cats, Drugs and Relaxing—What Do You Do?

Stress has been around forever. In the far past we did not have electricity, antibiotics, ready heat or air conditioning. Short life expectancies for children, little knowledge about health issues or little help for women or children being abused or neglected caused tons of stress. Today, we have our own stressors. There are the hosts of new technologies many are trying to keep up with. Then there is the new type of work force emerging in the world—technology based, and let us not forget the world’s economic woes. Furthermore, there are the personal stressors, which have been around forever: boyfriend, husband, wife, and children issues. And let us not forget those personal demons many people deal with day in and day out. Demons such as low self-esteem, loneliness, weight problems and dealing with past sexual abuse to name just a few.

So what can we do? Suffice to say if someone has personal demons as I call them here, is to get help for them. Psychological help, whether through mental health professionals, church, trusted friend—whatever works, but to get it out in the open and to fix it.

How about the “regular” daily over-stressors—how can we relax with them in our lives? Many people drink to help themselves. Crack open beers all day or hit the hard stuff throughout the day, day in and day out. This is a poor way of dealing with stress as it twists your mind away from reality and masks everything. Many folks take prescribed medications that help them. This is fine if you are following a responsible doctor’s recommendation in dosage and general usage. Many people are against psychological medications—such as tranquilizers or anti depressants. I am not. We are lucky to have medications to help us with physical problems and psychological as well. It is not a sign of weakness to take meds for psychological issues any more than it is for someone taking a cancer drug for the physical illness of cancer. It is foolish that many people still think it is a sign of weakness.

Here are some other ways to help us be calm and relaxed. The famous Mayo Clinic recommends the next three.

• Autogenic relaxation. Autogenic means something that comes from within you. In this relaxation technique, you use both visual imagery and body awareness to reduce stress. You repeat words or suggestions in your mind to relax and reduce muscle tension. For example, you may imagine a peaceful setting and then focus on controlled, relaxing breathing, slowing your heart rate, or feeling different physical sensations, such as relaxing each arm or leg one by one.
• Progressive muscle relaxation. In this relaxation technique, you focus on slowly tensing and then relaxing each muscle group. This helps you focus on the difference between muscle tension and relaxation. You become more aware of physical sensations. One method of progressive muscle relaxation is to start by tensing and relaxing the muscles in your toes and progressively working your way up to your neck and head. You can also start with your head and neck and work down to your toes. Tense your muscles for at least five seconds and then relax for 30 seconds, and repeat.
• Visualization. In this relaxation technique, you form mental images to take a visual journey to a peaceful, calming place or situation. During visualization, try to use as many senses as you can, including smell, sight, sound and touch. If you imagine relaxing at the ocean, for instance, think about such things as the smell of salt water, the sound of crashing waves and the warmth of the sun on your body. You may want to close your eyes, sit in a quiet spot and loosen any tight clothing.

Some other common relaxation techniques that work well for some people are:

• Massage
• Meditation
• Yoga
• Reading a calm subject matter book

Then there are the not so traditional ways to get calm. Like watching grand-kids playing, fish swimming around in an aquarium, fishing in a tranquil lake, walking down a quiet beach and one that works best for me—hanging out with my cats who do not want anything but to relax as opposed to my dogs that want personal valet service 24 hours a day seven days a week.

I suppose whatever works for you, no matter what, unless you are hurting yourself or others is fine to relax with and recharge your batteries. Don’t stop trying to find what works for you. Find whatever works and share it with others who are struggling to relax. In fact, share it here; help a reader be calm and relaxed.