Eve Adamson - 365 Ways to Reduce Stress: Everyday Tips to Help You Relax, Rejuvenate, and Refresh

365 WAYS TO
Reduce
Stress

Everyday
tips to help
you relax,
rejuvenate,
and refresh

EVE ADAMSON
Stress Management Consultant

Copyright 2009 by F+W Media, Inc.
All rights reserved.

Contains material adapted and abridged from The EverythingStress Management Book by
Eve Adamson, copyright 2002 by F+W Media, Inc., ISBN 10: 1-58062-578-9, ISBN 13:
978-1-58062-578-4.

This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any
form without permission from the publisher; exceptions are
made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.

Published by
Adams Media, a division of F+W Media, Inc.
57 Littlefield Street, Avon, MA 02322. U.S.A.
www.adamsmedia.com

ISBN 10: 1-4405-0025-8
ISBN 13: 978-1-4405-0025-1
eISBN: 978-1-44051-379-4

Printed in the United States of America.

J I H G F E D C B A

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Contents

CHAPTER 1
What Causes Stress?

CHAPTER 2
Different Types of Stress

CHAPTER 3
Test Yourself

CHAPTER 4
Calculate Your Personal Stress Profile

CHAPTER 5
How Stress Affects the Mind and Spirit

CHAPTER 6
How Stress Affects the Body

CHAPTER 7
Beat Bad Habits

CHAPTER 8
Eat Better

CHAPTER 9
Exercise More

CHAPTER 10
Get a Massage

CHAPTER 11
Meditation

CHAPTER 12
Alternative Therapies

CHAPTER 13
Its All in the Attitude

CHAPTER 14
No-Stress Money Management

CHAPTER 15
Your Work Life

CHAPTER 16
Your Home Life

CHAPTER 17
Make Time for Stress Management

CHAPTER 18
For Women

CHAPTER 19
For Men

CHAPTER 20
For Kids and Teens

Your Stress-Free Life Starts Now

Today is the first day of a new year in your life. It doesnt matter if today isnt December 31; its still the first day of a new year of beating stress! This book includes 365 ways that you can take control of the stress in your life, at home, at work, in relationships... everywhere! Stress can creep into all the areas of your world, but that doesnt mean you have to tolerate it. From the yoga studio to the Internet to your doctors office, theres help out there for you.

So go after it!

The first few chapters of this book will uncover the mysteries of stress: what it is, its different forms, and what it means to you. Once you know what your own personal definition of stress is, you can move toward overcoming it. Does stress take more of a toll on your mind or your body? Do you release stress through bad habits, such as nail biting or binge eating? Do you watch your diet and get enough regular exercise? If you have bad habits you need to work on, or if you have good habits youd like to increase, this book will help you do it.

The middle section of this book will introduce you to some fun and energizing ways to beat stress. Several you may already be familiar with; others will be brand new to you. These strategies include: massage; meditation; alternative therapies such as herbal remedies; and even attitude adjustment. You never know what might work for you until you try.

The last several chapters of this book will hone in on specific areas of your life and individual details, such as what you do for work, what your home life is like, whether you are a man or a woman, and how old you are. Each circumstance comes with unique stressors, and there are specific ways to tackle them. Its all right here in these pages, so take the first step toward a stress-free life today!

CHAPTER 1

What Causes Stress?

1. Are You Under Stress?

You know youre under stress when you rear-end the car in front of you on the way to work (oops!), make it to work three hours late and get fired (no!), then have your wallet stolen on the bus ride home (oh, thats just perfect!). But what about the stress when you get engaged to the love of your life? Or, when you finally get the promotion of your dreams? Is it stressful to graduate from college, or start an exercise program, or binge on chocolate-chip cookies? You bet it is. Whats so stressful about a few chocolate chip cookies? Nothing, if you eat one or two chocolate-chip cookies now and then as part of a well-balanced diet. Plenty, if you deprive yourself of desserts for a month, then eat an entire bag of double-fudge chocolate chunk. Your body isnt used to all that sugar. Thats stressful.

Too much stress can cause dramatic health problems.

2. Look Out for Change

Any kind of a change in your life can cause stress. Some of that stress feels good, even great. Stress isnt, by definition, something bad, but it isnt always good, either. In fact, it can cause dramatic health problems if you endure too much for too long. Stress isnt just out-of-the-ordinary stuff, however. Stress can also be hidden and deeply imbedded in your life. Maybe you want to start your own business but youre afraid to give up your current job. Maybe your family has communication problems but no one is willing to address the issue. You might even get stressed out when something goes right! Stress is a highly individual phenomenon.

3. Dont Get So Wound Up!

We have lots of ways to describe the feelings of stress. Keyed up, wound up, geared up, fired upall those expressions contain the word up because the stress response is, indeed, an up kind of experience. Muscles are pumped for action; senses are heightened; awareness is sharpened. And these feelings are useful, until they become too frequent. Constant stress exacts a heavy toll on the mind, body, and emotional well-being. Your health and happiness depend on responding to stress appropriately.

4. Determine What Stress Means toYou

Most people have a preconceived notion of what stress is in general, but what does stress mean to you? Discomfort? Pain? Anxiety? Excitement? Fear? Uncertainty? These are mostly conditions stemming from stress. But what is stress itself? Stress is such a broad term, and there are so many different kinds of stress affecting so many people in so many different ways that the word stress may seem to defy definition. What is stressful to one person might be exhilarating to another. Stress has become a way of life for many, but that doesnt mean we should sit back and accept the insidious effects of stress on our bodies, minds, and spirits.