10 Ways to Beat Stress

Take deep breaths from the stomach, not shallow breaths from the chest and increase the supply of oxygen to your blood and your brain. Regular deep breathing calms the body and the mind.

Recognise the power of your thoughts. By controlling your thoughts you control your life. By choosing to create positive thoughts, you will bring benefit to yourself and others; by choosing to create negative thoughts, you will harm yourself and others. The choice is yours. It is that simple.

Get up 20 minutes earlier every morning. Do some stretching and breathing exercises and spend a few minutes taking control of your mind by feeding it some positive thoughts. Imagine yourself having a wonderful day. See what a difference it makes.

Appreciate your qualities and attainments. Make a list of them. Realise that you are unique. Respect your self and have the confidence to say ‘no’ when necessary. Hold on to the core values that you really care about.

Only you can give yourself the care and attention you really need. Only you know your limits and how you feel inside. Listen to your inner voice and take note of what it tells you – it is there to help you.

In particular, make sure you take regular exercise, eat well (ie good quality, home- cooked meals made with fresh ingredients, preferably vegetarian) and get sufficient sleep. The fitter you are, the better you will be able to withstand the pressures of life.

Financial pressures can play an important part in creating stress. You may feel you have to work extra hours to make ends meet but is it really necessary? Are you making the best use of your income? Could you change some of the ways you spend your income so that you can afford more time to relax and enjoy other parts of your life?

You were born to be happy and you deserve to be happy. In fact, you have a duty to be happy because if you are unhappy you will affect those around you!

Whatever you give out will come back to you. If you wish to enjoy a stress-free life in the future, you need to create it now. What you think, you will become. So be peaceful, be calm, relax.

Make sure you have a lunch break and take all your annual leave. Give time and attention to your relationships, hobbies and interests. Live a balanced life.