Get a free list of 47 Laughter Yoga exercises!

Positive thoughts help you see the solutions in situations and enhance your creativity. Your ability to rationalize will increase.

Even with all the benefits, its too easy to slip into a bad mood or negative thought patterns. So here are 7 little tips on how to instantly be happier, healthier and wise:

• 1. Think Positive – This is easier said than done- especially when nothing seems to go your way. But there are many exercises you can do (like hypnosis,  biofeedback  or the silva method) to understand your own negative thought patterns so you can change them to positive, resourceful beliefs.

• 2. Give Someone A Compliment - Smiles are contagious. When you see someone smile, you will instantly smile. They are also more likely to reciprocate, but as they say, its better to give than to receive.

• 3. Take Care Of Your Look – How you present yourself says alot about how you feel about yourself. All it takes is a tiny gesture, like wearing your favorite shoes or getting a haircut, and you will instantly boost your happiness. The little things are very powerful.

• 4. Talk To A Stranger – Many of us these days are so focused on where we are going and what we need to get done, that we hardly stop and take time to smell the roses. Human beings need social interaction. You never know, you could make a new best friend or maybe even more.

• 5.  Visualize Your Success  – When you take the time to imagine and really see and feel what your success will be, it instantly gives you a great feeling. Not only this, but visualization is a powerful manifestation technique. Visualization not only brings you closer to your goals, but makes you happier on the way.

• 6. Sing- We all don’t have the voice of an angel, but everyone likes to sing, regardless of whether they admit it or not. If your more of a shy type, start conducting concerts in your shower.

• 7. Decide to be Happy – Just choose happiness, right now, as you read this. Its that simple.

Technorati Tags: be, biofeeback, boost, choose, happiness, happy, laughter, my, positive, techniques, think, thoughts, visualization, yoga, your

Have you ever gone through a day without some kind of stress in it? We are all faced with things that really irritate, whether mild to moderate or severe. You probably don’t need someone to tell you that too muchof it makes you cranky and keeps you from getting a good night’s sleep.

It clearly has a negative impact when it’s experienced in excess, but the effects of stress go far beyond the basic mood swings. Long term it can have serious repercussions in both psychological and physical effects. This article will take a look at some of the psychological effects that many people experience. These effects will vary based on how much you are experiencing, how long it lasts and your personality type.

Effects On Problem Solving

One of the first psychological effects of stress that people experience is an inability to solve problems calmly and rationally. Even the smallest roadblocks can become major hurdles in your day. One of the reasons problem solving becomes so challenging is that people have difficulty concentrating on tasks. They may also worry excessively about the details, which can make it difficult to complete a project. A short fuse is another one of the effects that can determine how easy or difficult it is to finish tasks and solve problems.

Effects On Relationships

Another one of the effects has to do with how you relate to others. Generally stress results in quick anger and lower hearing. Even when surrounded by people, a stressed person often feels isolated and alone. Relationships of an individual is controlled by constant or chronic stressed out states. This is one of the hardest effects of stress to deal with, since words said in anger are difficult to resolve after the fact. Feelings of insecurity that often follow being stressed also make it difficult to maintain positive relationships with others during challenging times.

Bigger Issues

In some cases, the psychological effects of will move beyond the basic moodiness and irritability that is common for most people. Some will develop anxiety or depression as a result of long term stressors. These mental disorders are much more complex to treat and will probably require the help of a mental health professional to overcome. Many patients diagnosed with anxiety or depression are prescribed medication to help them cope while undergoing psychotherapy. Therapy changes the way depressed patients look at the world so they can overcome feelings of helplessness and hopelessness.

Try Out These Natural Self Help Techniques :

•  Transform stress into joy  with a simple eight step recipe 

•  Learn to meditate  with the ultimate meditation kit

•  Control stress – related eating  with this natural aid

•  Energy therapy EFT gives you an easy technique you can learn and apply immediately any time you feel stressed

•  Laugh your way to health  with laughter yoga

•  Secrets of the Law of attraction : Master your responses to whatever life throws at you and attract abundance instead

The psychological effects may be as simple as a few grumpy days or as complex as a diagnosed case of depression. If you are feeling the effects, do everything you can to take care of your mental and physical health until the stressful situation has passed. You may be able to ward off the more serious effects of stressful living so you can move on after the stressful time is over.

Technorati Tags: anxiety, chronic, Depression, effects, eft, long, of, physical, psychological, relief, short, stress, techniques, term, therapy

One of the main causes of the stressful life that most of us experience at some time in our lives is down to how we interpret an event, or what meaning we attribute to it. An event doesn’t just ‘happen’ to us, we respond in a specific, usually learned, way

If we see these events in a negative light it can cause a downward negative spiral which leaves us feeling stressed and exhausted and if it continues for any length of time, depressed too.

> Click here for natural quick and effective relief

The major cause of being stressed in our lives is the emotions we have attached ourselves to and have then found hard to let go of.  Emotional Freedom Techniques  are a newly discovered approach to release yourself from stressful reactions and the negative emotions that have taken hold and hindered your psychological, as well as ultimately your physical, well-being.

How EFT Works

Whenever we think of an unpleasant experience that we have gone through, we produce negative emotions that cause a disturbance in the flow of energy around the body.

The technique of  EFT Tapping  whilst at the same time holding your focus on the specific problem at hand helps to restore the previously disrupted energy flow.

Even though the original experience, which led to the energy disrupton or bockage, can still be accessed the link between it and a negative response has dissolved and so recall no longer leads to stress or anger.

> Learn How To Do EFT Easily With This Follow Along Video. Click Here

Benefits of EFT

From the above brief explanation, we can see that the major benefit is that EFT relieves stress and frees us from anxiety and associated physical problems. The  EFT therapy tapping technique  helps to dissipate an energy block that has led to a block in healthy flow and functioning and kept the ‘darker view’ in place. As a result of this
emotional freedom, our body can function more easily and efficiently and our overall performance in life ameliorates. We are able to feel well, relaxed and healthy

Major conditions

EFT is a technique or energy therapy that is used to help us heal from the intense emotional reverberations caused by Trauma such as forms of physical abuse, as well as treating rather specific fears like proclaimed phobias and extreme self consciousness. In this way we can become free of say, the fear associated with having a loving relationship or public speaking, or flying, or speaking to the boss about a rise and so on.

Mental Health

By the same method, EFT improves mental health as it treats distressing conditions such as depression or dwelling anger. This helps create a clearer view on life by introducing some clarity our whole system. As the anger or depression recedes, something else comes in to fill the gap and this can be more  positive feelings  and a more relaxed attitude. The result of this is a kind of ‘knock on’ effect on the body in terms of better health as the feel good hormones are released and help the body to recover from the earlier effects of stress, such as higher blood pressure, back pain and headaches.

Eliminating Stressor-related patterns

EFT also works on treating the  unhealthy physical habits  that one often forms as they undergo stressful experiences. Some of these include sleep loss or insomnia and addictive behaviours such as smoking and food cravings or nail biting.

On another note, EFT can be used alongside the treatment of physical illness to relieve stressful emotions that accompany the condition. It has been reported to help improve one’s  attitude toward illness  and has even been known to sometimes reduce the body’s need for medicine and even surgeries and radiation. This is because, as research or case studies have indicated, the body’s immunity system thrives on low stress levels so it would perform more actively toward attacking the disease and reducing or eliminating pain.

Basically the practice of EFT on a regular basis can have the effect of supporting improved mood, better health and relationships.

Although it doesn’t always work all of the time, Gary Craig, the founder of this method claims that it works about 90% of the time. EFT is a technique which brings about emotional freedom, leaving the person much less stressed and with a greater sense of, calm, self esteem and happiness.

It provides us with a simple tool that we can use to regain control over the negative emotions  that may have dominated and streesed us for some time and signals an opportunity to freely embrace the world in a way that is both enjoyable, satisfying and ultimately health enhancing too.

Technorati Tags: benefits, eft, emotional, freedom, learn, natural, of, reducing, relief, stress, technique, techniques, therapy

Boost your health through simple laughter exercises! Learn how

Being stressed is common, and almost everyone goes through being stressed at some point in their life. But when you start to realize that you are going through more  than normal and that it is starting to take its toll on you, you need to do something about it and not wait any longer. At least you know that there are some great options available in terms of stress relief here, and there are a few things that you should start with.

Meditation

Meditation is a great practice, something that you can do before or after your workout if you like. This is a great form of stress relief, because it helps you to focus on your breathing and to calm yourself down. Especially if you ever find yourself in a stressful situation, you can just take some time to meditate and you will instantly feel better.

Not Everyone benefits with this form of relief.

Talking About it

You may not realize it, but one of the best ways to deal with stress is to talk about what is bothering you. Of course a lot of the time it is private and so that is why you may want to go and see a therapist. One can talk about his troubles to someone who can give professional advice.

Medication

In more serious cases, then you are going through a lot in your life and maybe are even suicidal, you are going to need to make sure that you find a serious method of pressure relief, and right away. Medication is often the answer here then, and you can talk to your doctor more about this. Just make sure that you realize this is not a long-term solution, and so you are going to have to make sure that you are coping with it in other ways until you get off the medication so that you have a long term plan.

For a longer list of natural ways to become less stressed and more hopeful and happy go to: Natural Self Help Techiques

Technorati Tags: boost, health, medication, meditate, meditation, natural, relief, self help, stressed, stressful, techniques, therapy

Stress management is not only an urgent need in today’s fast-paced lifestyle, but an important factor in both physical and mental health.

It is a psychological approach which teaches people, skills to cope with anxiety and stress.

Also it is all about understanding where your stress is coming from, and finding ways to alleviate it, and also to manage your life so that it becomes easier and much more enjoyable.

>>  Alleviate stress with laughter therapy: Click here

Stress management, when practised regularly is most effective. It is the application of methods to either reduce stress or increase tolerance to it. It is your ability to maintain control when situations, people, and events make excessive demands on you. Managing stress is a key to happiness. It is your ability to effectively manage the pressures you feel at work and at home. It is also about knowing your limits.

A complete nutritional approach, combined with proper fitness maintenance and stress management is most important. Here’s why managing your stress is important: stress wears your body out and can be harmful in the long run.

Workplace stress management is a great way of making sure that you can get through the workday in peace and then go home with little or no stress weighing on your mind. The key to stress management is to determine the right amount of stress that will give you energy, ambition, and enthusiasm versus the wrong amount which can harm your health and well-being.

One of the first rules of effective stress management is positive thinking and behavior. Exactly how exercise helps in relaxation and stress management is not clear. At work, stress management is a breeze when you let employees take on tasks that fit their skill and interest. Another strategy for stress management is to live in the moment. Fortunately, stress management is largely a learnable skill.

Stress

Stress is your response to any physical, emotional or intellectual demands. Stress management includes following a healthy diet, getting regular exercise, and making time for uninterrupted relaxation.

>>  Find uninterrupted relaxation with relaxation CD’s

Nutrition is one area where stress can be reduced most effectively, because we eat every day at least 3 times a day, so even the smallest of changes could bring about significant benefits. Stress can and does also result from unbalanced and inappropriate nutrition; excessive use of socially acceptable intoxicants; suppressive drugs and vaccinations; environmental toxins; negative emotions; lack of physical exercise; genetic factors; and improper body alignment.

>>   Change your diet, change your stress

Stress is a normal part of life. It is an unavoidable consequence of life and it is not something exclusive of the human beings, because the animals also have it. Stress is the answer of the body in response to external conditions that are perceived as dangerous, worrying or irritating.

Symptoms of stress can be either behavioral or physical. And some people who have a chronic illness may find that the symptoms of their illness flare up under an overload of stress.

All you need to do is relax, get control of that stress. More recently, however, it has been argued that external circumstances do not have any intrinsic capacity to produce stress, but instead their effect is mediated by the individual’s perceptions, capacities, and understanding. The model breaks the stressor-stress link by proposing that if stressors are perceived as positive or challenging rather than a threat, and if the stressed person is confident that he or she possesses adequate rather than deficient coping strategies, stress may not necessarily follow the presence of a potential stressor.

The model conceptualizes stress as a result of how a stressor is appraised and how a person appraises his/her resources to cope with the stressor. The model proposes that stress can be reduced by helping stressed people change their perceptions of stressors, providing them with strategies to help them cope and improving their confidence in their ability to do so.

>> Change how you see stress with the latest Law of Attraction techniques

Anxiety

Anxiety is stress, tension and strain brought onto one’s body and mind. Anxiety can be broken down into two types: Somatic -sweaty palms, pain in neck or sick to the stomach & cognitive. Anxiety may be due to not feeling that you are not in control. These symptoms may manifest themselves psychologically as irritability, anxiety, impaired concentration, mental confusion, poor judgment, frustration and anger.

We are aware that people that suffer from Anxiety Disorders have problems mixing in social gatherings and I myself have found that online chat, forums and even voice chat can be an excellent way to deal with anxieties, because you avoid one of the big things many people with social anxiety are afraid of: Meeting people. Stress-related disorders include a broad array of conditions, including depression, anxiety, dissatisfaction, fatigue, tension, aggression, substance abuse, impairment in concentration and memory problems.

Note: Tranquilizers, antidepressants, and anti-anxiety medications account for one fourth of all prescriptions written in the USA.

Exercise can help to relieve stress, tension, and anxiety. By expelling your excess negative emotions and adrenaline through physical activity, you can enter a more relaxed, calm state of being from which to deal with the issues and conflicts that are causing your anxiety.

Exercise is one of the most important coping medium to combat anxiety and stress. Exercise may trigger a neurophysiologic surge of adrenaline or endorphins- that produces an antidepressant effect in some, an anti anxiety effect in others, and a general sense of “feeling better” in most. Frequent exercise is an effective treatment for anxiety and, according to some research, is as effective as psychotherapy in treating mild or moderate depression.

Other researchers have found that light exercise, such as walking or swimming, decreases anxiety just as effectively as vigorous jogging does. (I.e. if you suffer from physical symptoms of anxiety such as gastrointestinal problems, sweating, palpitations, pacing back and forth, etc).

On the other hand, if your anxiety is caused by psychological causes such as worrying, difficulty concentrating or intrusive thoughts, you may find more relief from mental exercises such as meditation, imagery, prayer or other form of mental relaxation.

>>   Learn how to meditate. Click here

Exercising too much may lead to a state of fatigue characterized by anxiety or depression, insomnia, and a loss of interest in personal life.

Symptoms

Symptoms of stress can be either behavioral or physical. Symptoms of despair and hopelessness may be experienced in acute stress disorder and may be sufficiently severe and persistent to meet criteria for a major depressive episode. Symptoms of Acute Stress Disorder are experienced during or immediately after the trauma, last for at least 2 days, and either resolve within 4 weeks after the conclusion of the traumatic event or the diagnosis is changed.

These symptoms may manifest themselves psychologically as irritability, anxiety, impaired concentration, mental confusion, poor judgment, frustration and anger. Common physical symptoms of stress include: muscle tension, headaches, low back pain.

Most, however tend to ignore the problem as they are unaware of the symptoms. If the stress symptoms persist during many days, it is reasonable to go to see a doctor or to request psychological support.

Lifestyle

A commitment to live a healthier lifestyle should never take a back seat. In the alternative, if stress is more the result of one’s lifestyle, eliminating the stress causing factors and/or gaining healthful insight on how to alleviate stress the right way might just be the best thing for an individual to do for themselves.

For these reasons, stress management is vital to being successful at work and living a healthy lifestyle and it is steadily increasing in importance due to today’s busy and demanding lifestyles.

Author: Pradeep Mahajan is a free-lance writer. He is an engineer-MBA and management consultant by profession & practice. Also visit http://www.health-fitness-wellness.com for more information on health, fitness & wellness.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Pradeep_Mahajan

More on stress management here …

How to Manage Stress

You’re doing the job of two, handling even crankier customers than usual, and worried you’ll never be able to retire. But now is not the time to blow a gasket. 

Are You Stressed? Take The Quiz And Do Something About It

Learn how to manage stress. You may feel like the stress in your life is out of your control, but you can always control the way you respond. Managing stress is all about taking charge: taking charge of your thoughts, your emotions

How to Handle Job Stress

One important skill you require in order to be able to manage workplace stress effectively is the ability to negotiate within your group. This skill would go a long way to helping you resolve whatever conflict

How to Manage Stress

If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won’t be able to carry on. As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again 

Technorati Tags: affect, effects, health, how does, manage, management, managing, methods, positive, reducing, strategy, stress, symptoms, techniques, thinking, workplace

Stress is becoming one of the biggest problems this world has ever seen. Every day millions of people undergo stress and sometimes this stress will lead to anxiety attacks.

The physical symptoms of anxiety and stress can be very frustrating.

If you feel like you might be going through too much anxiety and stress it is important to do something about it.

You can find some great natural stress relief techniques by clicking here now.

I will list some of the symptoms of anxiety to help you understand if you are going through anxiety then I will show you a great way to put a stop to it.

• Chest pain and heart palpations

• Racing heart rate

• Feels like you have a lump in your throat

• It gets harder and harder to swallow

• Feeling sick

• Sweating more than usual

• Constantly fearing death

• Being short of breath

• Headaches (sometimes migraines)

• Constantly feeling “on the edge”

Now, one thing that most people who suffer anxiety do is go to the doctor to see if they can get a prescription for some pills. I can tell you right now, as someone who suffered from anxiety for over two years pills do not work. They might temporarily help but in the long run they do nothing to stop stress and anxiety.

So how can you stop stress? One of the best things I did to help end my anxiety attacks was to do what is called ” relaxation techniques “if you do these techniques you will really relax your brain and you will begin to realize that you are in control of whether or not you are having an anxiety attack.This technique is easy to perform. All you have to do is breathe in and out slowly, focusing on each and every breath you take, don’t focus on anything else but your breathing. This may be hard to do at first but the more you do it the easier it will get.

Click for info about  dealing with anxiety here

click for info about  dealing with panic attacks here

Author: Dave Salsada   Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dave_Salsada

I got rid of my anxiety and stress by doing a program called panic away. After 10 days on panic away I was finally free. If you want to learn more about Panic Away all you have to do is Click Here!

Seven Ways to De-Stress Instantly

You know you’ve got a backlog of emails to deal with from last week and you can feel your stress levels and blood pressure going through the roof. Now, it’d be nice if you could de-stress by following some of the great advice you’ve no doubt already heard. … Imagine breathing from your stomach, not your chest. Take slow, deep, fulfilling breaths. Calming your body down physically in this way is likely to have a knock-on effect on your frazzled mental state

Stop stressing so much

Picture yourself in a peaceful place – Doing this simple yet effective trick helps you to increase your brain’ s levels of serotonin which is a natural tranquilizer that lowers your blood pressure and your heart rate at the same time. … Stretch for headaches – when you have a headache caused from stress, you can do a simple yoga type move to help alleviate it. Simply bend your head forward so your chin touches your chest and then return to the starting position. 

Constant Head Pressure and Chest Tightness.

In my case i know the head pressure was caused by stress/anxiety, straining, all associated with panic attacks crazy thoughts which use to make my body and muscles tense (you dont notice this when this is happening though). 

Technorati Tags: anxiety reduction, chest, effects of, management, physical symptoms of severe stress, pressure, stress, techniques

What is stress?

Stress is a state of imbalance in both the body and mind. It’s a kind of energy or force which has the effect of accelerating or amplifying emotions and often motivating anxiety disorder panic attacks. So it’s important  to know ways of coping with stress. Stress may be caused by internal or external factors which if left unidentified can somtimes lead to serious illness and can often make you look much older than you actually are.

Chronic stress symptoms:

Unlike adverse and unpleasant stress, some stress can actually be positive and motivate you to better performance in your endeavors. You see this all the time in athletics or other sports training for example, where athletes are pushed to the limits of their stamina or endurance.

However, unwanted sudden stress, which may arise through many of life’s dramas big and small, can cause instant problems like dry tongue, hypertension, irritability, hot sweats and social anxiety disorders. There are some situations which lead to problems that you cannot feel immediately such as experiencing gradual weight loss or eating for comfort leading to stress related weight gain, feelings of hatred and anger that gradually rise to the surface over time or sinking into a state of hopelessness or emotional tiredness and depression. If the stress is deep, prolonged and repeated, it can result in ill health both physically and mentally. So it is important to discover what causes your stress and to start looking at ways to cope, manage, change your internal emotional response or remove those things from your environment which are adding to your feelings of being stressed.

Best guidelines for coping with stress:

There are some stress management techniques suggesting ways to reduce stress. Coping, either directly or defensively, is a potential way to deal with stressful situations. Direct coping happens by facing the problem head on while defensive coping implies denial, sublimation and repression. Here are a few stress related tips on ways of coping with stress.

1. Know yourself well. start to develop an awareness of how you automatically react to situations and then expriment with adapting yourself by choosing to respond to the situation in a different way than you might do usually. When you are stressed, it’s wise to be flexible enough to adjust to the situation by responding in a new way -  you may be an unwilling in your conscious thoughts and it takes courage and practice – but it can take off the pressure and often has the effect of making you feel more rejuvenated and optimistic.
2. Let out emotions freely by sharing with your friends or neighbours.  It’s wise to eliminate emotional stress simply by inviting caring people around you to share thoughts good or badin a safe environment.
3. Relax yourself with some time off and feel free to engage in a few stress reduction activities, even if for a few minutes at a time in the workplace if it is a tedious job. The human mind is not a mechanical workshop to produce around the clock. It needs biological time off from mental fatigue – maybe even due to physical strain – so the need to relax even for a little while is vital. It is not good to be continually overwhelmed and alone with painful stress. You need a balance in the sweet and the bitter. Taking up meditation has been proven to be a good technique for coping with stress.
4. Calm your mind and body when you notice signs and symptoms of stress in order to ward off the reaction and cope with it positively. Take in some deep breaths. You can change stress and emotional sadness to Joy. Try to look for good things and engage in interesting activity to make you free from stress. When your mind is nurtured with calm and pleasant times, it is an outlet for acute stress to dissolve.
5. Laughter is a great way to dissolve and relieve stress. It is well known that laughter has an uplifting effect on the body and mood and this can lead to a clearer view on how to cope more effectively with the stressful situation.

Author: Varadharajan R

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Varadharajan_R

Recent health news articles on stress

Do You Know That Debt Stress Causes Health Problems?

Authoritative internet-edition about electronic finance, e-commerce, payment systems, internet- banking, hyip and about virtual economy on the whole. Only latest news, relevant articles, excusive interviews.

Light To Moderate Drinking And Socialization Are Jointly Good For Stress

So drink with good friends for health he advised. Tanigawa also recommended karaoke bars as one way for business persons to cope with stress. “Singers use deep breathing, which is good for the parasympathetic nervous system. After singing  they usually receive applause.

Stress May Encourage E. Coli Illness  Anxiety-linked hormones

Health …Anxiety-linked hormones could spur the stomach bug’s activity researc… Researchers say they have found …

Medical News and Health News

Britain is facing a stress epidemic as more than 77% of people surveyed by the British College of Osteopathic Medicine (BCOM) claim that the current risk of economic uncertainty has increased theirs or their partner’s stress levels.

News – Health Tip: Stress and Diabetes

Health Tip: Stress and Diabetes.  The body’s response can affect your blood sugar. (HealthDay News) — Everyone reacts differently to physical and mental stress. But managing stress is particularly important to people with diabetes, since the body’s reaction to stress can trigger a dramatic change 

Technorati Tags: causes, dealing, management, managing, meditation, of, reduction, relieve, stress, symptoms, techniques, tips, to, to do, what, with