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Subject: |
No-Cost Stress Relievers for Getting Through Tough Times |
| Date: |
2009-03-23
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No-Cost Stress
Relievers for Getting
Through Tough Times
By Winn Claybaugh
www.beniceorelse.com
Some
days, it seems like bad news just keeps coming. Unemployment is up. The
stock market is down. Gas prices are up, down, and up again. You may
not be able to control these things, but you can control your reactions
to them—and you can do it without spending a dime. Try these quick,
easy and free stress busters.
Humor and Laughter
If it's true that high stress can lead to physical calamities, then
perhaps it's also true that humor and laughter can heal. In his book Love, Medicine, and Miracles Dr.
Bernie Siegel wrote that humor not only may have the potential to
relieve pain directly, but that it also diverts your attention and
helps you relax.
In truth, it's not stress that causes physical problems; it's the way
you react to stress. Instead of letting stress make you ill, how about
using humor and laughter to help you heal? When you laugh and have fun,
your body releases natural opiates called endorphins, the ultimate natural
high. Finding humor and laughter when you're all stressed out may seem
like a difficult task, but like anything else, it can become a habit if
you practice long enough.
Go Through the Motions
To build your levels of happiness, joy, purpose, and fulfillment,
sometimes you might have to go through the motions of offering yourself
gifts that you don't believe you deserve. If you knew your sweetheart
was having a bad day, you might draw a nice bath, light candles around
the tub, and place special salts or oils in the bathwater. Maybe you'd
play soft music, turn down the lights, and turn the telephone ringer
off. You'd then greet your sweetie at the door to grab her briefcase or
purse, hand her a glass of wine, and send her in for a stress-melting
bath. You'd do that for a lover, but when was the last time you treated
yourself with such respect and love?
My challenge for you and for myself is to just go through the motions.
Tonight you might be sitting in that bathwater thinking, "What on earth am I doing here?"
That's okay. Eventually, actions become habits, and habits become part
of your personality, which builds your character and turns you into the
type of person you were always meant to be: filled with happiness
instead of stress.
Let's Be Clear
I used to believe that if I had a grievance, an opposing opinion, or a
legitimate complaint with someone, I had to bite my tongue in order to
be perceived as a nice guy. On those rare occasions when I chose to
tell the person how I felt or how they'd wronged me, I felt as though I
was attacking them. And I'm not the attacking type, so I learned to
keep it to myself. If you believe in a mind-body connection, as I
firmly do, then you know that bottling things up leads to stress,
uneasiness, and disease.
You're obviously going to have disagreements on occasion. To keep from
making yourself unhealthy, practice being clear with people. If you
have a disagreement that needs to be resolved, remember to keep it
between the two of you, discuss it in private, stick to the facts, and
stay focused on your desire to restore harmony and retain the
relationship.
Bottom line: All three strategies will help increase your nice factor,
and being nice is a surefire way to help get rid of your stress.
Winn Claybaugh is the author of
Be Nice (Or Else!) and "one of
the best motivational speakers in the country," according to CNN's
Larry King. Winn is the co-owner of hair care giant Paul Mitchell's
school division. His clients include Southwest Airlines, the Irvine
Company, Vidal Sassoon, Entertainment Tonight, Mattel, For Rent magazine,
Structure/Limited/Express, and others. Visit www.BeNiceOrElse.com to sign up for his free monthly Be Nice (Or Else!) newsletter. Permission
granted for use
on DrLaura.com.
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